Kathleen Sebelius has a job I wouldn't take for any amount of money. She is the governor of the state of Kansas. She is also Obama's pick to head the department of Health and Human Services.
But it is her role as governor that elicits my sympathy. To understand why, read the book, "What's The Matter With Kansas?" by Thomas Frank. The state of Kansas, as Frank explains, has been taken over by religious conservatives. In fact, in 1999, the Kansas School Board deleted the teaching of Evolution from the science curriculum in their schools. That was before Sebelius was on the scene, but the same people who deny the overwhelming evidence of the process of natural selection, and would like to see prayer and Bible classes in their schools, have pushed their state legislature to pass a series of anti-abortion measures that Sebelius, a practicing Catholic, has been forced to veto on constitutional grounds.
Sebelius makes it clear that she is personally anti-abortion, but she says this does not relieve her of the obligation to veto legislation that she thinks is unconstitutional. Nevertheless, the Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann of Kansas City has forbade her to receive Communion unless she changes her views. In effect, he is saying that her duty to the Church supersedes her duty to do her job as governor.
There is a strong movement among Catholic conservatives to create a permanent edict that would prohibit any Catholic officeholder who casts a pro-choice vote from receiving Communion. The next obvious step would be to extend that ban to any voter who votes for a pro-choice candidate. Fortunately, we still have secret ballots in this country, so the latter would be pretty hard to enforce.
It is the intent of such measures that alarms and dismays me. It is a concerted attempt to force Church dogma into the political sphere; to coerce public officials to inflict their religious views on everyone else. This is how theocracies are born. Every citizen...especially elected public officials...should have the freedom to vote their personal conscience, and not be coerced by their church authorities to obey church dogma.
Until recently, the Church has avoided ultimatums that force members to choose between their politics and their church, but this appears to be changing. The new Pope, and a faction of younger more activist bishops seem to be escalating their rhetoric, especially on the subject of abortion. Moreover, they are tightening the screws on perceived miscreants. In the past, if a local bishop withheld Communion from a public official, other bishops generally declined to enforce it. Thus a Congressman, who spent most of his time in Washington could receive Communion there even if his local conservative bishop back home forbade it. But now, Washington Bishop Donald Wuerl and Virginia Bishop Paul Loverde have indicated that they will enforce the Kansas bishop's ban on Sebelius. The clear intent is to coordinate their punitive actions on a national scale. This is an egregions and aggressive intrusion of the Church into the public sphere.
Sebelius and her vetoes will surely be a topic in her upcoming confirmation hearings, and the Religious Right will be doing everything in their power to derail her confirmation. I hope that neither she nor Obama backs down on this.
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Comments: 28
Separation of church and state!
Liberty and justice for all!
Someday, maybe it will. I certainly hope so.
Bert, I like the idea of rescinding their tax exempt status for interfering in government affairs. I am particularly bitter about all the abuses prevalent in the religion. Sex abuse by priests is not new. When people in power use that power to abuse their constituents, they have absolutely no room to preach to anyone else about their supposed values.
I wasn't a Boxer fan until recently, but she has really grown into her job and is doing a fine job. The other California Senator is Diane Feinstein. She may resign her seat to run for governor. Both of them are very able and honest politicians.
A really fine article that gets to the heart of a most important need for careful deliberation.
Recently I've been doing some --hopefully -- deep re-thinking of some key spiritual and pragmatic and scientific issues. I've done this with the assistance of some key courses that are available via the net and one such had to deal with notions of Mysticism in (1) Judaism, (2) Christianity (Orthodox, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism), and (3) Islam (Sunni, Shi'a, and Sufi). Along with this course, another that took long and hard and iteresting looks at the changes going on in Particle Physics leading to String Theory to weigh in the REAL parts of the developing challenges to our changing social postures involving LAW and MORALITIES. I'll just note an insight that came to me about the complexities that are appearing at we look closely at HUMAN EVOLUTION and the growth of CONSCIOUSNESS.
Curiously, I am becoming convinced that the clearest differentiation that stands out to addresss what you have written about in your fine article has to do with -- most dierectly --the Judaic and Muslim 'look-sees' at the relationship of our sacred books in those religions and then human cultural evolution trends with the help of trying to integrate our cultural aims with the help of our sacred texts (especally here in both Judaism and Islam). Two of our great historical books (the Torah and the Koran) provide powerful background issues of the organizational needs of the operations of the multiplicity of 'cultures' that have emerged historically over multi-millennia.
First, let us say, there were the recorded words of inspired humans (think many prophets) like Moses and many like inspired folk. Then there were the deliberative considerations of persons that should be referred to as scholars, then the creation of LAWS and CONSTITUTIONS that were selected to make orderlines in the emergent societies -- but always to lead our human minds from realities on our precious EARTH and spriritual ideas derived from readings of the 'great works' of GOD (and INSPIRED FOLK) toward a necessary set of KEY MORAL IDEAS.
This is most clear in ISLAM where by historical implications the KORAN was given to the WORLD as a guideline and was written according to carefully deliberated upon 'records' by sages and scholars directly given via GOD to PERSONKIND. The efforts to gather the HADITHS (the stories about Muhammed carefully collected and catalogued) added perspectives to interpretations of the Koran (written by GOD directly (via the efforts of Muhammed)) and then through deep time -- set into human LAWS (call these CONSTITUTIONS too) for the help of the running of the developing sociio-cultural-economic systems that orderly societies needed to become more compassionately humane through the great travails that confroned our human societies historically. BUT these efforts -- referred to as the SHARI'A were aimed at a greater need : the develpment of BELIEFS and MORALS that should come to dominate 'the very varied codes of conduct that we human beings on our EARTH have been written UPON OUR INDIVIDUAL human hearts. These varied human values have become parts of our minds and hearts and LIVE within each and every one of us -- differently(?).
In short there was in both Judaic thought (past with the Torah and then later with the Cabala) and within Islamic thought (principally with the Koran) the derivitive LAW and LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS that were implanted in our human institutions and our individualistic varied codes of conducts and beliefs that AIMED toward a UNIVERSALITY of ACCEPTANCE of a largely FULLY UNIVERSAL INDIVIDUALISTIC CONSCIOUSNESS that flowed out of the difficulties of bounded and bounding human languages and scholarship into DOMINANT MORAL CODES. But this last stage can not be imposed upon us humans collectively -- but must flow from our individual CHOICES that are ever to be IDEALLY FREE.
And here we are at the KANSAS problem, and the seeming dilemma of the Governor.
Since the UNIVERSALITY of acceptance is not yet accepted (anywhere in the WORLD, as yet) and since there is so much complexity and uncertainty about (the nature of the complex) interpretations of what the BEST WAYS are to operate as societies (groups of differently thinking, speaking, feeling, PERSONS) there seems to me to be no option than to weigh out the issue of when to abide by LAWS or be certain enough to challenge the LAWS on pragmatic and scientific bases until COMMON DELIBERATIONS establish the MORAL position being dealt with in any particular case.
THAT IS WHAT JUSTICE and the use of our COURTS OF LAW are all about. In this case there is a need for great clarification before the key LEGAL vs MORAL positions are settled. The governor here is in the 'decision-making' stance -- AS IT SHOULD BE!
As a further current example at the Federal level, We have a lot to learn as we deal with the HUMAN RIGHTS issues of, say, TORTURE, and that is precisely why ALL issues in this complexity should be designed to have the FULLEST HEARINGS and greatest universal -- UNIVERSAL (not USA, ASIAN, etc alone) -- knowledge and long-run compassionate UNDERSTANDING brought into this necessary debate about LAWS and MORALITY, and the emergence of a more UNIVERSAL notion of 'what is humanely correct.
Thanks for the framing of this most important issue for us, dear friend.
Dick
"Monkey Trial" was held? Scratch that off the "retirement
destinations" list.
I'm sure you're sincere, but I have no idea what this means:
"took long and hard and iteresting looks at the changes going on in Particle Physics leading to String Theory to weigh in the REAL parts of the developing challenges to our changing social postures involving LAW and MORALITIES."
What are the "real parts" of the challenges to our "social postures involving law and moralities"?
Does this mean that science (physics) is providing some counter to the mystics who call themselves religious conservatives?
Both of them are off my retirement list.
doesn't apply to everyone; having forgotten, that is.
If you think about it, some states are bound to see the possibilities
in these demographics. Northern Idaho, for example, for years
has been a magnet for white separatists; not a heck of a lot else
up there. Maybe Kansas is thinking ahead to the time the
aquifer has been completely depleted, trashed, take your pick,
and they'll have some tourist attraction. Might I suggest a
life-sized model of the Holy Land.
To think, Kansas was once a model for public education.
The bottom line idea in what I tried to communicate is that in early human history the then 'sacred books' (and there were relatively few books then to reflect upon) became sources for intellectual and emotional reflections upon how established DERIVED LAWS (and CONSTITUTIONS) were only early HUMAN steps along the path to MORAL UNIVERSALS that human history would bring into view probably very SLOWLY.
Our WORLD's religions and their strong advocates would take solid positions based on analyses of the "meanings and thus implications" in those 'sacred' books and get to the tasks of establishing ever new LOCAL institutions for purposes of having 'good citizen behaviors', the punishment of errors and thus laying the bases for ever more UNIVERSAL MORALITIES as we humans emerged form our desires and interests and inclinations. THUS would come into existence -- call it a SUPER-LEGAL STRUCTURE that will be developed to serve ALL human beings on EARTH. Each living person (perhaps ven animals) is a sort of DIVINE-THING if we need an IDEAL to define 'reasons why'!
It is my ever more firm belief that our sciences and a new(?) visions of the WONDROUSNESS of persons (nearly DIVINE) is now in the process of emerging upon our precious planet. . To use a new concept -- not unlike that of the 'withering away of the State' that Karl Marx suggested more than a hundred and fifty years ago --, there will ensue in the coming century or so (via the use of new sciences and technologies) 'a withering away of old-fashioned 'LAWS and CONSTITUTIONS that will redefine human paths aimed at the FUTURE : if we fail to destroy ourselves with stupidities and angers in the decades ahead.
The WONDERS OF knpwledge based on technologies and sciences must be added MEANINGFULLY into spiritual and humanistic knowledge in order -- more clearly -- to see and use and UNDERSTAND the gifts from whatever GOD and the Creating Universal Processes (CUP) TRULY are, and how they fit into the human futures that are presently 'under-development'.
As I see the handwriting on the walls of these challenging problems that seem to be showing up ever more quickly in this new century of ours.
Dick
Dick...the 'sacred' books of the major religions may have collected and organized the basic codes of moral/ethical behavior, but I think it is doubtful that those religions originated those ideas from stone tablets handed down by a deity. The origin of the Golden Rule, on which most of our moral principles are based, goes back to hunter/gatherer groups that predated any of the current religions.
At least that is the opinion of the author of a book I read recently titled "The Science of Good and Evil," by Michael Shermer. He makes a very convincing case.
it seems to be reading your mind; I know it isn't, but information science, like
any other profession, takes it well beyond the laymen scope.
I was surprised to learn recently that many religious conservatives have
a problem with computers. And, not just the usual internet hysteria, but
a deep seated conviction that some simulations are moving in on God's
territory. Talk about the mother of all turf wars!
The issue has something to do with DNA mapping, stem cell, and all that kind
of stuff.
Of course now the housing bubble has burst and we know prices are fluctuating.
I always knew that beneath those golden streets of El Dorado lies the dusty promises of every dream merchant.
Too bad...it's a nice little town. In the long run, I think Vista will do fine. It is a beautiful spot. It will survive both the Bible merchants and the dream merchants.