It's The Second Shot That'll Sink You

I'll admit, I saw the first one coming. The minute I read these articles responding to increasing religious harassment in the Armed Forces, I knew that the FRC would be up in arms in its daily briefing (the New York Times also has its take). I've blogged on this issue before, but I am still amazed at just how far these extreme right wing organizations will go in defending Christian supremacy.

An investigation found pervasive hostility toward religious minorities in the Air Force.

Among other incidents, the academy commandant had urged cadets to use the "J for Jesus" hand signal with the thumb and index finger, the head football coach had told players that he expected to see them in church, and Jewish cadets had experienced anti-Semitic slurs after students were urged to see the Mel Gibson film "The Passion of the Christ."

As a result

[t]he Air Force...issued sweeping guidelines yesterday that say prayers are not appropriate at most official events and discourage commanders from speaking publicly about their religious beliefs.

This is what the FRC deems to be an "overreaction." In response to documented instances of religious harassment by both the commanding elite and the rank-and-file, the service asks merely that official events not become prayer meetings, and that commanding officers by mindful of the power differential between themselves and their subordinates--one which easily can make generic religious discussion into a very hostile endeavor. It should be noted that in all its coverage of the controversy, the FRC has not once even alluded to, much less condemned, the allegations of anti-Semetism that prompted the investigation in the first place.

And they wonder why Jews object to their claim to speak for "Judeo-Christian" values. It's because they don't respect us--unless of course, we can be used as a tool for their other political goals.

As for other views:
Bump in the Beltway believes the stories. Ranting Profs thinks that the headline "Air Force Sets Rules Limiting Religious Expression" is "as neutral and information packed as could be." Are you kidding? "Limiting Religious Expression" is a loaded phrase--it plays right up to every naive fear of anti-religious suppression that rightwing groups are trying to make this out to be (when in reality it's a reaffirmation of the tolerant traditions that make our armed forces representative of the nation--not particular sects). Jonah Goldberg professes ignorance but believes that "it sounds like the Pentagon is taking the issue(s) seriously and responding responsibly." Assuming that the issue doesn't get hijacked by, oh, the FRC, I'd agree. By contrast, Stones Cry Out echoes the FRC line that this is just political-correct intrusion by those "push[ing] for vapid generic faith" (presumably, the faith of Jews, non-evangelical Christians, Buddhists, Wiccans, Atheists, and other minorities who wish not to proselytized by their commanding officers can all be grouped under "generic"). Like the FRC, SCO does not even acknowledge the presence, potency, or relevancy of anti-Semetism in the military--viewing the issue solely as an instance of Christian victimization.

But, as I said, this one I called out in advance. The one that truly stunned me--the brutal "two" in "one-two combination," was their stirring homage to former Senator and continued racist Jesse Helms (R-NC).

It's not Helms' description of abortion as a "Holocaust" that gets me. No, it's his continued insistence on defending, justifying, and promoting his blatantly racist stances against African-Americans throughout his political career. Again, from the Post:

Helms devotes an entire chapter to his views on race relations, defending his record as a 1960s television commentator and senator who challenged most of the nation's civil rights legislation.

"I felt that the citizens of my community, my state and my region of the country were being battered by this new form of bigotry," he wrote. "I simply could not stay silent in the face of this assault -- and I didn't."

Helms rejected the notion that racist tendencies drove him to oppose the creation of a national Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in 1983, or to run a 1990 campaign ad tying his black opponent to affirmative action.

He wrote that he opposed the King holiday in part because the Senate rejected a Helms amendment that would have unsealed the FBI files of the civil rights leader. Helms contends that King's advisers included communist sympathizers.

To be perfectly clear, Senator Helms, you know nothing of bigotry except that which you spouted yourself. What exactly was "battering" the south? Was it freedom riders trying to desegregate schools? Or perhaps it was the uppity blacks themselves, forgetting their place and trying to vote (of all the indignities!)? Trent Lott gets slammed for praising Strom Thurmond--but while I think Lott deserved what he got, at least Strom had the dignity to apologize later in life for his racist past. Helms, by contrast, is entirely unrepentant (if not proud) of his role in preserving the racial caste system. But to the FRC, he was:

the moral conscience of the Senate, always holding firm to upholding the traditional values that are embraced by most Americans. Throughout his career, until his retirement in 2002, he was a pathfinder for Americans...a statesman who was willing to challenge Democratic and Republican administrations alike when he thought they threatened or ignored the principles that make this country great.

Between the ellipses is plenty of fawning over Helms' pro-life views--but nothing that even hints at a condemnation of racism. Nada. Squat. So we can only conclude that, to the FRC, segregation, lynching, bigotry, prejudice, and discrimination of all sorts are part of the "traditional values" that "make this nation great."

Stunning, but somehow, not surprising.