Voices: Faithfully Independent
The most intriguing moment of Tuesday's Vice Presidential debate had to be the rivals' tender exchange about Dick Cheney's gay daughter, Mary. The political haze cleared and there sat two real men, both loving dads, thinking and feeling before Gwen Ifill, a chunk of Cleveland and all of tuned-in America.
Cheney's suddenly subdued air indicated a very real internal conflict. He clarified his belief that states, not the federal government, should decide gay rights policy. Then after noting the President's difference of opinion, he cited his support of Bush policy.
Some activists accused Cheney of flip-flopping, but the vice president's other daughter, Liz, seemed to understand.
"He's the vice president, and it's his job to support the president," she told The Grand Rapids Press after the debate. Mary obviously gets it too. That's why she's campaigned for her father and works as his aide.
Even I get it. Cheney's deference to the president despite his personal convictions is absolutely consistent with the "if you're not with us, you're against us" mentality that has dominated America since 9/11.
The division that faces our country today is less blue vs. red than it is a '50s era father-knows-best-and-is-king-of-the-castle reverence vs. a '70s-style demand for self-actualization.
While Bush supporters have welcomed the president's assumption of this patriarchal role, the delinquent "kids" who have spoken out against the father figure's distasteful decrees have been cast as disrespectful, and unpatriotic.
W's demand for obedience descends not only from his deference to his father George HW Bush, but from his notorious veneration of OUR father. You know, the Christ that changed his heart and saved his life. The God he believes wants him to be president.
I took a moment before Tuesday's debate to watch some of George W. Bush: Faith in the White House. It's not my usual fare, but I was consumed by curiosity after reading it would be released that day to purposefully counter the release of Fahrenheit 911.
It took mere seconds to be sure the movie was not intended for the likes of me. It looked no further than recruiting church members in good standing to join the choir.
I'd love to critique the film. Robotic evangelicals read stiffly from the monitor. A ridiculous number of comparisons are made to George Washington. Richard Gere, yes the actor, is quoted as one of the president's critics. An insanely smiling host turns questions into statements as the movie makes no move to answer them. Faith's reenactments, of scenes like the 7-year-old W's consolation of his mother after his sister was lost to leukemia, are just sad.
But there's really no point to critiquing Faith. The film was created solely to reassure the devout that W's claims of religiosity are genuine and he is therefore uniquely qualified to lead the country. The film's proposition that Bush is returning America to the Christian principals of its founding fathers really began to irk me. I remembered the first George Bush's much repeated words in 1987 - "I don't know that atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God." That's when I turned the movie off and turned on the debate.
I have no problem with religious faith. We've all got beliefs. Even atheists. It's when the powerful knowingly exploit the beliefs of the faithful to strengthen their privledged footholds that I get peeved.
How many Democrats will vote for Bush because "Kerry is Wrong for Catholics." Some bishop says Kerry cannot be Catholic and respect a woman's right to choose, so they'll vote for Bush even though the Pope has vociferously opposed the war in Iraq. Yet Rudi Giuliani has made no bones about his pro-choice, pro-gay rights beliefs and Bush hasn't hesitated to use the former New York City mayor's post-911 popularity to increase his own.
Cheney reminded America that it's OK to respectfully disagree with dad. He hasn't quit his job because he disagrees with the president on one issue. Neither should any of us feel inclined to cast our vote because of one issue. Groupthink is unnatural. No candidate or church or employer will ever represent you 100 percent. People must first and foremost have faith in themselves. They must never be afraid to question the father's decrees. It's the foundation of democracy.
--alicia grega-pikul, 7 October 2004
Send e-mail to: apikul@timesshamrock.com.
