Hey! A Grownup Republican speaks

It should be snowing in Norman in May for me to post a link to Townhall, but this George Will column is worth reading. He notes that it is indeed noteworthy that Bush had to actually say that those who may not choose to worship (I almost added "as he does" but he doesn' actually attend church) are still good Americans. Imagine that.

I was glad that Bush said that, but I can see Will's point. It is a damn shame that he had to. Anymore than anyone would have to say that evangelical Christians were good Americans. But he did have to say it, because with King Dobson and his friends, anyone who's faith is outside the conservative evangelical circle feels uneasy.

And, as Will points out, the conservative evangelical meme these days is victimization. Christians, the argument goes, are being persecuted left and right. Their faith is being "driven from the public square." Right. Here is a little suggestion: when you have the President of the United States speaking for you, you are not outside the public square! Not even close.

Will notes:

"Some Christians should practice the magnanimity of the strong rather than cultivate the grievances of the weak. But many Christians are joining today's scramble for the status of victims. There is much lamentation about various 'assaults' on 'people of faith.' Christians are indeed experiencing some petty insults and indignities concerning things such as restrictions on school Christmas observances. But their persecution complex is unbecoming because it is unrealistic."

I think this comes from the need to put themselves at the center of the story. I have heard many Christians note that Jesus said that they would be persecuted--and it certainly appears that American Christians are inserting themselves into that story. And when there are Christians and people of other faiths actually being persecuted around the world, usage of the word is offensive. No one is taking away your right to attend church, read the Bible, pray, etc. No one is putting you in jail for speaking for Jesus.

More Will:

In just 15 months, Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" has become one of the 10 highest-grossing movies in history, and it almost certainly will become the most-seen movie in history. The television networks, which can read election returns and the sales figures of "The Da Vinci Code," are getting religion, of sorts. The Associated Press reports that NBC is developing a show called "The Book of Daniel" about a minister who abuses prescription drugs and is visited by a "cool, contemporary Jesus." Fox is working on a pilot about "a priest teaming with a neurologist to examine unexplained events."

This part is kind of funny to me. Everyone now is buzzing that the Gibson film has made Christianity a great topic for film. Well, be warned. Now you are a market and that means that you will get all sorts of crap sold to you. Even more crappy than Mel's Mad Vision.

Christian book sales are booming. "The Rising" by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins, the 13th in the astonishing 10-year sequence of Christian novels in the "Left Behind" series, was published two months ago and rocketed to the top of Amazon.com's bestseller list. Three years ago LaHaye and Jenkins, whose first dozen volumes have sold a combined 62 million copies, joined Tom Clancy, John Grisham and J.K. Rowling as the only authors whose novels have first printings of 2 million, partly because they are being sold in huge volumes in stores such as Wal-Mart and Costco. Today LaHaye and Jenkins are leaving Clancy, Grisham, et al. in the dust.

Religion is today banished from the public square? John Kennedy finished his first report to the nation on the Soviet missiles in Cuba with these words: "Thank you and good night." It would be a rash president who today did not conclude a major address by saying, as President Ronald Reagan began the custom of doing, something very like "God bless America."

And this reminder that those who claim that the Founders were good evangelical Christians like themselves should remember this:

But Republicans should not seem to require, de facto, what the Constitution forbids, de jure: "No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust."