The Constitution guarantees not only freedom OF religion, but also freedom FROM RELIGION. I doubt those who fled religious persecution in Europe would come here and establish it, although Franklin had to flee Boston at 17. Upon listening to Hegseth, we seem to be entering another “kill a Commie for Christ” era. There’s nothing like watching prayer meetings being led by Hegseth or Trump, two serial adulterers and abusers. And the Evangelicals and others line up to praise them. I believe Khalil Gibran once said, “God is a great thing, but organized religion messes it up.” I couldn’t agree more.
Religion+government=theocracy. Business+government=fascism. Military+government= imperialism. Despite being founded as a republic, we have become all three of these forms of tyranny, with a thin veneer of "democracy" to keep up appearances. Freedom has often been conflated with sheer will-to-power, and by this means, we lose our actual freedom.
Puritans executed Mary Dyer, a Quaker missionary, by hanging after Dyer had been whipped out of Massachusetts Bay Colony and expelled on pain of death if she returned. One misconception is that Quakers and those accused as witches in Salem Village were executed by burning. Most were hanged, Giles Corey died from having stones piled on him because he refused to enter a plea at his arraignment.
My exposure was via The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, a 1953 play set during the 1692 Salem witch trials, serving as an allegory for the anti-communist hysteria of the McCarthy era.
It follows the story of John Proctor, a farmer whose affair with his servant Abigail Williams leads to her accusing him and his wife of witchcraft, exposing the town's mass hysteria, paranoia, and the destructive power of false accusations and guilt by association. The play explores themes of reputation, integrity, and the conflict between individual conscience and societal pressure, culminating in Proctor's choice to die rather than falsely confess.
Key aspects of the play:
Setting: Puritan Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692.
Plot: A group of teenage girls, led by Abigail Williams, claims to be afflicted by witchcraft, leading to a series of accusations against townspeople, including John Proctor.
Main Characters: John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail Williams, Reverend Hale, and Reverend Parris.
Historical Context: Written during the 1950s Red Scare, it mirrors the political climate where people were accused of communism without evidence, much like the Salem witch trials.
Themes: Mass hysteria, religious extremism, reputation, integrity, and the dangers of political persecution.
Title Meaning: A "crucible" is a severe test or trial, reflecting the ordeal the characters and the community endure.
Why are some of the most evil people in our world the most religious? And please explain why Trump is drawn to these monsters, whom he pulls into the White House, when he's as religious as a box turtle.
I would suggest these “evil” people are infected with the virus of power. They are broken and tragic people who tightly clutch the illusion of their superiority, defending it using the fear of God. In the course of human evolution, prior to scientific enlightenment and the beginning of our understanding of the physical world, humans created stories. These myths were an attempt to impose meaning on life. Today we continue to have a segment of humankind still living in an Iron Age consciousness. Unscrupulous people understand how to manipulate this state of consciousness. Perhaps some are true believers themselves, but many are merely taking advantage to feed their own virulent hallucinations of their own worth. The physical world is truly an interesting place.
Something to think about. The Pentagon, under Hegseth, is now Crusaders central.
The virus of Dominionism, aka Christian Reconstruction, as manifest in the 7 MountainsMandate, New Apostolic Reformatlon, Opus Dei and others, started in the Air Force Academy .After it opened it's doors. mega churches moved into Colorado Springs. Cadets after the 1st Year are allowed to go to churches off campus, and are they ever eager, to meet young ladies and there they got indoctrinated.
The virus has spread to other academies, VMI and the Citadel.
Gen StanleyMcChrystal who is being lionized by liberals told his troops , when he was commander of troops in Afghanistan, that the fight was a Christian Crusade.
When Trump and Hegseth verbally abused, and denigrated those 800 Generals and Flag officers in that Quantico auditorium and when not one of them got up, when Trump told them"If you don't like what I am saying, you can leave the room"
None of them did, all of them have over 20 years service, all of them are eligible for retirement, but wearing stars and strips on the sleeve, feeds the ego, and a good portion of them are infected with the Dominonist virus as well as being right wingers, who share the same beliefs ad Hegseth.
William,great post and I'm glad you brought up the 7 mountains mandate and NAR,and the fact that none of the 800 Generals and Flag officers responded when Trump made his comment. I attended 2 NO KIngs rallies on Saturday and the turnout was not what most of us you follow Indivisible thought it was going to be. It was about the same as 10/25.
The virus of Dominionism or Christian Reconstruction is something no one talks about and certainly not the mainstream media. I watched part of the Hegseth comments today,he is the biggest threat to the continued existence of any semblence of Democracy.
As I watch this shitshow unravel,I just simply cannot believe this is where this country has gone.If I were wealthly,I would move to Europe tomorrow.
What concerns me, Is that none of the Substack authors I subscribe to include Thom's even touch the threat of the Christian version of the Taliban, and it is even more dangerous and threatening than this racial, economic,political stuff.
This is not the first use of religion to whip up the troops. Soldiers on their way to Vietnam had to listen to bible thumpers striding up and down the stage shouting "They are not human these Gooks need to be wiped off the face of the earth" ...and "Kill a Commie for Christ""
Organized religions and organized fascist movements have core issues in common. Both seek, at their core, to exert complete control of the people they zero in on. There are no limits to this roll. Both deal, as history proves, with dissention by eventual torture and finally murder. They both have no concept of honoring personal boundaries, instead demanding absolute control, absolutist submission. Never has either ever reached a point of relent, their fires of tyrany ever enriched by their schadenfreude delights that they are certain beyond doubt of their endeavors, both fed not by rational discernment but by distorted emotional ragings.
Hegseth and his fellow fanatics apparently neither known nor care that the Crusaders were terrible people. When in 1095 the Pope called for the liberation of the Holy Land the first thing the new army did was to murder all the Jews they could find in the Rhine Valley. And when they got to their goal they killed everybody in Jerusalem too. Then a later crusade sacked Christian Constantinople, opening the way for the Muslim Turks to eventually take southeastern Europe. True, the Crusaders established small Christian kingdoms, but by 1302 they had all been conquered. In other words, the Muslims won, and never forgot how they had defeated these invaders. So calling for another crusade is what...asking for more chaos and bloodbaths? Setting oneself up for more defeats?
Thom did a great job of overviewing the US history of the separation of Church and State. I think it is worth remembering also that Christianity first became a State religion because the Apostles convinced Caesar that making it Rome's religion would create a more peace-loving empire. Christianity would require fewer troops to maintain order and profitable trade. Even though the Roman Empire eventually died, the Roman Catholic Church thrived, probably because it was a useful tool to legitimize monarchies and future emperors (like today's American emperor wannabe?).
Hegseth's hate-filled prayers are typical of several intolerant, what I call "Old Testament Christian" evangelicals. Those Christian spinoffs attract cash-paying members by justifying their loveless lives and hatreds. They promise wealth from God in return, or at least a "Get Out of Hell Free" card for their Sunday collection plate devotion.
When one also considers Trump's domestic crackdown on immigrants, Hegseth's "crusade" begins to look more like "The Inquisition." Inquisitions tortured, imprisoned, and executed anybody who did not share the views of perverted Catholics in the 12th Century and later. This included the violent Reconquista ejection of Muslim annexations of the Spanish Empire that ended, ironically, in 1492. The inquisitions and crusades of yore were condemned by the Pope just as the ones in Iran and the USA are today.
Our Oligarch is now worried about his after-life, so now aHegseth senses a way to stay in Trump’s good graces—start spouting a bunch of what he knows is nonsense and convince the megalomaniac that what he does is ordained by God. No brainer for that bunch. It’s also well known that if troops are pumped up with emotional BS they’re more likely to follow orders and risk their life for questionable causes.
At breakfast with our adult son this morning, the topic of Mark Twain's "War Prayer" came up. Our son summarized the piece. It is as appropriate now as ever. If you are interested, here is a link: https://americanliterature.com/author/mark-twain/short-story/the-war-prayer It was never published during his lifetime, but it surely gives one pause to celebrate any victory won at a terrible cost to the other side.
Perhaps many thought this Administration of predators would take us back to the 1950's where atheist or agnostic was a dirty word. It seems we are headed much farther back than that.
Picture a cave, a man with a club in one hand, and dragging a woman by the hair with the other. That's them. That's TRump.
Thinking Americans have resolved not to go there. It looks like we are going to have to "drag them" into the 21st Century. Resist. Recruit. Teach. Thanks Thom and Company for doing exactly that. See you in the streets.
Onward Christan Soldiers, marching off to war. I believe I recall having an elementary school teacher leading my class in singing that song. Many of us, including apparently Hegseth have been immersed in a vision of Christianity which is a holy lifelong war against anyone who does not recognize that as the one and only religion and as the official representation of God's will as ostensibly spelled out in the Bible. Hegseth has a lot of sins to atone for, many things to be ashamed of, and a great deal to feel guilty about, of course.
What I have not heard said often or out loud is that what we are witnessing is superstition. Regardless of the belief system or the particulars or proselytizers, religion which goes beyond a simple acknowledgement of our spiritual human characteristics and a desire for a supernatural experience, is superstitious and requires a suspension of disbelief, blind faith, and a degree of irrational thinking which flies in the face of science and logic.
Not to change the subject, but what can be done to discredit Hegseth's former employer, Fox "News"? Where is Michael Moore when we need him? We need someone to take one week or one month of the Fox Nusiance network lies, deceptions, misrepresentations, malice, and defamation and expose their evil and poison with a series of documentaries or examinations which tear apart exactly how they accomplish their anti-democratic an Un-American deeds. Every segment should be dissected, analyzed, and illuminated to show the unethical and malicious techniques they employ routinely, 24/7. The Murdochs and their over-paid shysters should be exposed as the mercenary and vicious exploiters that they are.
We, liberals, progressives, Democrats, and loyal, patriotic, secular Americans are being defamed hourly by those sanctimonious creeps. We are being portrayed as communists, socialists, fascists, pedophiles, and at best fools who are victims of our own bad natures. Our values, history, and traditions are being trashed on live TV to make those bastards unbelievably wealthy while they turn our families, friends, and neighbors against us. A war is being fought in our name with our tax dollars, brought on by the propaganda and xenophobia promoted by advertisers and lying anchorpersons pretending to be journalists.
Yesterday, a close family member who has had frequent conversations with Inanity Hannity sincerely texted to ask me if I truly want this to be a communist country! He sent a clip of some kid who apparently claims to be a communist who had attended a No Kings rally and was interviewed by a supposed reporter. He has no clue of what a communist is or believes. But the constant deluge of attacks and garbage spread by Fox has persuaded him that we who criticize or condemn Trump and his fascism are bad people and communists. There must be a parallel movement against Fox, and we all need to be screaming bloody murder about the brainwashing that is their specialty. Someone, find Michael Moore, please.
Michael Moore is in New York City now, I believe. He's here in Northern Michigan in the summer. Worked with him on our (his) film festival years ago. Ya, we need him to take on Faux News.
Louise created a toe tapper! Excellent! IMHO Secular is the way forward! This Daily Take is wonderful and the correct information to the people Thom Hartmann, Thank you!
And this is why I follow you. Thank you-a million times.
The Constitution guarantees not only freedom OF religion, but also freedom FROM RELIGION. I doubt those who fled religious persecution in Europe would come here and establish it, although Franklin had to flee Boston at 17. Upon listening to Hegseth, we seem to be entering another “kill a Commie for Christ” era. There’s nothing like watching prayer meetings being led by Hegseth or Trump, two serial adulterers and abusers. And the Evangelicals and others line up to praise them. I believe Khalil Gibran once said, “God is a great thing, but organized religion messes it up.” I couldn’t agree more.
I've had them tell me to my face that freedom of religion means that you have to pick one. You can't be a non-believer.
Religion+government=theocracy. Business+government=fascism. Military+government= imperialism. Despite being founded as a republic, we have become all three of these forms of tyranny, with a thin veneer of "democracy" to keep up appearances. Freedom has often been conflated with sheer will-to-power, and by this means, we lose our actual freedom.
Puritans executed Mary Dyer, a Quaker missionary, by hanging after Dyer had been whipped out of Massachusetts Bay Colony and expelled on pain of death if she returned. One misconception is that Quakers and those accused as witches in Salem Village were executed by burning. Most were hanged, Giles Corey died from having stones piled on him because he refused to enter a plea at his arraignment.
Don't forget drowning. Remember that if they could swim, they were witches, and if they drowned, they were innocent, but too bad.
As Giles Corey was being crushed, by adding stones, as they demanded that he confess,he exclaimed "more weight"
He had the stones piled on him in an effort to force him to enter a plea.
Isn't that what I said?
Yes, and it was specifically done to force a plea, as his family would have forfeited their property if he was convicted.
My exposure was via The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, a 1953 play set during the 1692 Salem witch trials, serving as an allegory for the anti-communist hysteria of the McCarthy era.
It follows the story of John Proctor, a farmer whose affair with his servant Abigail Williams leads to her accusing him and his wife of witchcraft, exposing the town's mass hysteria, paranoia, and the destructive power of false accusations and guilt by association. The play explores themes of reputation, integrity, and the conflict between individual conscience and societal pressure, culminating in Proctor's choice to die rather than falsely confess.
Key aspects of the play:
Setting: Puritan Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692.
Plot: A group of teenage girls, led by Abigail Williams, claims to be afflicted by witchcraft, leading to a series of accusations against townspeople, including John Proctor.
Main Characters: John Proctor, Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail Williams, Reverend Hale, and Reverend Parris.
Historical Context: Written during the 1950s Red Scare, it mirrors the political climate where people were accused of communism without evidence, much like the Salem witch trials.
Themes: Mass hysteria, religious extremism, reputation, integrity, and the dangers of political persecution.
Title Meaning: A "crucible" is a severe test or trial, reflecting the ordeal the characters and the community endure.
Sure wish you were my 9th grade English teacher, Daniel. The nuns didn't make this quite so clear.
Why are some of the most evil people in our world the most religious? And please explain why Trump is drawn to these monsters, whom he pulls into the White House, when he's as religious as a box turtle.
I would suggest these “evil” people are infected with the virus of power. They are broken and tragic people who tightly clutch the illusion of their superiority, defending it using the fear of God. In the course of human evolution, prior to scientific enlightenment and the beginning of our understanding of the physical world, humans created stories. These myths were an attempt to impose meaning on life. Today we continue to have a segment of humankind still living in an Iron Age consciousness. Unscrupulous people understand how to manipulate this state of consciousness. Perhaps some are true believers themselves, but many are merely taking advantage to feed their own virulent hallucinations of their own worth. The physical world is truly an interesting place.
Hi Julie. Thank you for a beautiful succinct description of religion. I will keep this. 😊
They just SAY they're religious. Hypocrites.
They have a lot of political power and can be co-opted by the cynical and unscrupulous.
Something to think about. The Pentagon, under Hegseth, is now Crusaders central.
The virus of Dominionism, aka Christian Reconstruction, as manifest in the 7 MountainsMandate, New Apostolic Reformatlon, Opus Dei and others, started in the Air Force Academy .After it opened it's doors. mega churches moved into Colorado Springs. Cadets after the 1st Year are allowed to go to churches off campus, and are they ever eager, to meet young ladies and there they got indoctrinated.
The virus has spread to other academies, VMI and the Citadel.
Gen StanleyMcChrystal who is being lionized by liberals told his troops , when he was commander of troops in Afghanistan, that the fight was a Christian Crusade.
When Trump and Hegseth verbally abused, and denigrated those 800 Generals and Flag officers in that Quantico auditorium and when not one of them got up, when Trump told them"If you don't like what I am saying, you can leave the room"
None of them did, all of them have over 20 years service, all of them are eligible for retirement, but wearing stars and strips on the sleeve, feeds the ego, and a good portion of them are infected with the Dominonist virus as well as being right wingers, who share the same beliefs ad Hegseth.
William,great post and I'm glad you brought up the 7 mountains mandate and NAR,and the fact that none of the 800 Generals and Flag officers responded when Trump made his comment. I attended 2 NO KIngs rallies on Saturday and the turnout was not what most of us you follow Indivisible thought it was going to be. It was about the same as 10/25.
The virus of Dominionism or Christian Reconstruction is something no one talks about and certainly not the mainstream media. I watched part of the Hegseth comments today,he is the biggest threat to the continued existence of any semblence of Democracy.
As I watch this shitshow unravel,I just simply cannot believe this is where this country has gone.If I were wealthly,I would move to Europe tomorrow.
What concerns me, Is that none of the Substack authors I subscribe to include Thom's even touch the threat of the Christian version of the Taliban, and it is even more dangerous and threatening than this racial, economic,political stuff.
I was exposed to this kind of stuff. 1966.
Daniel,I was around in 1966,but I don't remember it ever being anywhere near this bad.
I am a Jew. Chaplain's call, several times: kill a commie for Christ.
A padre actually sought me out in the field to ask me to convert.
Wow,we really do live in a shithole country.
Super !!! Thank you, Mr. Hartmann.
The tarnished, the tainted Major BLASPHEMES !!!
Major Keg's Breath is an Adulterer and a serial Rapist. And, at least once, a Drunken Rapist of another man's wife.
So, how faithfully religious is Major Scumbag, after all? Not at all.
He's more like a perma-shit-stain on the Dept he has grossly misnamed, still known as: The Dept. of Defense.
Major Douche is "Beyond" spiritually sick in the head. Always has been. Always will be.
A Misogynist, a Rapist and a Serial Abuser of women, whom even his mother chided for exploiting and using women.
- - Exodus 20:14 — “You shall not commit adultery.”
- - 10th Commandment -- “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house… wife… or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
VOTE
# Send Too Tall Boron the moron and his idiot brother Eric (42 yo) to Iran.
Crusaders!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8-I2nK0qRQ
Roger McGuinn ....
Thank You. I think.
This is not the first use of religion to whip up the troops. Soldiers on their way to Vietnam had to listen to bible thumpers striding up and down the stage shouting "They are not human these Gooks need to be wiped off the face of the earth" ...and "Kill a Commie for Christ""
Gawddd
Organized religions and organized fascist movements have core issues in common. Both seek, at their core, to exert complete control of the people they zero in on. There are no limits to this roll. Both deal, as history proves, with dissention by eventual torture and finally murder. They both have no concept of honoring personal boundaries, instead demanding absolute control, absolutist submission. Never has either ever reached a point of relent, their fires of tyrany ever enriched by their schadenfreude delights that they are certain beyond doubt of their endeavors, both fed not by rational discernment but by distorted emotional ragings.
Hegseth and his fellow fanatics apparently neither known nor care that the Crusaders were terrible people. When in 1095 the Pope called for the liberation of the Holy Land the first thing the new army did was to murder all the Jews they could find in the Rhine Valley. And when they got to their goal they killed everybody in Jerusalem too. Then a later crusade sacked Christian Constantinople, opening the way for the Muslim Turks to eventually take southeastern Europe. True, the Crusaders established small Christian kingdoms, but by 1302 they had all been conquered. In other words, the Muslims won, and never forgot how they had defeated these invaders. So calling for another crusade is what...asking for more chaos and bloodbaths? Setting oneself up for more defeats?
Thom did a great job of overviewing the US history of the separation of Church and State. I think it is worth remembering also that Christianity first became a State religion because the Apostles convinced Caesar that making it Rome's religion would create a more peace-loving empire. Christianity would require fewer troops to maintain order and profitable trade. Even though the Roman Empire eventually died, the Roman Catholic Church thrived, probably because it was a useful tool to legitimize monarchies and future emperors (like today's American emperor wannabe?).
Hegseth's hate-filled prayers are typical of several intolerant, what I call "Old Testament Christian" evangelicals. Those Christian spinoffs attract cash-paying members by justifying their loveless lives and hatreds. They promise wealth from God in return, or at least a "Get Out of Hell Free" card for their Sunday collection plate devotion.
When one also considers Trump's domestic crackdown on immigrants, Hegseth's "crusade" begins to look more like "The Inquisition." Inquisitions tortured, imprisoned, and executed anybody who did not share the views of perverted Catholics in the 12th Century and later. This included the violent Reconquista ejection of Muslim annexations of the Spanish Empire that ended, ironically, in 1492. The inquisitions and crusades of yore were condemned by the Pope just as the ones in Iran and the USA are today.
Our Oligarch is now worried about his after-life, so now aHegseth senses a way to stay in Trump’s good graces—start spouting a bunch of what he knows is nonsense and convince the megalomaniac that what he does is ordained by God. No brainer for that bunch. It’s also well known that if troops are pumped up with emotional BS they’re more likely to follow orders and risk their life for questionable causes.
At breakfast with our adult son this morning, the topic of Mark Twain's "War Prayer" came up. Our son summarized the piece. It is as appropriate now as ever. If you are interested, here is a link: https://americanliterature.com/author/mark-twain/short-story/the-war-prayer It was never published during his lifetime, but it surely gives one pause to celebrate any victory won at a terrible cost to the other side.
Thank You for the "War Prayer" Juiie. Sadly, very appropriate now. Shared.
How far back in time will they take us.....
Perhaps many thought this Administration of predators would take us back to the 1950's where atheist or agnostic was a dirty word. It seems we are headed much farther back than that.
Picture a cave, a man with a club in one hand, and dragging a woman by the hair with the other. That's them. That's TRump.
Thinking Americans have resolved not to go there. It looks like we are going to have to "drag them" into the 21st Century. Resist. Recruit. Teach. Thanks Thom and Company for doing exactly that. See you in the streets.
Onward Christan Soldiers, marching off to war. I believe I recall having an elementary school teacher leading my class in singing that song. Many of us, including apparently Hegseth have been immersed in a vision of Christianity which is a holy lifelong war against anyone who does not recognize that as the one and only religion and as the official representation of God's will as ostensibly spelled out in the Bible. Hegseth has a lot of sins to atone for, many things to be ashamed of, and a great deal to feel guilty about, of course.
What I have not heard said often or out loud is that what we are witnessing is superstition. Regardless of the belief system or the particulars or proselytizers, religion which goes beyond a simple acknowledgement of our spiritual human characteristics and a desire for a supernatural experience, is superstitious and requires a suspension of disbelief, blind faith, and a degree of irrational thinking which flies in the face of science and logic.
Not to change the subject, but what can be done to discredit Hegseth's former employer, Fox "News"? Where is Michael Moore when we need him? We need someone to take one week or one month of the Fox Nusiance network lies, deceptions, misrepresentations, malice, and defamation and expose their evil and poison with a series of documentaries or examinations which tear apart exactly how they accomplish their anti-democratic an Un-American deeds. Every segment should be dissected, analyzed, and illuminated to show the unethical and malicious techniques they employ routinely, 24/7. The Murdochs and their over-paid shysters should be exposed as the mercenary and vicious exploiters that they are.
We, liberals, progressives, Democrats, and loyal, patriotic, secular Americans are being defamed hourly by those sanctimonious creeps. We are being portrayed as communists, socialists, fascists, pedophiles, and at best fools who are victims of our own bad natures. Our values, history, and traditions are being trashed on live TV to make those bastards unbelievably wealthy while they turn our families, friends, and neighbors against us. A war is being fought in our name with our tax dollars, brought on by the propaganda and xenophobia promoted by advertisers and lying anchorpersons pretending to be journalists.
Yesterday, a close family member who has had frequent conversations with Inanity Hannity sincerely texted to ask me if I truly want this to be a communist country! He sent a clip of some kid who apparently claims to be a communist who had attended a No Kings rally and was interviewed by a supposed reporter. He has no clue of what a communist is or believes. But the constant deluge of attacks and garbage spread by Fox has persuaded him that we who criticize or condemn Trump and his fascism are bad people and communists. There must be a parallel movement against Fox, and we all need to be screaming bloody murder about the brainwashing that is their specialty. Someone, find Michael Moore, please.
Michael Moore is in New York City now, I believe. He's here in Northern Michigan in the summer. Worked with him on our (his) film festival years ago. Ya, we need him to take on Faux News.
Louise created a toe tapper! Excellent! IMHO Secular is the way forward! This Daily Take is wonderful and the correct information to the people Thom Hartmann, Thank you!