That Old Time Religion

One thing that annoys me is that I don't believe most powerful "religious" people are, actually, "religious" in any way resembling the common usage of that term. I'm not saying they "misread the Bible" or have bad theology, or whatever, I just mean they aren't really believers except that it's yet another system to enforce hierarchies that position them in their rightful place at the top. I suppose that makes them believers in something, but not anything resembling "the divine" except that which they see in the mirror. I don't mean God Is In Me, I mean God Is Me.

Clarence Thomas doesn’t share in that consensus because he doesn’t share the same priorities. He is not interested in protecting against the establishment of state religion because he is not interested in a pluralistic society. He is interested in building a regime of political, cultural, and social domination. That’s why he has argued for the near-total erasure of student speech rights, the dismantling of affirmative action, and the aggressive curtailment of civil liberties during wartime. He would like to see the social hierarchies he envisions in his mind reflected back at him in our government. In this case, that means state governments that openly embrace and promote religious values that map closely onto his own.

A harder fantasy to maintain as you age.