Dave Zweifel: Religious zealots surge in our politics
By Dave Zweifel, Oct. 20, 2006 The late Miles McMillin, the man who followed founder William T. Evjue as editor and publisher of this newspaper, would often warn us back in the '60s and '70s that the biggest danger to America's system of government wasn't communism, but our country's own religious fanatics.[/p]In a day when hard-liners were running the Soviet Union, I don't think many of us appreciated what McMillin was trying to tell us. There were always religious zealots among us, after all, but not one of them appeared to have the power to somehow control our governments.[/p]Some 30 or so years later, perhaps we ought to open our eyes because what this crusty old editor warned us youngsters about is on the verge of coming true.[/p]While the Soviet Union has dissolved before our eyes, the religious right has succeeded in grabbing control of much of America's political agenda. It has a sympathetic ear in the White House - the Jerry Falwells and Pat Robertsons of the world take credit for electing the president - and has elected enough of its own to get its way in many state legislatures.[/p] [table style="margin: 0pt 10px 0pt 0pt;" align="left" bgcolor="#ebebec" cellpadding="0" width="200"] [tbody][tr] [td align="center" valign="top"][a href="vny!://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/column/index.php?ntid=103985&ntpid=0#" onclick="OpenPopup('vny!://www.madison.com/tct/photo.php?image=/images/articles/tct/2006/10/20/34360.jpg',389, 415);"][img class="Caphomeimg2" alt="Dave Zweifel: Religious zealots surge in our politics" src="vny!://www.madison.com/images/articles/tct/2006/10/20/34360_thumb.jpg" border="0" height="213" width="200"][/a][/td] [/tr][tr] [td align="left" valign="top"] <="greybox"> <="captimesPhotoLinks">Photo by David Sandell/The Capital Times [div class="photostory"]Julaine Appling[/div] [/td][/tr][/tbody][/table] The so-called anti-gay marriage amendment that is on the Nov. 7 ballot here in Wisconsin is an example. It has nothing to do with traditional legislating, but everything to do with imposing religious beliefs on all the citizens of the state.[/p]Julaine Appling, the flame-throwing director of the so-called Family Research Institute of Wisconsin, tipped her hand the other night at an Edgewood High School debate over the marriage amendment, which would for the first time legitimize discrimination in our state constitution.[/p][p style="font-weight: bold;"]She proclaimed that the separation of church and state, the historic concept embodied in the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution, is a myth. She told our reporter, Judith Davidoff, that the separation notion is "just a fabrication" and that the church is the "moral gatekeeper" in every society - the writings of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison apparently notwithstanding.[/p]It's zealots like Appling who seek control of America's political process in an effort to impose their own Christian beliefs on all citizens. Lost in all of this is that our forefathers fled to this country for precisely that reason - to escape their governments' intolerance of any religious beliefs but their own. What's the difference, pray tell, between these doctrinaire Christians controlling governmental decisions here and the radical Islamists' hold over so many Middle Eastern countries?[/p]We all should be able to pray and believe what we want. But we shouldn't allow one belief to subvert what America is and always has been about.[/p][em]Dave Zweifel is the editor of The Capital Times. E-mail: [/em]
