Library Research Notes #36

How we move forward

Jun 27, 2022

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Hello. No fun intro today. As you can probably imagine, I am pissed, as we all should be. The rage I feel certainly isn’t new, but it is reinvigorated after the actual overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme court (SCOTUS) on Friday. Back in May, I wrote about this eventuality when a draft of the opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization was leaked. I am currently working on another piece, on the hippiegrrl site, for post-Roe resources. The fact that I have to even type that out is astounding. If you are one of the people that has been following my writing for a while, you know that I have been talking about the rights of people with uteruses for over 20 years and fighting for those rights even longer.

My first piece was on backwash.com in 2003, when we were at the 30-year mark for Roe v. Wade and I have written on the topic several times since. I say this merely to demonstrate that this shit we are dealing with now, isn’t new. White supremacy isn’t new, nor is misogyny or colonization or bigotry or religious zealotry. These are the tenets that Christian lobbyists have built their current network upon. And although we would like to believe that white Christian nationalism, and its sibling Fascism, are new to the United States, they can be traced back many centuries.

Throughout the history of the United States, we can see instances of straight white dudes using the levers of governmental power to maintain their hold on society. To continue minority rule. Most of us see the United States as a pluralistic country where everyone is welcome, but the straight white dudes who have been holding all the cards since the founding do not see it that way.

If what I said above seems unpatriotic or outlandish, consider these examples:

Enslavement in the United States - 1619 - 1865

The Indian Removal Act - 1830

The Chinese Exclusion Act - 1882

Overturning the Civil Rights Act of 1875 - 1883

Plessy v. Ferguson - 1896

Internment of Japanese Americans - 1942

Shelby County v. Holder - 2013

Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization - 2022

Above is a mere sampling of the ways that straight white dudes have used the laws of the land to inflict pain and suffering on groups of people in the name of ‘liberty and justice’. In tandem with these and other laws, there is also on-the-ground terror that occurs each day, inflicted by straight white dudes with less power, aspiring to be heroes and do the bidding of the elites. So many horrible things have happened in the name of white Christian nationalism in the United States that it is difficult to keep track. Although painful, it is important to be informed about the history of this nation.

The Tulsa Massacre, the Rosewood massacre, the bombing of the 16th street Baptist church, the Oklahoma City bombing, the Pulse nightclub shooting, and the massacre in Buffalo were all motivated by white supremacy and, more specifically, white Christian nationalism. Again, these are only a few of the many atrocities that have occurred throughout the history of the United States to try to stop the striving for a better nation.

Becoming a better nation isn’t an easy process. We need to tear down the structures of white supremacy that undergird the nation and rebuild, while also maintaining the democracy that sits precariously atop those structures. We have to give each other space and allow that even if we don’t agree with the way someone else lives their life, as long as they are not doing irreparable damage to others, they should be allowed to do as they please. We have to live together in peace and allow each other the freedom to be who we are as individuals, but not inflict our own beliefs on one another. If someone wants to pray in the public square, that is their right in America, but they cannot require everyone else who walks through that public square to say those same prayers. This is true freedom. We keep moving towards it. Two steps forward, one step back.

Straight white dudes want to be the only ones with power in the United States, and they will do anything to maintain that power. The rest of us (which is most of us) should be so enraged that we take to the streets. But marching isn’t enough. The real power is at the ballot box. I know that might be hard to hear, in the face of such sorrow, but truly, until we elect more Democrats into local and state offices and gather a larger majority in the Senate and the House, we will never secure the rights of all, into the future. On the 8th of November 2022 (click here for a countdown), we will once again decide our fates through an act of civic duty. Please show up and vote for the candidates that actually care about you.

Having said that, I would like to focus the newsletter today on the main issue we are facing in the United States. This central idea is the puzzle piece that allows one to see the full picture. As I mentioned above, white Christian nationalism has been able to infiltrate our government at many levels and the infiltrators have been setting up the conditions for a takeover since the 1950s. 1953, to be exact. The main goal, although never uttered out loud, is to make the United States a white Christian nation. So, the central idea that I posit as the number one goal of the right-wing is the dismantling of the separation between church and state.

Isn’t that in the First Amendment?

Why yes, it certainly is. The first amendment, which was passed on 25 September 1789 as part of what we refer to as the Bill of Rights (the first 10 amendments) states:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” (archives.gov)

That first part of the sentence says it all. From this springs the separation between public and private life. The ability to attend a church, or no church, without the intervention of the state. The ability to freely exercise one’s own religion without persecution. Nowhere does it say that one can inflict one’s religion on another citizen, but it does give each individual citizen the right to exercise a religion of their choice. Choice. But white Christian nationalists want to take away that choice. They want to make this a nation where we are governed by their religious doctrine. And they have succeeded in taking over the highest court in the land by installing 6 conservative Christian judges who are making decisions for the rest of us, regardless of whether we believe what they believe or not. That is the dismantling of church and state in full public view.

Okay, but why did this begin in 1953?

You might think that this trend of chipping away at the First Amendment began right after the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. I mean, that is precisely how the straight white dudes have sold it to their constituents. They used abortion as a wedge to invigorate the conservative base. But the lobbying started long before that.

Over the past few months, I have been immersing myself in media that deals with the topic of evangelicals taking over the U.S. government. I listen to several podcasts, watch YouTube videos, and read newsletters relating to the topic, all of which I will link below. In the last month, I have also watched three Netflix docuseries on the matter. The docuseries that struck me as the most relevant was The Family because it confirmed my suspicions on the true nature of what conservatives hope to acheive in the United States.

The series details The Fellowship (aka The Family), an organization that was founded in the United States in 1935, by Abraham Vereide, with the sole purpose of amassing power for rich, white, elites. They believe in Dominionist Christianity which is less about the kind, peace-loving version of Jesus that one might get from reading the “red text” in the bible and more about the strong-arm, vengeful version of Jesus. They believe that g-d favours the strong, not the weak. This lets them off the hook from actually having to work toward social justice or the greater good in any way. Their only call is to amass power on earth and then the kingdom of g-d will be theirs.

In 1953, members of the fellowship, using Reverand Billy Graham as the messenger, convinced then President, Dwight Eisenhower, to start a new tradition. This tradition would persist every year, blurring the lines between church and state. This tradition is, of course, the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, which was renamed the National Prayer Breakfast in 1970. During the breakfast, which consists more of meeting than eating, powerful elites in Washington DC interact with attendees from across the country and world. Although hosted by the United States Congress, the breakfast is organized by The Fellowship Foundation, blurring the lines between this Christian organization and the State.

What does this have to do with the First Amendment?

Great question! Due to the white Christian nationalist belief in winning souls for the lord, they will do whatever it takes to bring more members into the flock. In order to amass power, they have been chipping away at the laws and statutes that uphold freedom of religion in American society, with what I believe is the ultimate goal of removing all restrictions enforced by the separation of church and state. To put it more plainly, they want the United States to be a solely Christian nation and they will do everything they can to make it so. If this means amending the first amendment, I believe they would do so to reach that goal. This move would be quite in line with evangelical doctrine. Witnessing to others about Jesus is of the utmost importance to the religion. I would argue that it sustains the church through donations (money money money), but they claim that the souls are what is really important. Winning souls for the lord at any cost.

This is all fine and good when it stays in the church, but when it seeps into the government of a ‘free’ nation, we have some serious problems.

Why should I believe this theory?

Other than the laws that have been put in place or overturned, and the terror reaped on communities of color and lgbtq+ folks, we can see how systemic discrimination in our society has been maintained in order to keep straight white dudes in power. Redlining, segregation, and gerrymandering, along with maintaining a low minimum wage, union-busting, and removing the ability to seek asylum in the US work together to maintain the system. These, again, are just a few examples, but there are many more ways in which the system of white supremacy underlies the discrimination that still occurs today, in service of straight white dude’s comfort, security, and control.

What can we do?

1 - VOTE - As I have mentioned a number of times but truly cannot stress enough, we all need to vote. There is power in the majority, but only if we make our voices heard. And if you have the time, pick a candidate and volunteer. Here in Tennesse, we have a democrat running for Governor this year and I am excited to do some phone or text canvassing for him - let’s go, JB Smiley Jr.!

2 - Share well-vetted educational resources - There are so many ways in which our democracy is under attack and one of the main avenues is mis and disinformation. The push to ban books and remove the true history of the United States from curriculums compounds the need for good resources online. If you want a great resource on the First Amendment, to share with family/friends/acquaintances, here is a starting point: The Free Speech Center - Resources for teaching.

3 - Locate an affirming church - There are Christian churches in the United States who don’t believe in dominionism and who do the true work of Jesus. In an opinion piece for Baptist News Global, in June of 2018, Corey Fields states,

“In Jesus’ long list of woes against the Pharisees and teachers of the law (Matthew 23:13-36), he rebukes them for neglecting “the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy and faithfulness” (v.23). There it is; first in a list of the top 3. Jesus was essentially quoting Micah 6:8 in which the prophet says that what the Lord requires of us is to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.””

Although many white evangelical churches do not affirm the above, it is the call of many others. If you are looking to attend a church, ask the pastor or congregants what their stance is on social justice before attending service. If they say something like the below statement from this same piece, respond with a polite “thank you” and then seek out a church that affirms ALL people, not just the elites.

“Evangelicals who rail against the idea of justice do not deny that the Bible commands Christians to care for the poor and needy, but they seek to make a distinction, saying that individuals and churches are supposed to help the poor and needy, but not try to do so through political processes nor demand that the government do so. This ignores the context of these Bible passages and the problems they mention. How can injustices caused (and maintained) by political forces be remedied by individuals and churches?”

4 - Donate - If you have the means, please donate to causes that work toward social, economic, and reproductive justice, as well as those who are looking to reverse the climate change crisis, dismantle the current criminal justice and policing system in the United States and rebuild it in a more equitable way, provide mutual aid, work for reparations for descendants of enslaved people, fight for the rights of indigenous people, and/or support the lgbtq+ community.

5 - Stay hopeful - I know that in these times it can be very difficult to move forward with any semblance of positivity, but if we lose hope then we let the people who want to take our joy away, win. We need to practice self-care and self-love and be sure we are drinking water and resting. But we also need to find ways to keep the hope alive in the face of all that is happening. We need to support one another through these times and continue to fight alongside each other for a better tomorrow. It is possible. It has to be.

Thank you for reading and for your time today. I know that it has been difficult in these last few years to give attention to any one resource and I truly value your readership. If you have any questions about this piece or want to lend some data to the next one, please comment!