Comments that Rep. Todd Akin, Republican of Missouri, made in a recent radio interview are beginning to catch fire in the media and threaten to "go viral." In response to a question about NBC's leaving "under God" out of the pledge of allegiance recently, Akin observed that, "Well, I think NBC has a long record of being very liberal and at the heart of liberalism really is a hatred for God and a belief that government should replace God. And so they’ve had a long history of not being at all favorable toward many of the things that have been such a blessing to our country." Akin is currently seeking the Republican nomination for the Senate seat now held by Sen. Claire McCaskill (D - MO).Missouri Democrats have grabbed onto Todd's comment hoping to use it to their political advantage. Meanwhile, progressive Christian and Jewish leaders are defending their faith in the face of what they take to be Todd's ignorance and prejudice. While the reactions of both Democrats and progressive religious folks are understandable, there is something painfully sad about the whole incident.
Rep. Akin's comments and his later reaffirmation of them are but a further revelation of the fearful anger that is so prevalent in our national life today. We see it in the tea party movement. We see it in the debates over abortion, gay rights, and even raising the ceiling on the national debt. An important element of our population is frightened and angry. People who think differently are no longer neighbors but enemies of the nation—and of God. And while the fear and anger seems to be especially strong on the right wing of our politics, the left wing reacts in kind, fans it, and seeks to use it to political advantage where it can. Prejudice breeds fear, fear breeds anger, anger breeds but deeper prejudice, and the whole vicious cycle fractures our political system—renders it ineffectual.
And in it all, the actual teachings of Jesus are lost to all of us including those who sincerely intend to defend those teachings. When Rep. Akin speaks about liberals, we do not hear in his voice the love for neighbor that Christ taught. It is a simple truth, we defend Christ only when we speak with kindness, love, and a willingness to forgive and be reconciled. These are the fundamental values of the New Testament. What is truly sad is that Rep. Akin is a seminary graduate—Presbyterian no less—and knows all of this. Somewhere along the line, however, his politics seems to have trumped his faith, at least in his rhetoric. And one can only wonder how Rep. Todd thinks he is qualified to represent the liberal residents of Missouri in the Senate, if elected to that high office. That, after all, is what he must do if elected—represent all of his constituents liberal as well as conservative. How can he possibly represent the hundreds of thousands of Missourians that he believes are God-haters? How can he practice the art of compromise in the Senate if he is convinced that liberal Democrats from places like New York are enemies of his faith and his nation? These are sad times.
Sources for this posting:
- Wikipedia, "Todd Akin"
- The State Column, "Rep. Todd Akin: Liberals have “hatred for God”
- PoliticMo, "Akin: Liberalism centered on “hatred for God"
- PoliticMo, "Akin defends comments saying “liberalism” hates God"
