“This is the day we can start the hearts of Americans again, and it has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with God,” Glenn Beck told the crowd at the Restoring Honor rally in Washington D.C. on August 28. ”America today begins to turn back to God. For too long, this country has wandered in darkness."
If Mr. Beck wants to bring his God into a powerful position of bucking the trends of America, Sunday was probably none too early to start. In reality, Mr. Beck’s God probably should have been picking up steam a long time ago.
It’s no wonder Mr. Beck’s God is a little behind. Mr. Beck might tell his followers that they are man made in the image of God, but actually Mr. Beck’s God is made in the image of a man on top of a hierarchy – one that doles out judgments about rank and privilege based on religious affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or whatever other criteria fits the conservative hierarchical agenda of the day.
Mr. Beck’s God is claimed to be the one and only God, and hence, God is on Mr. Beck’s side. We've had centuries of other hierarchy-conservators ("Hi-Cons") who have also claimed to be acting in the image of their one and only deity. Time after time, the deity du jour perfectly matches the conservative hierarchical agenda du jour – examples being segregation, indigenous genocide, subjugation of women, military aggression, or condemnation of same-sex partnerships.
In moving forward toward the U.S. founder's dream, we have continued to watch entrenched hierarchies crumble. Mr. Beck’s God is swimming upstream and may never be able to ever stem the tide.
While the followers of Mr. Beck's God have “wandered in darkness,” bounties for dead bodies or body parts of American Indians are no longer offered. Legalized slavery has been abolished. The age of legal consent for sexual relations was raised from seven years old. People of color can take an oath and testify in court. American Indian children are not forcibly sent hundreds of miles away from their families to white-run boarding schools. Men of color and women have the legal right to vote. Same-sex couples receive healthcare benefits in many workplaces.
Over the past fifty years, the civil rights movement, peace demonstrations, the women’s movement, farm workers’ boycotts, labor unions, and support for a healthy environment and family planning have made significant impacts on the United States. National organizations such as those promoting the rights of people with disabilities, American Indians, non-heterosexuals, and animals are making important inroads toward establishing equality and fairness.
In our wonderful land of the United States, Liberty and Justice for All is moving along at such a pace that Mr. Beck’s God will likely never be able to catch up.
