Puritanical Dogma and the Tea Party

It is intriguing that the far right Tea Partiers believe that the idea of Puritanism is based on freedom and tolerance. They have decided again to rewrite history for their own prurient reasons, which can only be guessed, but self-interest, power and control are at the top of the list.

For the Tea Party, puritanism equals freedom and tolerance unless of course you don’t believe the way these modern day Puritans believe. In fact, in many ways, the father of the entire movement was Oliver Cromwell who they seem to model themselves after. His belief in freedom and tolerance was decided different then what most Americans today would view as such.

It is time to give Steve Deace and the Tea Partiers a history lesson, because they seem to have forgotten the ideas that drove puritanism to our shores. Mr. Cromwell set the tone for puritanism in that he went to Ireland to decimate the Catholics. By the time he was done in Ireland, Cromwell had made sure that only 10% of the land was owned by Catholics who made up 80% of the population. There was not much tolerance on his mind as he annihilated the Irish Catholics as the 1 percent today tries to crush the middle class.

Moreover, in 1647, he banned Christmas and other religious holidays, declaring them to be pagan festivals as well as theater. In this way, he fits right into the wheelhouse of the religious right and their Tea Party apologists who want to ban everything from abortions to the Dream Act because these actions play into their own self-interest and   from their perspective serves to highlight how they are victims in America today.

Furthermore, immigration reform and the thought that other immigrants want to come to America because of the safety and opportunities that present themselves in our society and cannot be found in their countries of origin is an abomination. While many of these people are forced flee their own countries due to economic and social ills, the Tea Parties response is, “TOO BAD”. From their perspective, immigrants in the past have never fled to our shores (can you say Ireland?). None of these right-winger families came to America illegally seeking their fortune or safety from oppressive regimes. The irony of this situation completely escapes these modern day Puritans.

From the Tea Party’s perspective, we need to put up a no trespassing sign and a lock on the gate of our southern border. Too bad there is no way to do this or the Tea Party Republicans would have a solution to the border issues. More to the point, the most important parts of Puritanism were piety, obeying religious rules as the Puritans determined. What exactly does that mean? Love thy neighbor as you would thyself unless they speak a different language, have a different skin color or a different idea as to how to solve America’s problems.

Modern Puritanical ideology is not about freedom and tolerance. It is about power and control and how to dominate social mores. They like to couch their ideas in terms of doing God’s will. I am fully aware that early Puritan ministers like Jonathon Edwards preached that God is angry with man because of our sinful ways. I wonder if hating undocumented workers and their children is sinful? These religious zealots want the rest of society to believe that they know what must be done to curry God’s favor and through these actions America will thrive.

To help of the rest of society to understand their positions, these modern day Puritans point fingers at what they see as society’s ills. Bobby Jindal’s speech at the Faith and Freedom rally is a perfect example of finger pointing.  He “…accused President Barack Obama and other Democrats of waging wars against religious liberty and education…” Where was his proof? Just saying these words does not make them true or accurate. Where was his solution? He had none. He wanted to stir up the pot of dissatisfaction because it serves his purpose of aligning with his base. There is no leadership present in those words, only self-interest.

He is the same governor of Louisiana that refused federal dollars to expand Medicaid insurance to the poorest Louisianans. Where in the New Testament does Jesus refuse to help the poor and the sick and the downtrodden? I must have missed that idea in my religious upbringing. I hope my Puritan freedom loving believers can show me where this occurred.

Be aware, the Puritan idea of freedom is on the march again, and it is anything but freedom. It is a dogma that allows no dissension (just ask the women put to death as witches in Salem, Massachusetts). It is a doctrine that dictates absolute truths that only they through their worship of God know to be true. Moreover, it reinforces the idea of intolerance for anyone or anything that contradicts their belief system.