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In dog We Trust

© Regina Sewell

I once dated a guy who found God on an acid trip. He was a prep chef (which meant that he chopped things up with very sharp knives) and had taken acid with some of the guys he worked with. Somewhere in the midst of chopping a head of lettuce, he realized that God was dog spelled backwards*. After this experience, he quit doing drugs and began to study to become a priest**. G.W. Bush (the current U.S. president***) also seems to have found God on drugs, either while he was soaring on a cocaine high or perhaps suffering the consequences of a cocaine low. The similarities stop here.

In contrast to my ex who was content to let those seeking religion come to him, G.W. seems hellbent to impose his religious views on the nation. Since he has been president, he has put religion, particularly conservative fundamentalist Christianity, in the spotlight****. In the process, he has set the stage for the people who never bothered to study history and therefore don't understand that our country was founded by deists who mandated the separation of church and state in the constitution. For example, word on the street is that organized prayer is a commonplace "ritual" in many of our public schools, even though for decades the United States Supreme Court has held that such events are a violation of the constitution. The men most associated with writing the constitution did not identify themselves as Christians and would probably call for a new revolution if they knew what G.W. was up to.

But G.W. hasn't just been giving lip service to his religious conservative agenda. He is attempting blur the distinction between church and state and, as a consequence, to dismantle our public schools and our social services. He plans to funnel our tax dollars to private schools (most of which are affiliated with churches) through his school voucher program and to religious organizations for social service purposes. I recognize that the Senate version of this bill is much more palatable, but it's still frightening.

The real kicker is that many religious organizations have adamantly clung to their right to discriminate as private organizations and do not seem keen to let go of this right in exchange for federal dollars. G.W., it has been reported in the press, struck a deal with the Salvation Army, promising them that they can continue to discriminate if they get federal funds. This means that my tax dollars would not only be used in a way that the founding fathers would have defined as unconstitutional, but also in a way that will promote the very discrimination, homophobia and violence that has scarred and/or killed many gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people.

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