Greatest Hits

Crunchy Con Rod Dreher invokes Pat Buchanan on walking the American tightrope, then proceeds to this:

I was thinking the other day when I read that Nidal Hasan had told colleagues that he was "Muslim first, American second," that Hasan had that exactly right. If any Jew or Christian would put his national identity over his religious identity, he is an idolater and should repent. I pray that I will in all times and at every opportunity choose fidelity to God over fidelity to nation. The thing is, as a Christian, one has pretty much never had to make that choice. I do not worry, and indeed honor, the Muslim soldier who places God above country -- but only as long as there is no serious conflict between serving both. If he believes that serving God precludes him from serving his country in the military, that is a very, very big problem.

If we ever get to the place where serious Christians have to choose between serving God and serving the nation -- as German Christians had to choose in the Nazi years -- America is over ... unless, of course, the church becomes co-opted by nationalism, as the Nazis managed to do in their day. I don't think it would be all that difficult to do today, I'm sorry to say. But give it time. The country may well be changing in ways that will make it harder and harder for even halfway serious Christians to identify with the regime. What then for Christians in America? And: is this "diversity is our strength" mantra really a tacit admission that diversity -- insofar as it implies that what divides us should be more important than what unites us -- is feared as our weakness?

I know, these are separate questions. Mostly.

Well then, we'll consider just one:

The Christian Embassy (that "quasi-federal entity") has removed the "improperly taped" video from their website, but it is available at the MRFF site (TRT: 11:54). Note especially one Jack Catton, Major General, USAF, & "director on the joint staff," who states (@ 4:16 in): "I'm an old-fashioned American, and my first priority is my faith in God, then my family, then my country." Excuse me, General, did you not you swear some sort of oath to protect & preserve the Constitution? Do we want a guy w/ these priorities anywhere near a nuclear warhead? If he thinks his "god" has told him to nuke Mecca, is he going to do that, hide his family somewhere in Idaho, & then worry about what may happen to the U. S.? Or is it just nuke 'em all & let "god" sort 'em out after the rapture?

Weinstein – an intense, voluble attorney who prizes blunt, no-holds-barred language – has struck more than one nerve with his bird-dogging. He says numerous threats have been made on his life. Last week, the front window of his house was shot out for the second time. After the lawsuit was filed, talk of "fragging" (killing) Specialist Hall surfaced on some military blogs. The Army is investigating.

[...]

Several conservative Christian ministries publicly proclaim an evangelistic aim "to transform the nations of the world through the militaries of the world," and they are active at US military installations in many countries. (See: www.militaryministry.org or militarymissionsnetwork.org.) 

Again we must ask, which is more dangerous to the American Way of Life™? Bearded, turbaned fundamentalist Islamic psychopaths hiding in a cave on the other side of the world, who think they can establish a caliphate by random acts of violence & destruction that are as likely as a bolt of lightning to hurt American citizens? Or slick-ass, media-savvy Christian fundamentalist psychopaths in suits & ties who are already too influential in our society, & hope to gain control of the world by controlling its militaries, w/ the eventual intention of destroying said world so their magical sky-fairy god can lead all of the "good" people to heaven? Which of these two groups are truly dangerous to us?

The above from a somewhat longer rant we typed a bit over two years ago. We didn't feel it necessary at the time to add that crazy people (whatever their delusions, religious or political) are dangerous, especially if they can get their idle hands on weapons, but hardly a danger to the continued existence of the nation. Now we'll add it.