What We're Up Against: The Militant Evangelical Movement



The Lack of a 'Vision Thing'

AlterNet.org



Liberals and progressives don't know what they're up against with the militant evangelical movement



. . .
The militancy and timing of the evangelical message has spilled into
America's military conflicts. The perpetual wars that began with
operation “Infinite Justice” (later changed to “Operation Enduring
Freedom”) fit perfectly with the millennial pursuit of “everlasting
life” that informs sermons, pamphlets, and religious media. The daily
newscasts about Iraq and the Middle East have, for millions of
God-fearing Americans, become visual reminders of their role as a
voting bloc in the war of the apocalypse. They believe themselves to be
supporters of providentially sanctioned war – and warrior presidents.



To their
– and progressives' – detriment, and despite good intentions, neither
media genius Michael Moore nor the flaccid fighters of the Democratic
Party have articulated a competitive historically-rooted vision of the
future that can negate this religious militancy. The urgency of the
evangelist message behind and beyond the pulpit is anchored by a
scorched earth approach to changing the world. It has no equivalent or
competing force among those opposing the Bush agenda. At a time when
global and local politics are again being defined by powerful
extremists of various faiths – including a fervent Christianity – bent
on rapturous redemption through war, the lack of a long-term vision
uniting those in opposition to the evangelical Bush supporters leaves
them, and the country, extremely vulnerable.



A
powerful long-term unifying alternative vision or, God forbid, an
ideology, which influences and interprets struggles of daily life as
much as it aligns electorates in the short-term and policy in the long
term, is absent….



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