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Saturday, June 27, 2015

The Disunited States of America

American Storm in a Tea cup? Let's hope so.

North America isn't very much at one with itself nowadays. Some right wingers still seem to be fighting a version of the anti-taxation war of independence.  I'm not just thinking of the Tea Party, but also the Sovereign Citizen movement and "Operation American Spring": See below:


This is not to say that I would have supported the British Crown's war against the American settlers; My own church (Norwich Central Baptist Church) supported the American revolutionarys in those days. That's no surprise because the Norwich Baptists of the day had also had enough of oppressive government interference.  (See here). But in spite of  the fact that the American revolution had radical Whig roots, today, ironically, that war has come to symbolize gun toting right wing America! The Whig aversion to the centralised power of an absolute monarchy  has morphed into something weird in America!

And now we find the North-South fault line also starting show up: Here's someone taking  down to the old Confederate flag after the recent Carolina massacre of black-church members in a racially motivated attack.

According to the BBC article where I found this picture There has been a social media campaign to remove the flag. But I think these southern guys below want it put back up:

The BBC caption on this picture is: There have been rallies to support the use of the flag.  

Right-wing extremists have an unfortunate tendency to send up the USA. Obama, however, rises above the mean minded right-wingers, fundamentalists and cranky conspiracy theorists with statesman like grace:  All I can say is thank God for a dignified Christian president.  Let's also thank God for the black church who faced a massacre of innocents: Their response to barbarianism was a pinnacle of civilisation; if only there was more of it the world.




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