SIGNIFICANCE OF INCLUDING VS EXCLUDING IN GOVERENMENT

This morning on #+Steve Kornacki’s show UP on #MSNBC, one of the guests was a consultant on the #Middle East. He was obviously from the region. He made the remark that he though the solution to the civil unrest and political problems in Iraq was to “include” Sunni, Shia, and Kurds in the government. This statement brought to mind the thought that in the context of religion in politics the words ‘include’ are not as definitive as they might be. ‘Include’ and ‘exclude’ are words that ordinarily do not leave open any question about what they mean.

The Bush government created the problem in Iraq by misunderstanding the motives of a man named Maliki, who wanted to be president. At the time, by history and by action, everyone was aware he was a strong supporter of the Shia Islamist Dawa (Call) party. However, he campaigned for the 2010 election as a religious moderate meaning “his” government would “include” all sects. Once elected, #Maliki took every step he could to give “Shia” power in domestic government, international governance, and in the courts. The result was the Iraq we see today: a bloody mess with Kurds, Sunni, and Shia fighting; all sects fighting each other, which allows the most radical members of each sect to dominate the entire sect. ISIS or ISIL is a product of this radicalization.

The world looks at the success of the United States government with either extreme envy or extreme hate. Perhaps the hate is generated out of envy for the success of a non-caliphate government. For people who believe this way, God is the undisputed leader and man is not supposed to be able to overturn his leadership by campaigning and voting.  The magic of our country is so simple that it is often over looked: “all men are created equal”. There is no reason to “exclude” a person because of his or her status or beliefs. Rich, poor, Protestant, Muslim, rich or poor, all are included. Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist, Sunni, or Shia is “included”. As a young person in the early years in school, I remember being confused when my teacher told the class that if the Constitution went into detail, it would have filled libraries and we would have to amend it almost daily. I may have been impressed but I really did not understand what she was saying. How could our “founding fathers” have figured out how to write the document only seven articles long to include all religions in government?  In keeping with the spirit of the document, they didn’t; it was the first amendment that did it. “Congress hall make no laws respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise of thereof; . . .”  

In other words, or more accurately, in 17 words our founding fathers found the answer to the problem that had been creating trouble for over 2,000 years and continues to do so. The commentator this morning on the Steve Kornacki show said we must “include” all religions in Iraq government if we want peace. No! No! No! If we are to learn anything from our successes as a country, it is that governments must “exclude” all religion. That is what those 17 words tell us; separate of church and state.

The biggest surprise is how many people do not seem to understand this simple truth even in our own country. This is an introductory list of some names you might recognize who do not want to understand for their own nefarious purposes; the list was complied by #+Catherine Crier in her book, Contempt: How the right is wronging American justice. (2005). My purpose here is different from hers, but the list is accurate except for some who have died or have been convicted of crimes.

                                    #Jay Sekulow                            #James Dobson

#Tom Delay                              #Richard Land

#Richard Mellon Scaife           #Tim Goelein

#C. Boyden Gray                      #Tom Lehaye

#Ed Meese                               #Michael Harris

#Ted Haggard                          #Richard Epstein

#Tony Perkins                          #Leonard Leo

#Roy Moore                              #Michael Gerson

#Bill Frist                                 #David Barton

#Grover Norquist                     #Dr. D. James Kennedy

#Pat Robertson                         #Phyllis Schlafly

#Orin Hatch                              #Jerry Falwell

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