League of Civil Rights Voters

This debate going on about the women’s health issue is absolutely sickening. Conservatives are talking about how denying a woman’s right to certain aspects of health insurance is a way for Christian businesses to assert their ‘religious freedom.’ They’ve been trying to convince everybody that it has nothing to do with women’s reproductive rights. Even women are getting on this bandwagon. It really troubles me.

The demonization of women’s health and reproductive rights is running at full steam, with pundits who oppose Obama’s mandate that religion-based businesses must offer full women’s health care options, including birth control, no matter what their philosophy is. This is to prevent women’s rights from being violated by people who wish to impose their views on people who work for them. In my opinion, it’s a noble cause, and I completely agree with it.

Problems with religious organizations or independent employers who are staunchly faithful to their particular faith have the potential to deny vital and necessary healthcare to their employees who need it, and can’t afford it without health insurance. So, the Catholic church says Obama’s mandate was a violation of their religious freedom. What about a person’s freedom to choose their own healthcare without being scolded for doing so?

Let’s do a little experiment. This is completely made-up, but it’s meant to illustrate how ridiculous this movement is:

Say you’re a devout Catholic woman. You get a job at a small business run by a man who seems fair in his treatment of employees. He says he offers health care insurance and you take him at his word. Under normal circumstances you’d qualify for health insurance after a certain amount of time – mostly 90 days. After that time, you receive a packet detailing the insurance plan…and you’re shocked at what you see.

There is no hospitalization for major illness. There is no prescription drug plan. All he offers is preventive care, check-ups, and alternative medical care, such as herbalists, massage, chiropractic. There is no significant pre-natal care other than sonograms and exams, nutrition advice, and coverage for midwife or at-home births. Again, no prescription drugs, no surgical procedures, no life-saving medical care are included.

In essence, you’re getting alternative health coverage from some New-Age health provider. You ask your boss about this, because you need reliable medical care. Your husband is diabetic and you need knee surgery, and he gave you the impression that he provided full medical coverage.

He tells you that because of his religious beliefs, he does not believe in conventional medicine and that most illness can be healed through meditation, proper spinal alignment, and herbal remedies. It doesn’t matter what his religion is at this point, the fact is, this is his religious belief. And he’s thrusting it onto you, a Catholic person.

Do you feel he has a right to deny you health insurance coverage based on his own whacky beliefs? According to the Republicans and Catholic church, he does.

This is what is going to happen, folks. Companies who don’t feel like paying for health insurance will find a way to get out of it by using religion as an excuse. But many people are too blinded by their own faith to see the consequences and the reality of what could happen. It’s a scary thought, and we must stand by President Obama and help him make sure that everyone has equal access to affordable healthcare, no matter their religious beliefs. 

Have you heard? It's practically impossible for a straight person to contract the HIV virus! It's true! You know why? Because a man from Tennessee said so! OK, now that I have your attention, let's take a minute to catch our breath and think about this statement and the implications behind it. Stacey Campfield, a state senator in Tennessee, appeared on Michelangelo Signorile's radio show on Thursday, where he said that it was "virtully impossible" for heterosexuals to get AIDS. In essense, he said that HIV/AIDS is a gay problem and not worthy of research or empathy or and serious discussion. He blamed the victims for getting a disease that is acquired through the transfer of bodily fluids. 

It seems as though that the religious right wing has ramped up the rhetoric against the LGBT community by playing to the lowest common denominator: the religoius zealot who has no capacity for critical thinking. During his interview with Signorile, Campfield was hawkish and arrogant in his statements, even though he used no scientific proof to back up his opinions. He said, 

"Most people realize that AIDS came from the homosexual community -- it was one guy screwing a monkey, if I recall correctly, and then having sex with men. It was an airline pilot, if I recall."

What Campfield was doing was using lies and old urban legends to prove his point; that gay people are a danger to society, and if they all died our world would be a better place. He didn't say it outright, but that's the implication I got out of it. The truth about the origins of HIV isn't in the annals of bestiality, but rather in a simple hunting trip gone wrong.

AIDS was first documented in the 1930s, about 50 years before the outbreak occurred in the homosexual community in San Francisco. A man who'd gone hunting in Africa killed and prepared a monkey for his meal, and some of the infected simian's blood trickled into an open wound on the hunter's body. Of course, such a mundane truth isn't good enough for the religious right. They have to exaggerate the truth, grasp onto already debunked myths, and create lies in order to frighten their constituents into voting the way they want. 

Campfield isn't the only anti-gay bigot who opened his mouth recently. We all know presidential candidate Rick Santorum basically hates the LGBT community. Just the other day, he scolded a woman, telling her that her son was living an unhealthy lifestyle because he's gay. In December, the American Family Association's Bryan Fisher went on the air and told his listeners that if they disagreed with Rick Perry's anti-gay campaign ad, then they must like bestiality.

Pastor Ken Hutcherson, of the Antioch Bible Church said that it's a slippery slope to redifine marriage to allow same sex couples to tie the knot. In his distored opinion, it'll open the door wide open for -- you guessed it -- bestiality and pedophilia. The theory here is that it'll start a movement to further redefine marriage between adults and children and adults and animals, which is absolutely ridiculous. 

It's the old homosexuality = pedophilia = bestiality ruse. Fortunately, most people are smart enough to recognize this tactic for what it is: simple fear mongering based on lies and misperceptions. But when does it end? When will people not be judged simply because they fall in love with someone who shares their gender? The on-going battle to gain legitimacy on the gay and lesbian community will continue, and as a straight person, I will continue to support them. 

"He's an egotistical showboater whose faith is shallow."  

Those are the words that came from not one, but two people I know in regards to Tim Tebow and his oh-so-evident Christian faith. I agree, not because I don't believe. I do. I agree because this is the kind of side-show candy-coated Christianity that is easy to do and easy to sell. Pose strategically, say a few words about how much you believe, and make sure to capitalize on it as much as you possibly can. 

But why is a religious post on a civil rights website? The answer is easy: if you don't declare yourself to be a devout Christian, you run the risk of being shunned at your job, by your family, and in society in general. Despite the fact that radical right wing Christians are the minority here, even moderate Christians have begun "Tebowing" as a way to prove they're just as Christian as the next guy. People who have absolutely no interest in football are suddenly following the Broncos religiously. 

Marcus Cederstrom, of Salon, asked a question the other day that really hit home. What if Tim Tebow were a Muslim? I'm pretty sure he'd be run out of town with a multitude of waving sticks and pitchforks. If you think I'm exaggerating, just take a look around the internet at what people say about Islam and those who practice it. The TV show, "All American Muslim" is a perfect example such xenophobic attitudes against people who practice Islam. Lowe's pulled its ads from the show because, as company officials said, it was a "lightning rod for strong political and societal views."  So what? We live in a multicultural society. If people can't handle that, then they should just lock themselves up in their homes and never venture outside because they might see someone different!

Tim Tebow does not exemplify true Christianity. Nor does he exemplify the teachings of Jesus. In fact, Tebow embodies everything that Jesus hated: grandstanding prayer, exorbitant wealth accumulation, being boastful about himself, and trying to make others feel inferior if they aren't like him. 

Jesus decried the Pharasees for making a show of praying in public. He called the Pharisees hypocrites, and said they'd have glory among men, but no reward in heaven.

Here is a snippet from Matthew 6:5, 6:6. Jesus said: 

And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.

Tebow supporters might disagree vehemently with my viewpoint, but the Bible is clear. Showboating your love and faith is a big no-no, and followers of Jesus should know better. What he's doing is saying, "I'm better than unbelievers because I'm showing the world how much I believe." This couldn't be further from the truth, but it encourages the kinds of religiously elitist attitudes that should have been dead a long time ago.