In our country today, there is a growing web of money and influence that is catching not just ordinary people looking for solace in a church but also government agencies, elected officials, respected academic institutions and social services in its net. The seed money comes from foundations funded by corporations and the wealth of individuals. The religious manifestation of this web, of course, is the Christian right, that part of the evangelical movement which aligns itself with the Republican party and which reacts in a knee-jerk fashion to anti-gay, anti-pro-choice, anti-realistic sex education, pro-"family-values" propaganda. But this web also encompasses academic institutions at respected universities including Harvard as well as, I would guess, dozens of think tanks. It is influential not only in private schools but in public school boards. It works openly to influence legal processes and the news. Interestingly, while we on the left are caught up in amazement at the ability of the religious right to convince people that evolution doesn't happen, similar tools are used successfully to affect thinking in more secular institutions. Most of those involved in all these efforts may think they are acting in good faith. But their efforts are dangerous, to say the least. They succeed in keeping people from being able to see and evaluate what is happening in the real world.
We, too, have an obligation to see and evaluate what is happening in the real world. We cannot turn our backs and withdraw into self-righteousness or into our own circles. We can take hope from the fact that a huge number of people voted for Kerry and are clearly not taken in by the propaganda, but we need to be aware that the power of these groups is growing and will continue to grow unless we are more vigilant and active. We will need to make links in our minds between environmental problems, social problems, economic problems, the power of corporations and our own lives and we will have to act on what we learn. We will have to understand that in fact Christian Right churches offer something besides religion which can be hard to find elsewhere in our country: community, companionship, meaning, caring. It builds on sturdy American traditions that are woven into the patterns of people's lives: church allegiances that some have had for generations. Maybe for needy people it seems a small price to give up the right to think independently.
