“Wrapped in the Flag and Carrying a Cross”

“Wrapped in the flag and carrying the cross” is widely-used quote, often misattributed to Sinclair Lewis. When we first started doing Right and Freedom, we often talked about the fact that fascism is knocking at our door. Now that we’re in Season 3, it’s positively hammering the door with a battering ram. The leader of one of our political parties is actively selling bibles. You heard that correctly. An act which would have been seen as blasphemous only a decade ago was undertaken by the very party that claims to support religion, as long as it’s Christianity. How many of our elected leaders are talking about “Christian nationalism” as a viable alternative to our current elected government? If it’s consistent with the rest of the United States, then you can believe that 3 out of 10 are at least sympathetic to the Christian nationalist cause. So why do we care? Because…

fascism - a political philosophy, movement, or regime that exalts nation and often race above the individal that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition - Merriam Webster

And…

The new Christian nationalism survey makes clear that there is an underlying ideology of racism among the Christian nationalist movement that connects them to white nationalist groups who rely on old and new tropes to promote white supremacy. - Brookings Institute

Awkward, right? So Christian nationalism is really white nationalism by another means, hence you have your “race above individual.” Donald Trump and his supporters have already promised to use the federal government against those who disagree with their political philosophies. Does anybody remember the chant “Lock Her Up?”

Christian nationalism is fascism, pure and simple. In this podcast, we draw more direct connections, and explain how it is that so many of us seem to miss the point that’s staring us directly in the face.