The United States of... Sodom?

Last week I just didn’t have anything to talk about… but this week I want to talk about how republicans are trying to strip out entitlement and assistance programs while at the same time padding their own pockets and denying U.S. citizens jobs and how this is sort of reminiscent of a bible story used to condemn gays! Some parts of this blog post will be paraphrasing from an article I read so bear with me if some of it sounds familiar!

A lot of people think that the story of Sodom being destroyed by god is about gay people… well let’s take a closer look at that story. Some people say the city of Sodom was destroyed because it was overrun by sexually obsessed homosexuals. In fact, the city of Sodom had been doomed to destruction long before. So what is this passage really about? Ezekiel 16:48-49 tell us: "This is the sin of Sodom; she and her suburbs had pride, excess of food, and prosperous ease, but did not help or encourage the poor and needy. They were arrogant and this was abominable in God's eyes." Funny, this reminds me of republicans trying to continue to allow rich corporations to evade hefty taxes while they ship jobs overseas instead of employing the very country that is making them so wealthy. On top of that they are trying to take away social security and medicare. Did you know I’d probably go hungry and/or become terribly ill and possibly even die without those systems in place? Thanks for trying to kill me.

What’s really interesting is that republicans are usually the party associated with the religious right and “being a good Christian” but I think they conveniently forget that we break God's heart when we spend all we earn on ourselves, when we forget the poor and hungry, when we refuse to do justice or show mercy, when we leave strangers at the gate. These are the people that call me a Sodomite for being gay, but real Sodomites are rich and don't share what they have with the poor. Sodomites have plenty and want more. While millions are hungry, homeless, and sick, Sodomites rush to build bigger homes, buy bigger cars, and own more property -- putting their trust in safer stock portfolios and more secure retirement accounts. That sure sounds like republicans to me. “Let’s cut off any assistance to the needy!” and “Why should I have to pay for someone else’s medicine or housing?”.

While I am not very religious these days I was taught that God has called us do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our Creator. In the story, Sodom was destroyed because its people didn't take God seriously about caring for the poor, the hungry, the homeless, or the outcast. Kind of sounds like what’s happening in our government as we strip away those assistance programs and continue to allow the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. Hell even some of those bottom level rich people are feeling the pinch and falling into middle class income territory while the tippy top of the biggest pyramid scheme in the world try to fight and stay where they are. But in regards to the story of Sodom, it was common in the times of Sodom for soldiers, thieves, and bullies to rape a fallen enemy, asserting their victory by dehumanizing and demeaning the vanquished. This act of raping an enemy is about power and revenge, not about homosexuality or homosexual orientation. I can say assuredly that as a gay man I find the idea of assaulting and/or raping anyone as abhorrent as any straight person does and most certainly wouldn’t want such an act committed upon my person. The sad thing is acts like this still occur in modern times.

In August 1997, Abner Louima, a young black immigrant from Haiti, was assaulted by several police officers after he was arrested in Brooklyn. Officer Charles Schwarz held Louima down in a restroom at the precinct, while Officer Justin Volpe rammed a broken stick into Louima's rectum. These two men and the three other officers involved in this incident and its cover-up were not gay. This was not a homosexual act. It was about power. The sexual act that occurs in the story of Sodom is a gang rape -- and homosexuals oppose gang rape as much as anyone.

I wonder if republicans are willing to take a look at the parallels they share with Sodom and its people and I wonder if they can see where our country will head if they continue following the destructive course they seem to be. They continue “raping” the land of natural resources without any regard of the consequences, ensuring the rich avoid high taxes, allowing their corporate buddies a free pass to ship much needed jobs out of our country and all the while try to claim some sort of moral superiority. It's kind of scary to see how similar Sodom's story and ours are today.