by Rev. D. Elandus Lake
[The Cloning Prohibition Act is meant to protect human dignity by
preventing the creation–through cloning–of living human beings. Human
beings should not be reduced to commodities that can be bought or sold
or used for research.]
The Religious Reich has mastered the
tactic of cloaking. They cloak their oppressive agenda with statements
and positions that are difficult for anyone to oppose. They do this all
while they work to take away our rights and reduce us to a means by
which… Their goal is to continue to use us as a product of trade.
Their agenda includes changes in the legal, social, religious, medical,
and educational institutions to validate the Reich’s use of human
strength, talent, ability, and faith as compensation for their
lifestyle, goals, and privileges.
Human beings should not be
reduced to commodities… is a statement with which all of us can
agree. This is just one example of why the Religious Reich’s agenda is
difficult for many to identify and address effectively. Some of us feel
caught in an unending war, battling to expose the Reich’s agenda as
wrong, evil, and detrimental to our country. Some of us are frustrated
because, as we face the pending nomination of Alito, the threat to
women’s reproductive freedom, and the overall state of our country
today, we feel we are losing the war.
The Reich’s success at
agenda cloaking is why, for many of us, the installation of their
agenda in our country seems inevitable. Those of us who feel this way,
unfortunately, are resigned. We go about our days reluctant to read
newspapers and hesitant to discuss political issues. We prepare to
accept the way things appear they will be.
If we stop our
efforts to reveal how evil the Reich’s agenda is, if we come out of our
resignation induced intellectual comas, and begin to examine their
actions in particular areas, we can see a pattern. This pattern
contradicts what the Reich claims to represent.
-
By fighting
to free large corporations from government restrictions, the Reich
reveals its true agenda to reduce some humans (workers) to commodities
by which the rich obtain and sustain their lifestyle and power. -
By
working to restrict the freedom of women to decide when to have our
children, the Reich reveals its true agenda to reduce some humans
(women) to commodities through which men maintain their economic
privilege and power. -
By working to limit our civil rights and
personal freedom, the Reich reveals its true agenda to reduce some
humans (police, government officials, lawyers) to commodities by which
white supermacists control our natural resources and hold on to power. -
By
justifying the destruction, invasion, and domination of countries, the
Reich reveals its true agenda to reduce some humans (military
personnel) to commodities by which white expansionist fulfill their
goals to colonize the world and develop their base of power.
These
are unprecedented times, and they call for unprecedented responses.
Those of us who respect religious diversity, personal freedom, the
separation of church and state, the sanctity of the Constitution, and
freedom of speech must put aside our divisions and our egos. We must
work together to bring the Religious Reich to a halt.
***
Rev.
Deborah Elandus Lake is Executive Director of Sankofa Way Spiritual Services
and Co-founder of the Chicago Chapter of The Interfaith Alliance. Since relocating
from Massachusetts to Chicago in 2002, she has worked
with local organizations and programs such as: Rush University Medical Center, the CORE Center, and the John H. Stroger
Hospital of Cook County. Before moving to Chicago, she served
congregations in New York and Massachusetts. Rev. Lake is a
graduate of Union Theological Seminary in NY, and an ordained
non-denominational minister.
“I
am involved with World Can’t Wait because this is the only other organization I
can find where people are not afraid to publicly take a stand against the
actions of Bush and those who keep him in office. I am very concerned about the
direction our country is being taken, and I am determined to be able to look my
daughters and grand children in the eye and tell them that I did everything possible
to preserve their heritage.”