Thursday, May 8, 2014

God, Money, and the Supremes


The Huffington Post says “Losing Faith.” Indeed.

One wonders what Nino Scalia would have thought if the case were that of the Dearborn City Council starting each session with a sermon from the local imam, and a Christian applicant pastor had been given a date in 2017 when he could present the invocation.

One wonders if the Catholic Court, as it should be designated in history, envisions that each locality will take its cue from the local ballpark, where the home team is accorded preference, and use its own religion to adorn the various local governmental public sessions. “Ah, I see the Methodist minister presiding, it must be Terre Haute.” Or the North Philadelphia court starts with a Catholic prayer, while Center City has a moment of Quaker silence, and Elkins Park entertains the presence of Rabbi Rubinowitz. Forget this e pluribus unum, let's go to e unis plura. After all, isn't that freer?

Or, since we now understand that free speech rights accrue to corporations in this new world, perhaps a city under pressure of losing bets in its retirement fund would actually name the court in honor of a business: The Wawa-Chester County Court of Common Pleas.

But why stop there, why not put it together? Let's have the Oakland Clorox Catholic Traffic Court, the Augusta Georgia Jew-haters Municipal Library, the LDC Salt Lake City Borax Court House. Localism! Business! Religion! Money! Man, it's just FREEDOM, isn't it, Nino, and Sam, and Tony, and Silent Clarence, and Mr. Chief Justice Smilin' John Roberts?

We are used to Democracy, we think it won't fade. But it can. Many think democracy is not a “natural” state of affairs, that winner-take-all is more natural. Some think that we are already a plutocracy, not a democracy. Push, push, push, and you can lose the hard won true freedoms that become invisible in their familiarity.

In history, there are few rivals to the pernicious influence of money and religion. The Catholic Court is giving full reign to them. God help us.