Christian Right and Israel
The dysfunctional relationship between Sarah Palin and Dr. Laura Schlessinger is the perfect metaphor for the Christian Right's hyper-advocacy of the modern State of Israel. Schlessinger, a practicing Jew, recently, with great insensitivity, used the "n" word during a phone counseling session with an African-American woman on her call-in radio talk show. After it was all said and damage done, Dr. Laura apologized and resigned from her job. That was the right thing to do. But Sarah Palin, a professing Conservative Christian, came to Dr. Laura's defense, uninvited by Dr. Laura, I'm sure, with these twin tweets.
“Dr.Laura:don’t retreat…reload! (Steps aside bc her 1st Amend.rights ceased 2exist thx 2activists trying 2silence”isn’t American,not fair”)“Dr.Laura=even more powerful & effective w/out the shackles, so watch out Constitutional obstructionists. And b thankful 4 her voice, America!”-
Conservative Christians, the Religious Right--of which, for the last twenty years I've been a part of--gets it wrong so often when it comes to Israel. Yes, Israel has a right to exist and yes, we need to stand with our allies, but when someone does something wrong, whether a nation or a radio host, issuing a free pass for bad behavior takes everyone two steps back. Name the bad behavior and call that friend out. If Israel does something reprehensible, point to the Torah and call them out.
Conservative Christians need to have a prophetic voice challenging governments--all governments--to righteousness. The Religious Right should not be anyone's political lackey giving a free pass to anyone because of who they are or what their "rights" are. Living by a consistent standard of righteousness is what we as Americans need to model and encourage. And bad behavior needs to be named and shamed regardless of political or religious affiliation.
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