We are responsible.

This isn’t about someone else.  It is about us.  We haven’t been doing enough.

Last week, when confronted with the fact that he sent 234 inmates to their execution, including an innocent man, Texas Governor Rick Perry appeared jubilant and remorseless–and the Tea Party-filled crowd cheered.  As I tweeted, I had visions of Pilate before the bloodthirsty crowds.

Then two days ago, at another debate, when asked about the ramifications of private insurance leading to unneccesary deaths, Rep. Ron Paul said “That is what freedom is all about” and the crowd not only cheered, but several shouted “Yeah!”

In less then a week, we’ve seen two debates, two candidates, and two sets of crowds display such callous disregard for people’s lives.  These aren’t academic arguments.  This first case involved real inmates, more people executed during one governor’s tenure than ever, and his predecessor was at a pretty good clip himself.  And Rep. Paul’s 2008 campaign manager, Kent Snyder, died without insurance shortly after that campaign ended.

Real lives.

One week from today, September 21, another likely innocent man, Troy Davis is to be executed by the state of Georgia.  If ever there was a case in which the system is set up to prevent justice, it can be found in this case.  For more information or to sign a position, click here.

This morning I read in Harper’s (September 2011, p. 15) the following:

Percentage of Americans who believe pornography is “morally wrong”: 66

Percentage who believe the death penalty is: 28

Like the Pharisees, we obsess about sex and we ignore violence.  This is particularly true among Conservative Christianity, which has, since the early 1980s refused to shift from a platform of condemning sexuality and abortion.

This is unconscionable.  This isn’t about whether capital punishment makes sense as state policy or the merits of state-sponsored healthcare within the confines of secular thinking.  These were asked from the position of morality.  Morality informed, at least on Mr. Perry’s part, by Christianity.

A Christianity that supports the willful responsibility for people’s deaths while condemning porn is, at the very least, a Christianity that is worth almost nothing. It is deeply irresponsible.

For us, and all of those that wrestle with such hard issues as state-sanctioned violence and support for the medically uninsured, we are also at fault.  We allow much of the country to think morality only has to do with sex.

And that is also immoral.

Related articles

• Rick Perry, Christian: What Would Pilate Do? (esquire.com)
• Alan Grayson Blasts Tea Party Debate Audience’s Reaction To Health Care Question: ‘It’s Sadism’ (kaystreet.wordpress.com)