Fear of Change: Republican Conservatives Desire Wreck U.S. Government

Fear of change. 

According to Lewin's Change Management Model individuals as well as groups act in a predictable manner when exposed to change. Kurt Lewin developed a three stage model to help guide the change process. The three steps are Unfreeze, Change, and Freeze (Refreeze). The Unfreezing stage of the model is arguably the most important and complicated of the three segments. Unfreezing is necessary to move to the next stage, Change. It sets the ground work for the three stage process to be effective and hopefully permanent. Without this permanency, the results in all likelihood will be to restart the three stage model until the preferred outcome is achieved. To unfreeze properly both sides should mutually accept a direction. This acceptance is not always forthcoming. Time is needed for both sides to debate the need for change. Let us use the current state of affairs in the U.S. with the polarization of politics and the U.S. government, but in particular the Conservatives. They believe that their right to pray to their Judeo-Christian god is being taken away from them. This is the premise of the remainder of my article.

Let’s consider only the Republicans (Religious Conservatism) and the Democrats (Religious Liberalism) in this discussion. The independents are a distant third and do not provide a significant bias in one direction or another. Currently in the U.S. both sides are at a stale-mate. There is movement, but it is slow and jerky at best. The retardation of progress is expected and I dare say encouraging. This means the Unfreezing process is working as it should. This reluctance is human nature. If we received accord too early in the game we would be suspicious that the Change and coincidentally the Freezing stages would fail due to lack of confidence and ease at which the Unfreezing process worked. However human nature like I said is rather predictable. We do not want change. We desire normality, rhythm, and predictability. The conservatives want nothing more than to keep the status quo. We can go so far as to say they desire further accommodation in the nations laws for their god. They believe with absolute conviction that the tenets of their faith should be followed by all of man, but especially Americans. The Liberals on the other hand believe religion is but a part of humanity. They do not hold to the same prejudicial belief that the christian god should be the driving force behind government rule. Liberals have a general understanding that the government holds no right to dictate legislation on beliefs based in religious teachings.

Where does this leave us? Both sides aren’t budging! Stalemate! Argh! This is a very non-productive situation we find ourselves in. Where it leaves us is with the Conservatives using the “denial of worship” as their weapon of choice. They say the Liberal government (which they are as much a part of with majority control of the senate) is denying their right to worship their god. How is this happening? There aren't National Guardsmen blocking access to places of worship. There isn't a ban on the sale or possession of religious text. How can the Conservatives justify this boldface lie? How can they spout such grandiose statements that are obviously not true? Well first, because people are gullible and don't have any desire to find out for themselves, that's why. But not to insult what little followership I might have, here is what they are doing.  They very wisely include the U.S. military in their arsenal. Right now U.S. Military sentiment is high and the last thing anyone wants to do is take away their right to pretty much anything, except a pay raise. In February of this year they protested the removal of God from an Air Force unit patch (here). And just a few days before this article posting (23 June 2012), GOP lawmakers, 66 of them in fact, send a unified letter to the Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, claiming the United States Air Force is bending to outside organizations to remove religious symbolism from military units and facilities (here). And I quote from the letter, “Censorship is not required for compliance with the Constitution.” Let me be very clear on what they said, and what is happening. But first let’s quote our constitution. The unarguable “law of the land.”

Amendment One:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…

 

From Merriam-Webster.com ( a 150 year old institution, nationally accepted in religious as well as education institutions) defines Respecting as:

re·spect·ing

prep

1 : in view of : considering

2 : with respect to : concerning

This literal definition of the word means that the government shall not consider or concern itself with an establishment of religion. Period dot. This directly translates to the U.S. Government will not allow, or be involved in the making of any law that considers any establishment of religion. Now to clarify and gain common consensus on what a Law is we will again go to Merriam-Webster.com the same source for an unbiased definition.

¹law

noun \ˈlȯ\

Definition of LAW

1
a (1) : a binding custom or practice of a community : a rule of conduct or action prescribed or formally recognized as binding or enforced by a controlling authority (2) : the whole body of such customs, practices, or rules (3) : commonlaw
b (1) : the control brought about by the existence or enforcement of such law (2) : the action of laws considered as a means of redressing wrongs; also : litigation (3) : the agency of or an agent of established law
c : a rule or order that it is advisable or obligatory to observe
d : something compatible with or enforceable by established law

As you can plainly see, the Conservatives believe they are being censored by the removal of religious materials from government ran organizations. They believe that the use and public perception of the use of these religious materials falls within the law as dictated by The Constitution of the United States of America. Are they just lying or are they stupid. I believe without argument that they are not stupid. I believe they are willing to put their morality and lawful duties to the side to continue this illegal perception of a "One nation under God" fantasy they live in. But it is utterly obvious that they do not want change. They fear it and what it means for their future as controllers of America's fate.

It is clear that by definition a law is not necessarily a lengthy process in which congress decides on nationwide policy. A law can be considered a custom, practice, rule, or order. And in the U.S. military all four of these are on the short list of basic building blocks the Department of Defense is based upon. So by this argument we can say with much confidence that the U.S. government cannot allow for the use or propagation of religious material or culture within any part of the U.S. military.

We can see by the reluctance of the Conservative religious that it will take time and much persistence on the Liberal side for the Unfreezing to be readied to move into the Change stage. We cannot have true change without consensus. Especially in a Democratic society where consensus is the basis for how laws are formed. We must have popular vote. We must have the majority accept before we can require all the populace to comply. 

It has been 222 years since the Bill of Rights was considered law and still there are those calling themselves Americans that would love nothing more than to use the Bill of Rights as a lose set of guidelines. "God then country" is failure with a halo.