Blind Faith
BLIND FAITH
By Mary Beth Harrell
The bumper sticker read “Blind Faith in Bad Leaders is Not Patriotism”. Wow.
So when I got to my law office, I googled it. Utah’s Salt Lake City Mayor “Rocky”Anderson said that in an August 30, 2006 speech outside city hall while President George W. Bush was visiting some other part of his town. Salt Lake City? Home to Mitt Romney? Not normally thought of as a hot bed of radicalism.
Rocky’s speech came with the advent of the anniversary of the September 11th attacks. He did not invoke the “support the troops” mantra, often used to silence popular criticism of the incompetent execution of the then three-year-old undeclared and unnecessary war in Iraq. He did not raise the specter of a “global war on terrorism” as a new crusade to help us forget the absent WMDs, Iraq’s non-existent links to Al Qaida and 9/11, or that we had yet to win the war in Afghanistan.
Instead, Rocky spoke truth to power, he dissented:
“Blind faith in bad leaders is not patriotism. A patriot does not tell people who are intensely concerned about their country to just sit down and be quiet; to refrain from speaking out in the name of politeness or for the sake of being a good host; to show slavish, blind obedience and deference….
That is not a patriot. Rather, that person is a sycophant. That person is a member of a frightening culture of obedience–a culture where falling in line with authority is more important than choosing what is right, even if it is not easy, safe, or popular. “
But Rocky gave that speech two years ago, and things have changed, right? Before you answer that question, watch your local Congressman on C-Span or visit his website. How many are still saying, “Stay the Course”? Isn’t war still raging in Iraq and Afghanistan?
Yes, things have changed. They’ve gotten worse in virtually every category. But, they say, we haven’t been attacked again, and in the next breath, they will tell you we are being “invaded” along the Mexican border so we must build a wall. They promise to keep you safe at any price.
Do promises of security and prosperity really require your blind obedience in return? Ben Franklin observed that “those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty or safety.”
So we must be part of the problem, right? Well, it seems axiomatic that leaders must have followers, that’s you and me. Are you a patriot or sycophant? You know what’s right with our country and what’s wrong with it. Don’t we deserve leaders who understand the greatness of our country? Those who will serve only to promote and protect the common good? As Abraham Lincoln said, “We shall nobly save, or meanly lose, the last best hope of earth” – these United States of America.
Faith should be reserved for God, a higher power. Faith should be reserved for a Savior, not mere leaders. Mere mortals need only earn our trust and respect. So we must not only hold them, but also ourselves, accountable.