Reviewer John Cowans: John lives in
retirement in Chester, NS ,where he has been an Instructor with
Seniors College Association of Nova Scotia.
He is currently working on a personal memoir, Other People’s Children, and his first poetry collection, Hope.
Author: Rosemary Agonito
Publisher: CreateSpace,
Author: Rosemary Agonito
Publisher: CreateSpace,
ISBN:
978-1470159108
What a timely book
this is coming to my desk almost immediately after the 2nd
Inauguration of President Obama on January 21. During that ceremony
in Washington, the President made it clear what he believes in and
what he will try to accomplish in his second term. Here in part is
what he said.“We, the people, still believe that every citizen
deserves a basic measure of security and dignity.... that our
obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all
posterity..... that enduring security and lasting peace do not
require perpetual war....that our journey is not complete until our
wives, our mothers, and daughters can earn a living equal to their
efforts. ...[that] our journey is not complete until our gay brothers
and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law “ In her
excellent assessment of the Religious Right in America today,
Hypocrisy, Inc. How the Religious Right Fabricates Christian Values
and Undermines Democracy, Rosemary Agonito explains in convincing
detail the political stance taken by and the opposition that
President Obama will face from the Religious Right of the Republican
Party throughout the next four years.
Rosemary Agonito has written
eight books and numerous articles. She has appeared on network TV and
has lectured widely, and she holds a Ph.D in Philosophy from Syracuse
University.
The expected reaction to the President’s message
was not long in coming. The Hill, the Congressional Newspaper in
Washington, opined, “Republicans have complained that Obama's
speech, which called for the legalization of same-sex marriage and
new environmental policies, in addition to other liberal goals, was
divisive.” Speaker John Boehner struck an expected combative pose:
“Given what we heard yesterday about the President’s vision for
his second term, it’s pretty clear to me that he knows he can’t
do any of that as long as the House is controlled by Republicans,”
So we’re expecting over the next 22 months to be the focus of this
administration as they attempt to annihilate the Republican Party.”
As well, one might have seen the accusatory tirade, by
Rand Paul, the Junior Senator from Arizona and prominent member of
the Tea Party, at Secretary of State Hilary Clinton’s Congressional
Hearing on the Benghazi Consulate attack. He and other
fellowRepublican members of the Committee presented their overtly
anti-Democratic views by castigating the Secretary throughout the
Hearing.
To support her thesis of political hypocrisy, that is
appearing to be supporting one philosophy but in fact supporting the
opposite, Ms. Agonito presents the following for the readers’
consideration:
• “The religious right’s inability or
unwillingness to embrace community and the common good..... While
opposing community based activities, the religious right strongly
supports capitalism and the profit motive.....The latest tragic
result of unfettered capitalism, the financial calamity beginning in
2008 ...... Rampant greed and extreme individualism enriched the
wealthy and the powerful and dramatically widened the gap between
rich and poor.”
•”....its enthusiastic support of war...”
[even though as Jill Lepore wrote in the recent article in The New
Yorker, “ The United States spends more on defense than all the
other nations of the world combined.” (Jan. 28,
2013)]
•.”....fundamentalist and conservative opposition to
women’s rights ....”
•”....homosexuality is seen as a
perversion of God’s law...”
•”Christian evangelicals and
fundamentalists have long stood against efforts to save the planet
from destruction....”
• “In the run up to the 2012
presidential and congressional elections, all manner of voter
suppression laws have sprung forth from Republican legislators across
the country. All are designed to influence the outcome of the
elections by preventing certain groups of people ( poor people,
minorities, immigrants) from exercising their right to
vote.”
Hypocrisy, Inc.is a must read for all compassionate
and fair-minded people of whatever political or religious persuasion,
and I would add that teachers of History and Civics in our Schools
and Colleges would do well to add this slim but powerful volume to
their reading lists.