Louisiana Voice

So, Michael Flynn has never bothered to read the U.S. Constitution – at least the Bill of Rights, or at least the First Amendment.

It’s pretty simple and straightforward, really:

“Congress shall make no law respecting and establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech…”

I suppose we can excuse Flynn. He is, after all, a very confused man, delusional even.

But the problem is, people still listen to his rhetoric that flies in face of our Constitution and that First Amendment which to me, is every bit as sacred as the Second Amendment that gun-loving NRA types hold so dear.

Last Saturday, speaking at a “REAWAKEN AMERICA” conference in San Antonio, Flynn literally went off the rails when he said, “If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion. One nation under God and one religion under God.”

What?!!!? Yep, he actually said that while at the same time proclaiming that the indictment of Steve Bannon for defying a congressional subpoena was an infringement on his right of free speech.

I know there are those who will leap to the defense of both Flynn and Bannon, but I defy anyone to explain how a retired Army lieutenant general, a supposed leader of men who took an oath to defend this country and who served as Donald Trump’s national security adviser, could be so ignorant of the language of the First Amendment as to serious suggest that this should be a nation of only one religion.

And while he did not invoke the word Christianity in those 28 words, it’s clear that’s what he meant in his follow-up remarks that compared “Nancy Pelosi to Pontius Pilate, who ordered the crucifixion of Jesus in the Bible.”

There are more than 20 million of the Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim faiths, all of whom enjoy the freedom to worship as they see fit, courtesy of the First Amendment, who might properly take umbrage at Flynn’s arrogance – and ignorance.

Every Saturday in the fall, more than 100,000 faithful congregate to pray to LSU to beat its opponent of the week, especially when the Tigers play ‘Bama. And don’t even try to tell me that’s not a form of religion in Baton Rouge.

This is the same Michael Flynn who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with the Russian ambassador. Here’s what National Public Radio had to SAY ABOUT HIM  a year ago:

“He became a security and geopolitical consultant in private life and took tens of thousands of dollars in payments from Russian entities. In 2015, Russia’s state-backed TV network RT PAID HIM $45,000 to attend a dinner in Moscow, where he sat at the right arm of President Vladimir Putin.

“Back in the United States, Flynn became a vocal supporter of Trump’s outsider campaign in the 2016 presidential race. At the Republican National Convention that year, Flynn led the crowd in chants of “lock her up” about Trump’s rival, Hillary Clinton.

“Flynn was interviewed by the FBI in January 2017, just days after assuming his White House post.

“Intelligence and law enforcement officials worried that the Russians’ knowledge about the true facts of Flynn’s discussion with Kislyak could open Flynn up to the prospect of coercion, given the contrast with his public statements at the time.

“Flynn lied to the agents about his conversations with Kislyak, saying he didn’t urge Moscow not to respond to sanctions the Obama administration imposed on Russia in retaliation for the Kremlin’s election interference.”

But then Trump intervened and subsequently pardoned the man who once led the Defense Intelligence Agency. Flynn, in response to the pardon tweeted a Bible verse: “’They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,’ declares the LORD.”

Given some of his PREVIOUS UTTERINGS, perhaps we should not have been surprised at his latest call for “One nation under God and one religion under God”:

• Last May he called for a Myanmar-like military coup in America.
• In July, when gifted with a new AR-15-type rifle – at a church, no less – he responded by saying, “Maybe I’ll find somebody in Washington.”
• In September he expressed his concern that COVID-19 vaccines were being added to salad dressing.
• Flynn even posted a 53-second VIDEO  in which he spewed a number of phrases and slogans identified with Qanon, prompting more than 10,500 responses, many of which were from self-styled Qanon supporters who thanked Flynn for his comments and used the same QAnon hashtag that Flynn had used.

Kinda reminds old-timers like myself of another general who got crossways with the Constitution. Gen. Edwin Walker got himself fired by the Pentagon – not JFK as many believe – for passing out John Birch Society material to his troops in Germany.

To my knowledge, Walker never tried to trample on anyone’s right to worship as they saw fit.

These are times we live in now, though. A demagogue can spout nonsense like calling for the establishment of a single religion, exclusive of all others, and he’s a damned hero – and the evangelicals will love him for it.

Sorry, but this isn’t the lesson I was taught in high school civics.

I happen to be Methodist but I would never for a nano-second entertain the thought of denying someone of a different faith the right to worship as they see fit. If they feel the need to worship a warthog, it’s none of my business.