" In God We Trust"- The Established Religion of the U.S.A.

President  Donald J. Trump, after only two years in office, has divided our country among those who revere him and those who, with equal passion, revile him.   This article from Steven J. Gould's website from two decades ago is the perfect preface for a thesis that I am offering as a way of thinking about this crucial time in the history of the United States of America, entitled Will we ever figure out how life began

His answer, written in accessible compelling logic, is maybe we can for our planet, but never the general causation in the universe.  Humans have a need for answers, so cultures have gone in two directions.The most ancient, and deterministic in our country is that God did i --, to ask why being blasphemous.  

The other is scientific exploration with the hope and inherent belief in the unlimited capacity of this way of knowing.  Gould's article is ultimately unsatisfying, and destructive of this alternative to religious belief, as he explicates why there could never be a scientifically confirmed answer, never, ever! 

Believers in an all powerful God, who not only created us, but reserves the right to enforce his plan of human behavior on us, have become dominant in our country.  This has occurred, ironically, when the procedures and products of scientific research are growing at an exponential rate, to the point that few can transcend accepting the findings on, well there's no other word for it, on"faith."

Liberals, even atheists  who as of now must disguise this for a political career, don't see this as a problem, and are actually deferential to this widespread belief, and even hold it "sacred"  We have ignored the "Elmer Gantry" danger, that a skilled charlatan could not only amass a devoted congregation, or in the case of Jim Jones a massive following, but gain enough votes in a national election to become an autocrat of the most important country of our era.

One aspect of the explosive Supreme Court confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh was the consensus that his religiosity, which is certainly more relevant to the cases he would decide than his teen age sex life, was never even alluded to.  There was one exception in the very last question of the hearings by Senator John Neehly Kennedy of Louisiana in a tone of a caring father, - "Judge Kavanaugh, do you believe in God?"  Kavanaugh's thoughtful response, "Yes I do Senator"

It was clear, that his affirmation of such a belief was to negate all of the evidence of the vivid recollection of the woman who accused him of an act, whatever the actual details of the interaction, that were devastating enough for her to remember, and to relive the terror she felt decades previously. There had been numerous articles that explained that traumatic interactions are processed idiosyncratically, so it's to be expected that the very actions under debate at the hearings would reasonably be accurate to both parties, even if inconsistent.

There was a bigger issue at play, one that is not amenable in a zeitgeist of priority to emotional sensation.  The taxonomy, the public ratings at this moment in time is the very bottom is the excruciating cerebrial evaluations known as either the Scientific method, or academic arrogance.  Sex, as a human imperative that is on the list, but now overshadowed by sexual aberrancy -- either lionized or condemned. We all know this, but what is invisible, and more fatal, is the ultimate deference to God ---  not because it is politicized, but that it is not.

The Kavanaugh hearing is water under the bridge, to be replaced by other shocking events of late 2018, like the murder of Jamal Khashoggi the firing of Jeff Sessions, or the closing of the border from Mexico.  It's a daily dose of endorphins and serotonin, so how do we dare not follow every event, to be ready to run or fight should heated conversation become internecine war.