Thursday, August 13, 2009

The Fellowship

Has “The Fellowship” come across your personal radar yet? How about the C Street House? “The Chosen”? If none of these things have yet to make it into your world, drop your soap opera of the day, or your reality show du jour. This is “way more better” as the saying goes. You know all those republicans that feel it is their moral duty to instruct all of us mere humans about morality? You know the ones – The Governor Mark Samfords of the world, the Senator John Ensigns, the Chip Pickerings? Shall I go on? You know them either as the latest documented philanderers or you may know them as members of The Fellowship. It seems that many of the nation’s Christian Republicans hang out in (or live in) a boardinghouse in Washington, D.C. www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/opinion/19dowd.html?scp=4&sq=The%20Fellowship&st=cse where prayer and bible study are de rigueur. It is nicknamed the C Street House.

Often referred to as “The Family” because of their constant quest for power and control , conservative Republicans continue to pontificate from this particular perch about God and country, and yes, morality. When questioned about the seeming contradiction between what is preached and what is practiced, some of these lofty Republicans refer to the fact that they weren’t merely elected, they were “chosen.” If you need to read more, check out Jeff Sharlet’s “The Family,” available in paperback, or read his article in Harper’s. www.harpers.org/archive/2003/03/0079525

I’m a sucker for this sort of thing. I keep waiting for Roger Clemens and Manny Ramirez to co-author a book about the moral pitfalls of drugs in sports. Or Paris Hilton’s future tome extolling the virtues of a good education. This would all be hysterically funny if it wasn’t so damn scary.

By Myron Gushlak