Message at the Bottom of the Cup

In an excellent NYT op-ed piece entitled “The Founding Fathers Versus the Tea Party,” Ron Chernow lays out a compelling assessment of how teabaggers have glamorized our forebears to the extent of ignoring the contentiousness that prevailed when America was born. Aside from his refresher course in history, what struck me most was this comment:

The Tea Party Movement has further sought to spruce up its historical bona fides by laying claim to the United States Constitution. Many Tea Party members subscribe to a literal reading of the national charter as a way of bolstering their opposition to deficit spending, bank bailouts, and President Obama’s health care plan.

As I began to read this, the first thought that leapt to mind was that they “lay claim to the Constitution” the same way that they wrap themselves in the flag. But when I got to the part about “a literal reading,” I couldn’t help but compare that to the tendency of many (perhaps most?) conservatives to be fundamentalist Christians.

Each of these proclivities reflects the same shortcoming: an unwillingness – or inability – to think things through. Why assess a situation when appealing to patriotism should be enough? Why question anything if it’s there in black and white?

Granted, the U.S. Constitution at only [sic] 200+ years old is a bit more relevant than the Bible. But it still reflects an 18th-century state of affairs that couldn’t have anticipated today’s, any more than early belief in the Bible could have anticipated advances in understanding that blow creation myths and miracles out of the water.
 
Sacred writings are not sacrosanct. And if they’re looking for a reflection of reality, today’s Founders-invoking patriots could just as well be reading tea leaves.