On Kilmar Abrego Garcia, Evangelical Republicans, and Judas Iscariot


Earlier today, I posted this on Facebook:

"Tonight, for Maundy Thursday, Christians all over the world will commemorate a time when an innocent man who had done nothing more than criticize people in power was imprisoned and ultimately executed without due process, due in large part to a mob of religious people demanding his destruction and claiming he was a danger to the rule of the emperor. And 80 percent of American Evangelicals will never, EVER realize that they are the Judas in this story."


But on further reflection, I realized that this was unnecessarily harsh and insulting.


...

...to Judas.


After all, Judas realized almost immediately that he had done something monstrous, something unforgiveable, and felt such remorse at the enormity of his betrayal that he could no longer live with himself.


But Evangelical Republicans lack the moral clarity of JUDAS FUCKING ISCARIOT.


No, they're something far worse.


They're the crowd chanting "Crucify him!" and "Give us Barabbas!", blindly following their leaders and betraying their own professed principles.


They demanded that the bloody-handed insurrectionist be released from all consequences for his crimes, while demanding that the innocent man be imprisoned and executed, despite there being clear and undeniable evidence for the guilt of the insurrectionist and none at all for the guilt of the man who had only spoken truth to power.


They haven't even got the courage or integrity it takes to be the villain of the story. Judas at least showed up in person, by himself, to see what he'd done, and then to confess to the priests that he'd been wrong to do it. And THEN to throw their blood money back in their faces before making the only atonement he knew how to make. 


But these people? Perfectly content to melt into the crowd of NPCs mindlessly repeating what their corrupt religious and political leaders told them as if it was unquestionable truth, howling for the death of a man they'd never met - who had never harmed them or anyone else - based on trumped up charges... then melt away afterwards, go back to their unremarkable lives as if they were NOT accomplices to a murder. If they ever even remember this incident at all, it will be with the baseless and yet unshakeable belief that they did the right thing.


Judas may have been a traitor to his people and his principles, but even he never betrayed them so deeply as Evangelical Republicans.

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