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Republican Hogwash
False Evocations of Christian Forgiveness
In light of the failed American coup on January 6, 2021, a number of Republicans have stepped to the mic and asked us to “forgive and forget,” to “move forward and heal this nation.”
They almost invariably use this forgive-and-forget phrase whenever they want to move the conversation away from accountability, or punishment from wrongs they have committed.
It is certainly no coincidence that they take refuge in the religious underpinnings of their political base, who, typically, are from the South and whose evangelical pastors frequently cite Matthew 6:14 and Ephesians 4:32 as Biblical sources for the forgiveness refrain. The Republicans indulge this forgiveness concept in direct proportion to the wrongs they have perpetrated.
Bribery, sexual infidelity, and many other forms of personal corruption are usually the triggering events that prompt the calls to “move on and heal,” although, interestingly enough, these invocations are not usually brought about by public confession; they arise after a scandal is publicized and the “accountability axe” is about to drop.
Republicans in many statehouses, as well as in Congress, during the last 40 years have engaged in abominable social, economic and political practices: voter suppression; enacting…
