Thieves (The Far Right)

“The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy...” - Jesus (as imagined by the writer of John’s Gospel, Holy Bible)

The “Far Right” (religious fundamentalists, nationalists, would be oligarchs, etc.) have stolen so much. They’ve stolen hope from people who need it most. They have stolen religion. They have taken the name of Jesus and weaponized it. They have seized the flag. They have tried to remove honorable patriotism and replace it with selfish, fearful, exclusionary nationalism. I don’t like calling them conservatives. Conservative doesn’t have to mean cruel, or hateful, or violent. I think it’s unfair to compassionate, decent, caring, generous people who just happen to be conservative on a few issues to lump them in with the bigots, warmongers, and science deniers who have even stolen the world “conservative.”

No, the Right isn’t any more entitled to the “conservative” label than they are to the “religious”, “patriotic,” “Christian,” or “values voters” labels. They have stolen those words and swung them like medieval maces against those they would dehumanize and marginalize. So I won’t call the Extreme Right “conservative.” They are thieves who cause unwarranted suffering to far too many people. 

I am not very conservative on many issues, but I have known good people who are more conservative than I am, and they don’t deserve to be counted among those who make up the terrifying religious and political Far Right.