The Weird Obsessions Of Iowa’s Christian Nationalists
Trump Christian Nationalist
David Pautsch promises that if he’s elected to Congress…
… he will ensure that “healing is available for sexual bondage”.
What does that even mean?
When you hear the phrase “Iowa Christian”, what are you supposed to think? The image that is supposed to come to mind is of a mild-tempered, salt of the earth kind of person, someone who might wear plaid flannel shirts on weekdays and is prone to utter phrases such as “aw shucks”.
In a word, Iowa Christians like to depict themselves as normal.
The truth is, the Christian Nationalism that fuels the Iowa Faith Leader Coalition isn’t just frighteningly violent. It’s also really bizarre.
When Donald Trump assembled the Iowa Faith Leader Coalition, did he know that its members were talking about sexual bondage legislation and demon frogs hopping out of the mouths of dragons? Evil frogs emerging from dragons is actually a topic that Trump preacher Tom Sooter gives sermons about.
Christian Nationalists claim to be the “normal Americans”, but then we see Donald Trump’s Christian Nationalist supporter Kris Ranney spreads bizarre conspiracy theory about how Jewish globalists plan to control the United States by having Taylor Swift date an NFL football player. Is that normal?
What about when preacher Steve Freeman supports Moms For Liberty exorcism campaigns that plan to chase evil spirits out of public libraries?
Christian Nationalist Kelley McAtee seeks to apply biblical principles to dog training. She advises dog owners that “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” What on earth does that have to do with teaching a dog to roll over or play fetch?
Kelley McAtee’s teachings that dogs must be taught to obey their owners because the Christian god has given humans absolute dominion over all animals brings to mind the sadistic pride with which Republican South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem recently bragged about dragging a puppy down into a gravel pit and then killing it with a gun.
Just to prove her dominion over animals, Noem then dragged a goat down into the same gravel pit and shot it dead right next to the corpse of the puppy. What kind of person does that?
I propose a simple standard of what makes a person a normal American: If you ask someone what you do with puppies, a normal American will not say that you take a puppy down into a gravel pit and shoot it dead with your gun.
If you look beyond the stereotypes to see what they’re actually saying and doing, you’ll find that Midwestern Christian Nationalists aren’t the sweet and cuddly good neighbors they want us to believe they are.
They’re really weird, and not in a good way.
If a person wants to be different, I say more power to them - so long as they treat other people and living things with decency and respect.
The problem with the Christian Nationalists who are attracted to Donald Trump is that they’re bizarre in a cruel way.
They want to take away other people’s right to get married. They want to control the pregnancies of women they don’t even know. They want to set up prison camps for millions of people living in the United States. They want to punish. They want to inflict violence. They want to damn Americans to Hell.
It’s not quaint. It’s not wholesome. It’s certainly not friendly.
At the core of the weird beliefs of Iowa Christian Nationalists is a resentment and rage that causes them to lash out in really bizarre ways against other Americans who are just trying to live their own lives. That anger warps their perceptions until they come to believe that it’s normal to live in fear of demons and pray for a king to come to rule over the United States with his supernatural powers.
Good neighbors don’t vote to elect politicians like that into public office. Remember that on Election Day.
