Ryan Walters and a Couple of Happy Coincidences

Christian nationalism primarily focuses on the internal politics of society, such as legislating civil and criminal laws that reflect the adherents' view of Christianity and the role of religion in in political and social life.

The definition of Christian nationalism according to Wikipedia

The key phrase there being, "reflecting the adherents' view of Christianity," because, as we know, or at least should recognize, there are a whole lot of different views when it comes to Christianity. Including those of Thomas Jefferson, the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. Later in his life he wrote, that when it comes to the U.S. government, the intentions of the founding fathers had been, "to build a wall between church and state." 

All of which brings us to the great state of Oklahoma and one Ryan Walters, the Big Kahuna of public education in these parts. Walters has, via decree, mandated every school classroom in the state must contain a bible and teachers must use it as a means of instruction when it comes to history, civics, and other subjects.

But which version of the bible you might ask. Because as we also know there are almost as many versions of, "the good book," as there are interpretations of Christianity itself.  Well, it turns out, the Superintendent of public education has very specific ideas in that regard. According to reports, Walters wants the bibles, paid for with state funds, to be 1. The King James version, 2. to include the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Constitution. Plus, they need to be bound in either leather, or leather-like material. 

So, where does one find a reported 55,000 copies of a United States centric version of the bible? The organization, Oklahoma Watch asked Christian education distributer, Mardel just that question. According to the outfit, Mardel went through 2,900 different versions of the bible without finding a match. Then, lo and behold, they struck gold, so to speak.

It turns out the only two bibles out there that meet Ryan Walters' demands are--you guessed it--the Donald Trump endorsed, Lee Greenwood, "God Bless the U.S.A." bible and the Donald Trump Jr. backed, "We the People," version. Thanks to name, image, and likeness deals, the Trump Org. gets a cut from each and every sale of both books.

Ah, what a stunning moment of coincidental serendipity. And while some of the more cynical among us might think the fix is in, Walters' spokesperson, Dan Isett denies any biblical hanky-panky. According to Isett, "There are hundreds of bible publishers and we expect a robust competition for this proposal." 

Yes, one can easily picture that, "robust competition," just as political satirist, Mark Russell once described it. "First you arrange all the bids on a table in sealed envelopes," Russell said, "Then you award the bid. After that you open the envelopes."

It is unknown here if Ryan Walters has ever met, Donald Trump. It is also unknown if Trump has ever heard of Walters. Although Walters has spent a lot of time on Fox News thanks to hefty fees paid to an out of state PR firm which has been financed by Oklahoma taxpayers. However, it's obvious to everyone on the planet that the quickest way to get on Donald Trump's good side is to make him money, solicited, or not. For those interested 55,000 "God Bless the U.S.A bibles would mean a little more than $3 million in sales for the publisher and the Big Orange Guy. Which makes for another happy coincidence. Walters initially requested almost that exact amount from the state to pay for the bibles. Well, why not? Trump could use an influx of cash right now. Despite his boast that he is, "rich as hell," the guy is on the hook to E. Jean Carroll alone for close to $100 million. And that doesn't count legal fees past, present, and future.

Besides, what's a little corruption when it comes to God and country?

Of course, we could go into the whole separation of church and state thing, not to mention a complete lack of Christian scripture in the Declaration, the Bill of Rights, Constitution, and Pledge, but that is probably a discussion left for another day. (Take the time to read them all, the words, Creator, Divine Providence, and even God can apply to a lot of religions besides Christianity.)

Indeed, the subject at hand is a not so subtle attempt by a small time American right wing hack to curry favor with the biggest American right wing hack in history. All the while trying to infuse his brand of Christian nationalism into Oklahoma public education. And have it paid for paid for by every tax paying man and cat woman, no matter what their faith, or lack thereof might be.  

 You know there are warnings about shit like this. Open up--that's right--a king James version of the bible to Matthew 7:15. It says, "Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves."

 Wolves who, I might add, see power as not just another scam, but the greatest scam of all.

10-7-24