Recently I was asked by a Democratic pollster if I agreed with the MAGA crowd that Chief Justice John Roberts should be impeached for criticizing the White House occupant for calling for impeachments of judges who disagree with him. They gave me a Yes box or a No box to mark my response.
I responded that it was by no means a binary choice, and they were lazy to put the question that way. I said that Justice Roberts should be impeached for:
His Citizens United decision that opened the door to Elon Musk and so many other billionaires and corporations, totally destroying our democracy and reducing it to an auction. Such corporate buying of presidential elections, legislative elections, and now Supreme Court elections (the current race in Wisconsin cost over $100 million), is an outrage. Impeach Roberts for that.
His effectively destroying the voting rights laws, bought at such a price by the blood and imprisonment of so many people during the civil rights movement. Including the martyrdom of Dr. King and many more. Impeach him for that.
His killing the Roe v Wade decision and thereby inviting the killing of women who have complications in their pregnancies, as well as denying one-half of the human race the right to their bodily autonomy. Impeach him for that.
His giving unprecedented power to a president, contrary to the very spirit of the Constitution, promising they will never be held responsible for crimes they commit while president. And thus opening the door to the crimes of killing Social Security, killing USAID and thereby murdering millions in poor countries who have AIDS and other diseases and so much more, emanating from today’s president hell bent on revenge and the killing of American democracy. Impeach him for that.
His deliberate delaying and delaying and delaying the decision on whether a presidential candidate already convicted of 34 felonies should be accountable for his past misdeeds, like instigating a coup on January 6. Impeach him for that.
His allowing blatant corruption in SCOTUS, and thus demeaning its purpose and reputation. Impeach him for that.
But he should not be impeached now, because were he to exit, we would get an even worse Chief Justice, given the president in charge and the craven, spineless and conscience-less party that supports him and his judicial (and other) nominees and controls the Senate.
Roberts should not be impeached for standing up a bit to a president seeking to impeach justices who disagree with him. That is a modest positive in his sad reign as Chief Justice. (That and his vote to keep Obamacare alive several years ago.)
I share this story as just one example of how unthinking some of the Democratic party’s efforts can be. A simplistic poll that allows only a Yes and No box to punch is self-defeating. Life and politics and evil are rarely so simple. Can pollsters cease being so simplistic?
See Matthew Fox, Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ.
And Fox, Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society.
And Fox, The Pope’s War: How Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and Hot It Can Be Saved.
And Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine.
And Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the World.
Banner Image: Working America Field Manager canvassing AFL-CIO members. Photo by Molly Theobald for the AFL-CIO, 2008. Wikimedia Commons.
Queries for Contemplation
Have you found political pollsters to be overly simplistic with their yes/no questions? Maybe they should leave room for comments and not just binary choices.
Recommended Reading
Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election
Matthew Fox tells us that he had always shied away from using the term “Anti-Christ” because it was so often used to spread control and fear. However, given today’s rise of authoritarianism and forces of democracide, ecocide, and christofascism, he turns the tables in this book employing the archetype for the cause of justice, democracy, and a renewed Earth and humanity.
From the Foreword: If there was ever a time, a moment, for examining the archetype of the Antichrist, it is now…Read this book with an open mind. Good and evil are real forces in our world. ~~ Caroline Myss, author of Anatomy of the Spirit and Conversations with the Divine.
For immediate access to Trump & The MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: A Handbook for the 2024 Election, order the e-book with 10 full-color prints from Amazon HERE.
To get a print-on-demand paperback copy with black & white images, order from Amazon HERE or IUniverse HERE.
To receive a limited-edition, full-color paperback copy, order from MatthewFox.org HERE.
Order the audiobook HERE for immediate download.
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics
The Pope’s War offers a provocative look at three decades of corruption in the Catholic Church, focusing on Josef Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI. The final section in the book focuses on birthing a truly catholic Christianity.
“This book should be read by everybody, not only for its ferocious courage, but also for its vision for what needs to be saved from the destructive forces that threaten authentic Christianity.” ~ Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope.
“In the gripping The Pope’s War, Matthew Fox takes an unwavering look at the layers of corruption in the Catholic Church, holding moral truth against power.” — Jason Berry, author of Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II
The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature, to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth
Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American Creation Spirituality and in South American Liberation Theology. Creation Spirituality challenges readers of every religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator.
“A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice.
“I am reading Liberating Gifts for the People of the Earth by Matt Fox. He is one that fills my heart and mind for new life in spite of so much that is violent in our world.” ~ Sister Dorothy Stang.
