A Critique of American Fundamentalism

Let me start at the abstract. In America, Christian morals have dominated the political scene. In a large country greatly obsessed with being the most advanced, avant-garde society on earth, we have placed the Bible right next to our Constitution. We are the City on a Hill. But being one of the first countries to have a constitution, our society has been greatly based on interpretation of dominating literature. Consider The Verdict, a 1982 film about a trial. One of the issues that arises is the validity of the law. Especially in America, justice becomes more than just a set of values; it becomes volumes of numbered codes. Often, "upholding justice" becomes a matter of reading a book. But before I get into a critique of the legal system, let me bring this to the topic of Fundamentalism.
Fundamentalism is a literal interpretation of the Bible. For many, it is understandable why this is so appealing. America, of course, exists on Earth, a temporal realm infinitely insignificant next to Heaven. Obviously, there's good reason to do what Jesus said to seek eternal life. But like the "blue laws" of United States law, the Bible has a number of trivial rules like never wearing two types of cloth on the same day. Christianity, according to the Catholic authority of Los Angeles, is an expansionist religion, even more than Islam. So why do we never see people picketing "God hates zippers"? It seems like it would be easier to change fashion than to change, say, a person's sexual orientation, right? Thus true Fundamentalists are limited to a only a handful of Christians in America, those that don't really get a lot of publicity because they just look insane. Most cannot claim fundamentalism as justification for various forms of religious extremism or discrimination. In fact, I've never known of any real Fundamentalist activity in America.
Another problem behind fundamentalism for an expansionist religion is that it is detrimental to social morality. Morality must be defined by the "right" choices made freely, not just those bound by the laws. Just as Antigone fights the law to honor her brother, people must make their own decisions to be truly "moral". Morality cannot stem from Fundamentalism penetrating the United States system. Yet Christian fanatics not unlike suicide bombers in the Middle East are slowly gaining a voice in our political system. What do they fear if gays can marry? It isn't really morality, but more a loss of political capital. These people only claim fundamentalism as justification for a political power. Morality, as it was justice in The Verdict, is no longer real, but simply defined by words that few can really accept for literal value.

Thus, I propose the following:
A shift in the American legal system. It cannot be denied that government and law are tied closely together. To uphold morality and general sanity, we must rid politics and the bills produced of religious fanaticism. We must begin at the passing of health care. Doing so shall weaken the political capital of Fundamentalists who are currently dominating the Right. Once they fall, America will return an Edenic political scene when the Right was represented by Barry Goldwater's economy. Again, our debates will focus on real issues like the recession or the war in the Middle East or even North Korea. I accept that health care might cause some problems, but that's why it's necessary to pass. With more issues to discuss, relatively trivial matters such as gay rights will return to the hands of the people. In effect, this would allow gays to marry if they wanted because they would only have to find someone to support them rather than fight the government.

I apologize if I offend anyone, but let's really remember the point of our government. I fear it has become so much more than a tool of this nation's preservation. In Henry David Thoreau's discourse on Civil Disobedience, we learned of a fear of government becoming a living thing, something capable of and willing to reproduce itself at the expense of others. In other words, allowing the government to shape morality, as the Fundamentalists want it, is to allow it to destroy our morality just to reproduce itself. Let us welcome back the pastoral image of American politics.