THE ORIGIN OF RIGHTS

Not that long ago I saw Ted Cruz on the news declaring to a group of evangelicals that all rights flow from God.

This is the sort of thing you need to say to get elected to high office in this country. All the presidential hopefuls—Republican and Democrat alike—have to curtsy to the Christian majority to curry favor.

(Except Bernie Sanders, I guess, certified Christ-killer in the eyes of conservative Christians. Maybe in the eyes of all Christians.)

As a nonbeliever, I can't look to God for my rights. In this country one often considers the Constitution as a foundry of rights. Evangelicals would probably say the Constitution was merely redistributing the rights granted to it during some very private ceremony between God and the Founding Fathers.

(Maybe the Masons were involved, who knows. We'd have to ask that guy from Sleepy Hollow.)

In a strange way, I concur with the evangelicals: Rights come from God, which means if there is no God then there are no rights.

See, I don't believe in rights at all, God-given or otherwise. In my view, there are no rights, only agreements.

Besides, if God hands you a portfolio of rights, he can just as easily grab them back again. Like the way a teenager could be grounded after dinging the fender on the family car.

Politicians have to face the reality of believing in God, or at least of looking like they believe in God. My guess is, most of them really do believe.

Which I find mighty troubling.

American presidents have at their fingertips enough nuclear-based power to end civilization. All they need is an excuse, reasonable or otherwise.

Ronald Reagan used to invite evangelicals to the White House, have them sit in on national security briefings. Reagan was vitally concerned with Israel and her biblical role in starting Armageddon.

As we know, some American evangelicals support Israel in hopes of getting that country to light the match on the fuse that brings Jesus Christ back to Earth.

(Maybe they're embarrassed it's taken Christ so damned long to fulfil his only promise.)

Personally, I want my president's eyes on this world, not the next.

Nevertheless, presidential hopefuls (especially those of the Republican persuasion) compete for the title of Most Christian and attack their opponents over their evangelical credentials.

There is probably no way around this potentially fatal nonsense. Sucks to be us, right?