To God alone

Anarchy got baptized at a summer conference. On trial for cocaine charges, William Kinney III says he answers to God and not to the laws of Oregon. What happens to a society, to law, when religion is the base of social contention and political thought?

Those who are radical tend to have the loudest voices whether they are proselytizing for religious thought or a political movement. For William Kinney III, it seems to be both. During his trial, his judge silenced him with 12 contempt of court charges, added four months on his sentence and charged a $3,000 fine for talking over attorneys and trying to make his point.

His complete disrespect for the law is what resulted in a fatal auto accident in 2002, which is what got Kinney in trouble in the first place.

Views such as Kinney’s, for obvious reasons, are held as a threat to traditional societal structures. For example, a well-read anarchist despising most things considered well-bred, i.e. raising one’s hand in school to raising one’s hands at church. Radicals test the individual’s limits in society so regular people don’t have to.

Truthfully, education, police forces, etc. are part of civil and religious socialization and one should always be aware of them and their effects. Yet Kinney’s claim of being above the law for religious reasons is beyond reason.

He justifies driving without a license, speeding and having a large amount of cocaine by claiming he’s above the law—”remnant of a divine people” and a “sovereign individual,” according to oregonlive.com. William Kinney may be mentally unstable, but in the minds of some people, he is on to something.

For example, jesusradicals.com provides both an anarchical critique of government power and brings a religious intention, stating that “the best available option [for Christians] is anarchism because it opens up space for Christians to engage without selling out their primary allegiances.”

There seems to be quite the following of this philosophy in Portland, big enough to hold a conference here in early August.

Granted, this group of people seems to be comprised of mostly pacifists, and they have every right to believe what they believe. Yet, the unstable mixology of religion with a heavy dose of political activity has given rise to many oddities over the decades. We have the FLDS (Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints) in rural Utah who still practice polygamy, yet are left alone by the government.

A more local example are the Rajneeshees, who were infamous in the mid’80s for salmonella poisoning in The Dalles in order to influence local elections. While some beliefs are adverse to human equality or in support of political control by fear, it’s easy to judge a book by its cover.

In light of those examples, religious ideals becoming political ideas seems frightening. No one wants to live in a theocracy (nor a “theo-anarchy” for that matter) and different religions have a history of not getting along. People can be die-hards for causes—for candidates, for ideologies, for baseball…maybe.

That’s not to say that having strong religious beliefs is wrong, but when it comes to politics, don’t let the two influence each other to excess. Its easy for a group, especially a religious one, to be inspired to vote or commit less than civil acts based on interpretations from their religious experts. But sometimes it’s not even a pastor. A political pundit may put the fear of God into people as well.

Just look at the Tea Party. Their rhetoric is chock-full of religious allusions that make sense to someone who is at least familiar with the Bible and can catch the references. “Bringing the country back to God” sounds like nothing more than trying to appeal to the audience.

When religion is the base of social contention and political thought, does it present a problem? No. If you find yourself voting for a candidate for their extra-political beliefs, at least you are voting. If you decide to go to a protest, perhaps you’ll inspire someone on the other side of the road to pick up a sign too. A religion can act as the lens through which you see the world.

It’s only when driven by extreme fervor that things get unstable, which brings to mind Charles Manson, Haqani network and Constantine.

Just don’t even try justifying cocaine charges and fatal hit-and-runs with your beliefs in a public court. It didn’t work for William Kinney III.