Responsibility in Politics in Relation to Religion

     Religion and politics are nowadays intertwined in America. However, it is not Christianity, Islam, Judaism or any other named religion. Rather, it is the orthodoxy and orthopraxy that dominates mainstream beliefs and ideology. Take, for example, the victim-blaming that is widespread. Cases like Steubenville shift responsibility on the person who was victimized to the extent that the victim is punished by being shamed and chastised. Even something as common as prison rape is supported by a significant portion of America as a means of additional punishment for someone who did something bad. What fails to be scrutinized in cases such as these is a gray line. If someone is accused of doing something wrong, they are marginalized in increasingly extreme and callous ways. Similar in principle is religion, which likewise has a black-and-white outlook on life in general and demands that every member adhere to all its intricate nuances. Just like in politics in today's day-and-age, people are resorting more and more to reactionary actions to counterbalance an anomaly that, if treated fairly, would undermine the current hierarchy. So rather than change a popular and accepted belief, the community instead chooses to quickly and quietly silence issues to try and stop any controversy when it is localized. Actions like these were the bases for the Christian crusades, the Hindu caste system, modern-day Islamic extremism, and many other things.
     Both religion and politics therefore levy a fundamentally unfair burden of responsibility on a specific group, usually a minority. For politics, it is the poorer population and/or a racial minority, who are expected to know that politicians can lie at any time like political commentators, their full rights like lawyers, and study like a far more privileged person. All of these expectations are unreasonable and prevent a deeper look at the causation of the problem as well as practical and efficient alternatives instead of 'they should have tried harder as this is America.' Thus the problem is that both religion and politics are misrepresented as being separate when, in fact, they derive their roots from the same basic place, the like-mindedness and homogeneous actions that define the community. Ultimately, a solution to this issue must be developed. Whether it is a more clear separation of religious reactionism from political activism or a more conciliatory reversion to religion will define America. Obviously, a more empathetic stance will lead to a more egalitarian society, or utopia in the contemporary sense.