Truth is sometimes uncomfortable, especially for those of us who want to cheer, sometimes uncritically, for one “side” versus the other. Fandom and devotion can be truth’s enemies, even in the political realm. Our preferred labels often override anything resembling objectivity. At its worst, this practice degenerates into a justification of “us” as we find ourselves in battle with “them.”

Recently, I pointed out Nancy Pelosi’s flippancy with foot-washing for political purposes. It is only fair to do the same for the Right side of the aisle. At the National Rifle Association Convention in Indianapolis, Sarah Palin described waterboarding as the way “we baptize terrorists.”

Granted, Pelosi was engaged in a religious activity, and profaned it, and at least Palin is not doing that, but the implications are still significant. Palin takes a holy ritual and uses it to score cheap political points through sacrilege. Again, is there nothing sacred? As with Pelosi, there is no relationship between the religious activity or belief and the policy being promoted, which means instead of using faith to shape our politics appropriately, Palin, and Pelosi before her, uses faith as an identifier to sell a position.

(Many thanks to Andrew Travis for pointing out the story.)