Angst & Smalltown Religion

"God is not a Cosmic Bellboy
for whom we can press a button
to get things..." - Harry E. Fosdick, Prayer

By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ
The Paz Files

HARLINGEN, Texas - In religion, you live and die with imagery and perception. Faith may be the communal linchpin in this hemisphere, but personal belief makes its own fierce fight. God, someone once said, is merely a concept for how we measure our pain. In some homes, that God is the sole reason for living; in others it is the maker of pain and unrest.

Voters of a humble sector of this Rio Grande Valley community elected a man named Danny Castillo to the Harlingen City Commission on Friday. The election was largely insignificant, regardless of what some of the local mediocre bloggers said for days on end. Castillo, a former chief of police here, like most mortals, has his good side and his bad side. We're speaking morality, but then who are we to judge our fellow man? In any case, it was often said during the heated campaign for the commission's District 1 seat that Castillo harbored harsh feelings against the Catholic Church. In places such as Bangkok or Beijing or Saigon, that would not matter one iota. Here, where the larger perecentage of residents call themselves proud Catholics, Castillo's stance seemed at once insane and dangerous.

What the new commissioner's actual religion is only he knows. Some have speculated that he must be a member of some fringe outfit, such as the severe Jehovah Witness kingdom, or perhaps the more palatable Baptist faith. Who knows?

But in a part of the country where marital infidelity and cash exchanges play a larger role in politics, Castillo's ranting and raving against Catholics proved a bit much for some. In most postings, local Bloggers damned him. Oddly, or perhaps not, Castillo ignored the religious jabbing, saying nothing about it the days leading up to his election night victory. Does it matter that he is so anti-Catholic? It would be nice to get his actual thoughts on his position against the region's dominant church, but, no, it doesn't matter. Not yet. Not until Castillo takes his religion to the commission chambers, which would be his first cardinal sin.

Does it portend to future religious strife here? In politics, anyway?

That would be interesting in more ways than one. Lately, religion and politics have been mixing more and more across the country. Evangelicals dance on the national psyche daily now that the 2012 presidential race has begun. Right-wing zealots are burning Americans at the stake with precious little evidence of some horrible social virus that would threaten mankind's existence. Conversely, those who hold truth that religion is something allowed, but not revered by the collective are themselves dancing with contrarian ideas, ideas that go against the teachings of western religion.

Would it be a sweeter pill to swallow if this community wondered about new City Commissioner Castillo's sexual preferences? Would the voters care if he took the unpopular side of that issue? Is he for the religious tenet that says marriage is only between a man and a woman? Does that matter to the struggling residents of ever-struggling Harlingen? It's something to think about - for one day tops.

Castillo has postured himself for elected office and he has won the peoples' vote.

Whatever else he may - or may not - be likely will surface in the coming months, and, like Catholicism itself, he will be judged on how his dogma plays...

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