Has Chad Vegas lost his mind?

How else do you explain the vituperative radio tantrums he’s thrown since his “In God We Trust” proposal surfaced at the Kern High School District trustees meeting on Monday.

I mean, OK, so he wants to ram religion down the throats of high school kids. I get that. I disagree with him, but I get it. 

And, no, I do not for one minute buy his or Bakersfield City Councilwoman Jacquie Sullivan’s argument that this is about patriotism. There are many other things they could do that wouldn’t be nearly as divisive if they truly wanted to promote patriotism or civic learning.

Besides, this is all part of a  national campaign by the American Family Association (http://www.afa.net/), which makes no bones about its belief that God needs a greater presence in the classroom. The group provides the posters — and even the talking points.

Among other things, their website advises: “A word of wisdom to the wise: The posting of the national motto should always reflect a patriotic viewpoint, rather than a religious one. This approach will greatly increase your ability to be successful.”

Let’s call a spade a spade, this is about religion.

Anyway, I’m more interested in the afterglow of that meeting and Vegas’ erratic comments.

Vegas went on the Inga Barks show (KERN Newstalk 1410) on Wednesday and slammed his fellow trustees and this newspaper (go to bakersfield.com to hear it) as God-hating liberals whose agenda includes turning Kern County into a mini-Communist China or Russia. Wow! I guess we should be glad he didn’t call us something really bad — like “French”!

When I talked to Vegas he qualified his statements, saying he had not intended to include fellow trustees, nor, in general, people opposed to his proposal.  “Many of them absolutely believe in God, they said so in their statements.” (Apparently, for Vegas, that’s a prerequisite to having a valid opinion on this issue.)

So, aside from the editorial board, who exactly are these God-hating pinkos?
“The fringe left,” Vegas said.

Who is that?

“The lunatic left.”

Got names?

“I don’t want to name them all,” he said. But he noted one group, The World Can’t Wait, and said they “yell and are hostile.” Actually, because of a mix-up in the speaker cards, they didn’t even get up to speak at Monday’s meeting, according to Jared Thomas, organizer for the local chapter.

I asked Vegas if he felt his comments on the Barks show were unfair, if they further polarized an already incendiary issue.

Nope.

Ok then, back to the original question: Is Vegas off his rocker? 

Heck no.

This is a textbook example of demagoguery, using buzzwords (“atheists,” “communist” and the dreaded “liberal”) to stir up fear and create a bogeyman so people will rally to his cause.

At the same time, his name-calling automatically puts anyone opposed to his proposal on the defensive. To engage in the debate, they must first establish their credentials per his standards.

State for the record that you a) believe in God, b) love this country, and c) are not now, nor have ever been, a member of the Communist party.

The country’s been down this road before and it wasn’t a bright moment in our history.

It’s important to remember that Vegas is a pastor and, as such, a practiced orator. Oral persuasion is a key part of his vocation.

His outburst on Barks’ show was no slip of the tongue. Indeed, when I spoke with him, he revved up again, saying this far-left faction wants a “communistic America.” They are the extremists, he said, “acting as if they are pro-America, and they aren’t.”

Meanwhile, his position is not extreme, he said, only an attempt to uphold the law of the land: “That’s not extreme, that’s normal.”

Maybe to him. But there is no California law — yet — mandating the nation’s motto be put on public facilities.

Vegas likes to “bottom line” things, so here’s mine:

His proposal should be kicked to the curb as pointless and divisive, and so should he.

When his seat is up in 2008, let’s find someone who can help lead a diverse and growing high school district that deserves the brightest minds focused on education, not social engineering.


THE QUOTE:
“If these trustees, and the newspaper is gonna reveal their real agenda, their bottom line agenda is they’re a group of liberal secular atheists who hate God, who are not patriotic. They do not love this country. They would prefer that we become much more like a communist China or Russia, bottom line.”
— Chad Vegas on the Inga Barks show, KERN Newstalk 1410 on Wednesday.

Lois Henry’s column appears Wednesdays and Sundays. Comment at people.bakersfield.com
/home/Blog/noholdsbarred, e-mail her at lhenry@bakersfield.com or call her at 395-7373.