The comments below about Christianity and Conservatism in the south are not meant to be statements against either.  They are statements against hypocrisy and "double think".  The latter of these was a term made famous in Orwell's novel, 1984.  From the novel, double think is:

"The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them....To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just so long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies — all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth."

   In this lies the danger not only of Christianity and Conservatism, but of any ideology when the people are deceived. 

   I am amazed at seeing some of the news stories coming out of the States and to a lesser degree Canada.  A country that prides itself on non-invasive, independent freedom is sanctioning the use of machines at airports that take naked pictures of people, -in the name of public safety resulting from that fear of terrorism which is carefully nurtured and used as a tool.  A U.S. Republican party, largely voted in by lower economic base is blocking the extension of U.I. benefits to the 9.3% of unemployed Americans in this economic crisis until the Democrats agree to tax cuts for people making over $250 000. 

   And we're not immune in Canada.  Politicians win on "law and order" platforms in a time when most crime is on the decline.  The new mayor of Toronto convinced everyone that he was going to clean up the fiscal mess of the city, when it turns out that Toronto had one of the best financial situations of any city in Canada. 

   So many issues of public debate, election and otherwise, have become a matter of who can get the best spin-masters to present the facts in the filtered and biased way that provides an advantage.  It seems to me that the guardian against that is supposed to the news media.  The "Fifth Estate" is supposed to, through responsible journalism, safeguard us against those who want to mislead us and present us with compromised facts.  Instead, we have FOX News.