Several weeks ago, I read a blog online by Frank Schaeffer that I just couldn't get out of my head... I knew I needed to post it, but was worried that it was "too much". For those of you unfamiliar with Frank's background, I highly suggest that you check the Wikipedia link to his name. I've heard him interviewed several times as he is a bit of a media darling of the far left, but never have his words resonated with me the way they did in this blog. The title was "The Real Lesson of Iran -- Beware America's Mullahs"...
When I first read it, I found myself both cheering Frank's bravery at calling out the religious hypocrisy of so many of our politicians and feeling a little horrified at how pervasive the spread of these kind of evangelical beliefs have become in American politics.
The recent swirl of revelations involving "C Street" and the background of the group responsible for the Prayer Luncheons, for housing so many of our representatives (including Michigan representative Bart Stupak), for influencing so much of our laws... have made sit up and take notice to Frank's words. Am I paranoid? Maybe. But as the old saying goes, "just because you are paranoid doesn't mean you aren't being followed."
Have we spent so much time judging "muslim extremists" over the last decade that we never took the time to look in the mirror ourselves to see what we have become? Or was it somehow okay, because it was "our" religion? So it couldn't be as horrible as some of the repressive muslim regimes, right? WRONG.
You can see it in the rise of violence against abortion providers, minorities, and government officials... You see it in the ridiculous rhetoric of "the birthers". These are intolerant people with no respect for anyone who isn't a white male. They are threatened by inevitable change and are ready to go down clawing to keep whatever privilege they have enjoyed for most of modern history. They are insecure, ignorant, and self-righteous as big a threat to this country as any Kim Jong-il. Or global warming. Or water shortage. Or economic disaster.
I used to try to avoid these type of conversations and posts, because I feared coming off as paranoid but I am starting to think that by continuing to avoid them I am just being disingenuous. By not speaking out about these crazies, I am just as complicit as the "moderate muslims" that we often criticized for not taking a more hardline stance against those that would corrupt THEIR religion with extremism...
We can all feel it now, bubbling below the surface. It is an intensely uncomfortable feeling. But look, this is not a black and white issue - just because someone proclaims an affiliation with God does not give them a free pass to behave maliciously and without media scrutiny...
Is anyone else feeling this?
