Read Harper's May 05
Jeff Sharlet and Chris Hedges have written two spectacular articles on the Christian Right in May's Harper's magazine. Any patriot who cares to grasp the gravity of what Dobson and his crowd are up to - who they think they are after the 04 election - and what their real intentions are - would do well to read these pieces.
With Frist buckling to what can only reasonably be called the "Christian Fascists" we must not under estimate the power these people currently wield. And more than that the power they BELIEVE they wield. And I differentiate between Evangelical Christians and the group that Frist is bowing to. I defend and support, any evangelical’s right to preach, speak and vote any way they want. Even to attempt to change the laws because they believe what they believe.
There is a difference between the Evangelical Right and the Christian Fascist movement.
Allowing people to believe what they believe –and ACT ON IT- is American.
Insisting that everyone believe what one group says is truth tears into the very core of who we are as a nation.
A huge variety of opinion rarely scares me. And I think we on the Left throw the word fascist around with too much ease and glee. The empowered GOP in DC angers me more than scares me. They will cannibalize more and more the longer they have power. (Whether or not Pelosi and Reid can actually promote an alternative is questionable.) History indicates that the current GOP will implode and moderate. History repeats. Usually. There are extraordinary exceptions in history and we, in the United States, are not immune.
The GOP has let the crazies take over too much of the party. The brand of lunatics we are seeing in the GOP are not the type to go gently back into the foldafter winning a few battles. Frist, who has New Hampshire on the mind, knows he cannot back down now. There are too many envelopes to be stuffed and too much money to be raised.
The Christian Fascists are NOT believers in the basic tenants of American Democracy. They do not even believe in the basic tenets of their own professed religion.
As important as saving Social Security from Wall Street and moderating Neo Con idiocy in foreign policy is – and, my God, they are important for us and our children – we cannot ignore that the Christian Fascists have arrived. Evangelical movements are a part of the American story. A good part. I no longer believe that Dobson and the rest are part of that tradition. They have placed themselves outside of history as the exceptions, the saviors. And they have power. It must be checked.
With Frist buckling to what can only reasonably be called the "Christian Fascists" we must not under estimate the power these people currently wield. And more than that the power they BELIEVE they wield. And I differentiate between Evangelical Christians and the group that Frist is bowing to. I defend and support, any evangelical’s right to preach, speak and vote any way they want. Even to attempt to change the laws because they believe what they believe.
There is a difference between the Evangelical Right and the Christian Fascist movement.
Allowing people to believe what they believe –and ACT ON IT- is American.
Insisting that everyone believe what one group says is truth tears into the very core of who we are as a nation.
A huge variety of opinion rarely scares me. And I think we on the Left throw the word fascist around with too much ease and glee. The empowered GOP in DC angers me more than scares me. They will cannibalize more and more the longer they have power. (Whether or not Pelosi and Reid can actually promote an alternative is questionable.) History indicates that the current GOP will implode and moderate. History repeats. Usually. There are extraordinary exceptions in history and we, in the United States, are not immune.
The GOP has let the crazies take over too much of the party. The brand of lunatics we are seeing in the GOP are not the type to go gently back into the foldafter winning a few battles. Frist, who has New Hampshire on the mind, knows he cannot back down now. There are too many envelopes to be stuffed and too much money to be raised.
The Christian Fascists are NOT believers in the basic tenants of American Democracy. They do not even believe in the basic tenets of their own professed religion.
As important as saving Social Security from Wall Street and moderating Neo Con idiocy in foreign policy is – and, my God, they are important for us and our children – we cannot ignore that the Christian Fascists have arrived. Evangelical movements are a part of the American story. A good part. I no longer believe that Dobson and the rest are part of that tradition. They have placed themselves outside of history as the exceptions, the saviors. And they have power. It must be checked.
posted by J -SOM at
Saturday, April 16, 2005
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