Thoughts in the comments

i checked the blog's traffic mid-afternoon yesterday and found it unexpectedly going through the roof... i checked and found out that my post on bush's "third awakening" had been picked up by the daou report on salon and featured as the number one item... well, yay for me, i guess... anyway, the post generated an interesting comment and two reponses, one of them mine...

the comment...

I always find it amazing how 2 individuals can hear the same things, and come to radically different conclusions.

What I heard is a statement reflecting what sociologists have been postulating for some time: that there has been a revival in religion and religious thought, particularly following the events of 9/11.

The liberal/progressive groups in this country wonder why religious people (and there are A LOT of religious people in this country), don't identify with them, especially given the strength of social justice issues within religious thinking. Well, keep calling them names like "wingnuts" and you'll keep on getting the short-end of the stick.

Perhaps you might focus on the things you have in common with religious people rather than highlighting the differences and calling them names all the time. They have every right to believe what they do and vote based on their convictions. You have that right as well. Seems your side is constantly trying to squelch the rights of others. I thought you were supposedly against such things?

Those in glass houses...
Todd | 09.14.06 - 4:19 am | #

the response...

Todd, you have deliberately constructed a false dichotomy. Liberals and progressives are overwhelmingly religious. There is no split between liberals and the relgious. Never has been, never will be.

There is a huge split between the political operatives who use religion for secular gain and the rest of the country. But those operatives aren't religious. They are blasphemers and hypocrites. And the rest of the country is rapidly learning exactly what Robertson and Dobson and the leaders of the "megachurches" are up to: amassing money and power while weakening America by undermining science and other kinds of critical thinking.

And they don't like it at all.
tristero | Homepage | 09.14.06 - 5:39 am | #

my thoughts...

if you completely throw out any context, i would, to some extent, agree with todd... unfortunately, however, context can't be ignored... it has been clear for some time that a signficant percentage of what i would call "extreme" fundamentalist christians believe the "end times" are coming and have unabashedly supported the middle east conflicts, particularly israel and lebanon, as evidence of that... when bush talks about historical battles between good and evil, there is no doubt in my mind who he is addressing... he is, of course, absolutely entitled to his religious beliefs, as are we all... he is NOT entitled, however, to politicize them, to weave them into the foreign policy of the united states, and to thus impact the lives of hundreds of millions, if not billions of people, who do not necessarily share his beliefs...
profmarcus | Homepage | 09.14.06 - 6:54 am | #

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