Do not expect a split between the allegedly not-religious-at-all Tea Party & the Religious Right. Paranoia just draws them closer together.
But this convergence between the two groups goes well beyond coalition politics and reflects a radicalization of conservative evangelical elites that is just as striking as the rise of the Tea Party itself. Indeed, the worldview of many Christian Right leaders has evolved into an understanding of government (at least under secularist management) as a satanic presence that seeks to displace God and the churches through social programs, to practice infanticide and euthanasia, to destroy parental control of children, to reward vice and punish virtue, and to thwart America’s divinely appointed destiny as a redeemer nation fighting for Christ against the world’s many infidels.
This is followed by a laundry list of lunacy from James Robison, & a conclusion.
After examining the beliefs of the contemporary Christian Right, candidates like Bachmann and Perry seem less like pols cleverly straddling factions and more like leaders of a single constituency. In particular, the fiery “constitutional conservatism” espoused by many of them reflects a belief in a God-given Founders’ design that equally demands limited government, absolute property rights, a ban on abortion (including some forms of contraception) and same-sex relationships, the right to a Christian education, a stern attitude towards economic “losers,” and hostility to foreign countries other than Israel.
When the Christian Right leaders convened by James Robison come together in Houston on August 6 at Rick Perry’s invitation to hold a “national call to prayer for a nation in crisis,” it may or may not be connected to a presidential run by its host. But it will illustrate that the Christian Right is hardly dead or asleep, and is no longer by any means at odds with the fiscal and economic radicalism gripping the rest of the conservative movement.
A recap of some of the more colorful Xians who'll be praying 6 August.Masochists/aficionados/connoisseurs of the genre will find longer versions here.
If Mittens gets the R nod*, we wonder if all the gawd-bovvering loons will come out of the woodwork & rally behind Bachmann, Perry or Palin for a third party run. Real fun!
And while the rise of the Batshit Brigade offers endless possibilities for entertainment, the unfortunate truth is that there's always a chance that one could slip through and try to destroy the country.
If you'll recall, one Geo. W. Bush was the pride of the Religious Right when he was ushered into office.
I am all for demonic idols. US needs more... Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.
Orwell feared our oppressors would deprive us of information. Huxley feared that our oppressors would give us so much information that we would ignore it and be reduced to passivity and egoism.
Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.
Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of stars, heroes, and other political/religious morons beckoning that their lives mean something and that this is the full life we should desire or some other type of crap fulfillment they believe we deserve because of them. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny “failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions.” In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure and distraction.
In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.
9 comments:
It's going to be a bizarre campaign season.
Not an Expert Editor:
If Mittens gets the R nod*, we wonder if all the gawd-bovvering loons will come out of the woodwork & rally behind Bachmann, Perry or Palin for a third party run. Real fun!
*Pundit talk. Ha ha, stupid.
From Hey Zeus in the heart of Texas
http://tinyurl.com/3jkr4q6
Theocracy is working out great for Iran.
I swear, there must be something in the water.
Congrats on the C & L linkage, M Bouffant!
A campaign poster for Rick?
Rick Perry -- Baby Killer
The governor who killed living baby Sun Hudson
And while the rise of the Batshit Brigade offers endless possibilities for entertainment, the unfortunate truth is that there's always a chance that one could slip through and try to destroy the country.
If you'll recall, one Geo. W. Bush was the pride of the Religious Right when he was ushered into office.
Grateful Editor:
Ooooh, look at that!
Thanks for telling us, Auntie, & thanks to Batocchio for the link.
N.C., Bush wasn't nearly as openly loony about His Imaginary Friend as Perry seems to be.
I am all for demonic idols.
US needs more...
Orwell warns that we will be overcome by an externally imposed oppression. But in Huxley’s vision, no Big Brother is required to deprive people of their autonomy, maturity and history. As he saw it, people will come to love their oppression, to adore the technologies that undo their capacities to think.
What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book, for there would be no one who wanted to read one.
Orwell feared our oppressors would deprive us of information. Huxley feared that our oppressors would give us so much information that we would ignore it and be reduced to passivity and egoism.
Orwell feared that the truth would be concealed from us. Huxley feared the truth would be drowned in a sea of irrelevance.
Orwell feared we would become a captive culture. Huxley feared we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with some equivalent of stars, heroes, and other political/religious morons beckoning that their lives mean something and that this is the full life we should desire or some other type of crap fulfillment they believe we deserve because of them. As Huxley remarked in Brave New World Revisited, the civil libertarians and rationalists who are ever on the alert to oppose tyranny “failed to take into account man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions.” In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In Brave New World, they are controlled by inflicting pleasure and distraction.
In short, Orwell feared that what we hate will ruin us. Huxley feared that what we love will ruin us.
We should fear both worlds.
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