Just noticed this discussion of the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979, which is used as an analogy to the radical right wing fringe beliefs of some Mormons.
At first I thought the comparison was over the top, but I am not so sure.
Yes, I know most of these folks are just trolls, but some of them actually believe the crap they spew. As much as I would prefer simply to mock these idiots, I recognize that there is a dangerous edge to them, as fanatics tend to sacrifice their values ostensibly in the service of those values. The hostage-takers, for example, espoused freedom, faith, and morality but engaged in theft, torture, kidnapping, and other crimes. They thought their behavior was entirely justified, even though it violated the tenets of Islam, as some of their hostages often reminded them. The same potential exists among some of our crazier Mormon-rightwing fanatics. I have no doubt that, in the service of liberty, they would be happy to deprive their enemies (liberals, feminists, gays, immigrants, and so on) of their liberty. For instance, we’ve seen efforts over the years not only to deny gay couples the right to work benefits but also the right to work in the military and in public service. In the effort to “protect the unborn,” these folks would force women to go through pregnancy but without the resources to care for their children; they have used humiliation, intimidation, and plain hatred in their quest to celebrate the dignity of human life.
But these people are just like the hostage-takers: they believe fervently in a reality created by talk radio and extremist Mormon rhetoric, and they reject any facts or information that conflicts with that reality. Unlike them, I am happy to let them vent their nonsense. As the recent election showed, their vision of America is not appealing to most Americans, even Republican voters. What worries me is that too many right-wingers are responding not by thinking about what changes they need to make to become politically relevant again but by talking about civil war and secession. One of my coworkers said he thinks the only solution is revolution: “I’m ready.” A more extreme example is the Mormon woman in Arizona who ran over her husband with her SUV because he hadn’t voted, thus dooming the world to four more years of Obama.
"It doesn't seem fair, does it Norm--that I should have so much knowledge when there are people in the world that have to go to bed stupid every night." -- Clifford C. Clavin, USPS
"¡No contaban con mi astucia!" -- El Chapulin Colorado
A more extreme example is the Mormon woman in Arizona who ran over her husband with her SUV because he hadn’t voted, thus dooming the world to four more years of Obama.
GILBERT, Ariz. — Police in Arizona say a Mesa woman injured her husband by running over him with an SUV because he didn’t vote in last week’s presidential election.
Authorities say Holly Solomon opposed President Barack Obama and was upset her husband didn’t go to the polls.
The husband told investigators Solomon believed her family was going to face hardship if Obama were re-elected.
Police say Solomon chased her husband through a Gilbert parking lot, circled him as hid behind a light pole, struck him and pinned him under the vehicle as he tried to flee.
Solomon told police she was just trying to scare him but accidentally stepped on the accelerator.
She was booked on an aggravated assault count and it wasn’t clear whether she has a lawyer.
Zadok: I did not have a faith crisis. I discovered that the Church was having a truth crisis. Maksutov: That's the problem with this supernatural stuff, it doesn't really solve anything. It's a placeholder for ignorance.
If sending your kids to a Labor-party summer camp is the moral equivalent of mass murder, what's getting run over with an SUV between spouses?
"It doesn't seem fair, does it Norm--that I should have so much knowledge when there are people in the world that have to go to bed stupid every night." -- Clifford C. Clavin, USPS
"¡No contaban con mi astucia!" -- El Chapulin Colorado
You know Muslim terrorist are scary but they pale in comparison to women fundamentalist drivers!!!
"Any over-ritualized religion since the dawn of time can make its priests say yes, we know, it is rotten, and hard luck, but just do as we say, keep at the ritual, stick it out, give us your money and you'll end up with the angels in heaven for evermore."
I like what Karen Armstrong says about fundamentalist in The Battle For God.
(Fundamentalist movements) are embattled forms of spirituality which have emerged as a response to a perceived crisis. They are engaged in a conflict with enemies whose secular politics and beliefs seem inimical to religion itself. Fundamentalist do not regard this battle as a conventional political struggle, but experience it as a cosmic war between good and evil. (hmmm does she know BC and Droopy personally?) They fear annihilation, and try to fortify their beleaguered identities by means of selective retrieval of certain doctrines and practices of the past. To avoid contamination, they often withdraw from mainstream society to create a counterculture; yet fundamentalist are not impractical dreamers. They have absorbed the pragmatic rationalism of modernity, and under the guidance of their charismatic leaders, they refine these "fundamentals" so as to create an ideology the provides the faithful with a plan of action. Eventually they fight back and attempt to resacralize an increasingly skeptical world.
"Any over-ritualized religion since the dawn of time can make its priests say yes, we know, it is rotten, and hard luck, but just do as we say, keep at the ritual, stick it out, give us your money and you'll end up with the angels in heaven for evermore."
Fence Sitter wrote:I like what Karen Armstrong says about fundamentalist in The Battle For God.
(Fundamentalist movements) are embattled forms of spirituality which have emerged as a response to a perceived crisis. They are engaged in a conflict with enemies whose secular politics and beliefs seem inimical to religion itself. Fundamentalist do not regard this battle as a conventional political struggle, but experience it as a cosmic war between good and evil. (hmmm does she know BC and Droopy personally?) They fear annihilation, and try to fortify their beleaguered identities by means of selective retrieval of certain doctrines and practices of the past. To avoid contamination, they often withdraw from mainstream society to create a counterculture; yet fundamentalist are not impractical dreamers. They have absorbed the pragmatic rationalism of modernity, and under the guidance of their charismatic leaders, they refine these "fundamentals" so as to create an ideology the provides the faithful with a plan of action. Eventually they fight back and attempt to resacralize an increasingly skeptical world.
That pretty much nails it. I fear for those kids born into the fundamentalist bubble. Ever see the Duggards on TLC? Those kids look like brainwashed members of Cuba's Unión de Jóvenes Comunistas. Sad, really.
"It doesn't seem fair, does it Norm--that I should have so much knowledge when there are people in the world that have to go to bed stupid every night." -- Clifford C. Clavin, USPS
"¡No contaban con mi astucia!" -- El Chapulin Colorado
