Lex:
I was by no means taking a "cheap shot", nor pygmy hunting, when I made the observation that the United`States
arose from Puritan origins ( remember grade-school civics?) which still permeate our collective phenomenology as to
what is proper and what is obscene; that the United`States is the most fundamentalist Christian nation in the
industrialized West, and is, in general, more religiously oriented even in the realm of mainstream religion; and that
these values - that is, religious enjoinders - are at odds with our fascination with the pornography of sex and killing.
This is hardly a shot from the hip speculation: A society based upon the separation of Church and State ( recall that,
aside from avarice, this country was settled by religious outcasts, who were seeking to observe in their own fashion
without oppression; this includes Jews, who were literally being hunted , through Europe, South America, and the
British, French and Spanish` New World colonies by the Inquisition - an institution which survived into the twentieth
century ) is plagued, each election, by what are, essentially, issues of particularized religious morality. Stem cell
research, the teaching of Darwinian evolution and sex education in our schools, and even abortion, are morally null
issues - except as these matters interface with fundamentalist and orthodox Christianity. Thus, each election, we
see a contravention of the Founding Father's intentions ( the founders being either atheists or deists according to
historical speculation, based upon a review of the written notes of Washington, Franklin, and most especially
Jefferson, a leading light of Secular Humanism ) in the spectacle of politicians appealing to the Religious Right. If
you've not noticed this tendency by candidates for office to establish an ecclesiastically moral high ground so as to
please the fundamentalists ( and not noted that these issues, which are in the venue of religion and morality, not
broad-based political imperatives such as foreign affairs, military spending, basic human rights such as adequate
housing, nutrition and medical care; and, most compellingly, the state of our failing economy - these issues are
pushed onto the slates of the parties by small, but vociferous , caucuses, despite their irrelevance to political affairs
and the leadership qualities of the candidates ), I'd have to conclude that you're not politically oriented, or simply
indifferent - and thus oblivious to - the maneuvering of the religious right. There are fundamentalist groups of such a
radical nature that their agenda is to create a theocracy of American government.
I agree that this is low hanging fruit - but one need not pick it, it drops from the branches and lands at one's feet.
Regarding the inherent hypocrisy of an ultra-religious society churning out what is described as "pornography": This
came to issue before the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court, which held that pornography is a community
based perception. Thus, in New York City or San Francisco, people pursue their interests - whatever they may be -
with little interference. In more conservative regions, classics such as Catcher in the Rye, and texts containing
Darwinian Theory ( as opposed to Creationism ) are not only banned from curricula, but actually burned; and
communities fight constitutionally based organizations to establish a status quo in opposition to the first
amendment ( see the Litigation Records, ACLU).These disturbances permeate our society, and not infrequently turn
violent - as in the murder of physicians, or the bombing of the abortion clinics at which they practiced.
That I believe that our society is more culturally shattered and disturbed by untoward religious controversy is based,
again, on the concurrence of a fascination with pornography, and our standing as the most adamantly Christian
society of the industrial west ( see " The God Delusion"). Even a staunch conservative such as Barry Goldwater
answered the religious right with the assertion that his legislative initiatives would not be dictated by fringe groups
foisting their beliefs upon him, or the majority of Americans. But the majority of Americans, if less fanatic, are
nevertheless convinced in the existence of absolutes, as determined by their communions ( ibid).
We are, of necessity, a heterogeneous society, composed of a vast number of ethnic groups with opposing beliefs.
This is far less the case among other cultures - for example, Islamic states, and , in particular, Japan, which are
quite homogeneous as to ethnicity and cultural proclivities.
This was my point, and it is hardly a cheap shot, but of grave concern to many first amendment advocates. I think
that if you perform even meager research into the religious trends in the United States, and consider our
simultaneous fascination with, and aversion to, sexuality and violence ( which is self-evident ) you'll find the paradox
and the hypocrisy. Consider that one fundamentalist televangelist fell from grace, and another managed to weep his
way into being a rehabilitated Christian, after raping a woman in a hotel room, or consorting with prostitutes,
respectively.
Lex, no matter how much you wish to view our society as being great and noble ( and in many respects it is), the
literature - philosophic, historical, sociological, and political - does not support your thesis nor outrage that we are
not a uniquely confused and torn people in matters of morality and ethics. It is saddening, not a source of
amusement or derision.
I am, incidentally, an observant member of an orthodox Christian communion; I am not anti-religious, and hardly anti-
American. I serve my church, and I've served this country, both of which I love and respect. I don't take "cheap shots"
at those things I hold dear, and I don't make statements without foundation. If you wish, I will forward you references -
as many as you wish - regarding my views. Some are flagrantly anti-religious, some very balanced, some fanatically
pro-religion. All address the social issues discussed above, albeit from very different perspectives. It is from the more
balanced studies that I've derived my views.
Regards, Craig. `
, Sep 19, 2008; 01:54 p.m.
