Say It Isn’t So!
A favorite occupation of liberal American politicians over the years has been to vilify the “religious right.” It is, they say, inhabited by politically incorrect, intolerable bigots guilty of impeding the march toward a secular, New Age, cultural utopia. It mattered little to these politicians that after God was banished from our classrooms and national institutions, our culture’s moral decadence increased at breakneck speed. And they touted as “liberation” the “I’m OK, you’re OK” anything-goes society that came into vogue. In truth, however, this repudiation of Judeo-Christian standards and values has spawned a generation that, for lack of absolutes, flounders in a sea of self-obsession. Obviously, America is reaping the whirlwind.
As the facts show, the much-maligned “religious right” does not hold exclusive rights to the bigotry banner. Liberal Democrats reportedly are planning to seize the initiative and surpass all previous political campaigns in rhetorical mudslinging at people of faith. This time the issue is not predictable election-year antics but a monumental breach of integrity and nothing less than a threat to national security.
We refer to an article by Howard Fineman in Newsweek, revealing the liberal battle plan. “Democrats,” Fineman wrote, “are planning a daring assault on the most critical turf in politics: the cultural mainstream. . . . The GOP is out of the mainstream, some Democrats will argue next year, because it’s too dependent upon an intolerant ‘religious right.’ This is an incendiary battle plan—essentially comparing the GOP right with the Taliban.”1 In this case, Taliban equals conservative Christian “terrorists” guilty of the intolerable transgression of publicly exercising their constitutional liberties in the political arena.
In an article titled “Christians as Taliban” in the January 19 issue of World magazine, Gene Edward Veith commented, “The Democrats’ ‘daring assault’ on conservative Christians must be framed as religious bigotry. This is genuine religious intolerance. This is secular extremism.” Veith concluded, “Christians will have to make the case that they are nothing like the Taliban and that any attempt to link them—either by ‘interfaith’ theologies or political propaganda—is theological terrorism.”
Of course, should liberal extremists launch such a campaign of “theological terrorism,” it will be an incomparable blunder. The country cannot now afford to tolerate business-as-usual dirty politics. We are embroiled in a war on terrorism that is being led by a president who is acting decisively for all Americans. To align George W. Bush and a large segment of loyal citizens with Taliban terrorists who slaughtered thousands of our people and conspire to murder thousands more is an insufferable insult. Anyone, from whatever end of the political spectrum, who even hints at such allegations should feel the weight of unprecedented national outrage. And elected officials who do so should be drummed out of public office for life.
Furthermore, many more people now identify with some of the core convictions of the so-called religious right. Included in the growing ranks of these relative newcomers are non-fundamentalist, conservative Christians; Jewish people; and a host of others who value staying alive in a free society. Our national survival is under assault by people obsessed with our destruction in the name of their religion. And whether liberal secularists like to admit it or not, it is the Judeo-Christian virtues and liberties they are so free to abuse that lie at the heart of the conflict. It is precisely because of the basic values that have grown out of Americans’ commitment to the Bible and its mandates that we have been marked for annihilation. Thus, by attacking the people who conscientiously uphold the faith of this nation’s founding fathers, liberal extremists join hands with our killers—genuine religious bigots who conspire to repeal every freedom the Judeo-Christian culture has enshrined. Should true Talibanists achieve their goal, these naïve American liberal anarchists will quickly learn what real intolerance is all about.
The battle against an “axis of evil” is far above partisan political demagoguery. No linking the “religious right” with the forces of evil—not this time around. America needs unity. And no transient political advantage is worth jeopardizing it.
Columnist Veith said, “The Democratic PR machine is denying Mr. Fineman’s report, but liberal columnists and pundits are already sounding the theme.” If the “Democratic PR machine’s” denial is genuine, Americans must hear it clearly articulated by the leaders of the Democratic Party. Please, ladies and gentlemen, say it isn’t so.
ENDNOTES
- Howard Fineman, “Bush’s Next Challenge: Dodging No. 41’s Fate,” Newsweek, 31, 2001/Jan. 7, 2002, p. 94.
