A friend and fellow anti-theist from Canada posed this question to me the other day:
“… when I first made your acquaintance, your frustration with American ‘Christians’ gave you cause to discount my warnings about Islam … I put to you back then and I put again to you now that one ‘moderate’ individual holding fast to Islam is exponentially more dangerous than 50 Scalias + 50 Pat Robertsons + 50 Rick Santorums put together.”
My reply to him is as follows. See if you agree:
I do not need convincing of the threat Islam represents to Europe and potentially the US. However, Europe is not the US. We have people here, Christians, who are distorting our Constitution for religious purposes … people at the highest levels of the Judiciary and Legislative Branches that hold first allegiance to their God and Bible and second to the Constitution.
Laws are being passed in states making official prayer days; a Supreme Court decision declared corporations have religious rights- just like individuals- that permit them to refuse providing contraception coverage to their employees; Justice Thomas of the Supreme Court says he believes the states are allowed to set up their own state religions. There are tons more such examples of religious activism at state levels. All are frightening.
Add to that a 20-25% vocal and armed minority of fundamentalist Right Wing Christian extremist nutters, FOX News devotees one and all, largely itching for a reason to instigate armed rebellion, and the danger of fundamentalist Christian fanaticism to this nation becomes magnified exponentially.
We have 0.8% Muslims in the US. Compare that to the UK at almost 5%, France at 10% and other European nations in high single or low double digits. They are nations who have largely thrown off Xtian fanaticism. Their greatest threat now is the growing Muslim population that seeks not to assimilate but to displace European culture. But, the US is still THE focal point of Christian fanaticism in the Industrialized World. We still have to battle that which has already been largely defeated overseas. That is a fact, pure and simple.
SO… while I appreciate the threat that is Islam to the US and the world as a whole, the clear and MOST PRESENT danger to the US are far Right Christian fanatics, of whom there are five on our Supreme Court appointed for life, dozens more in elected positions, millions roaming the streets.
Speaking as an American and with all due respect to your knowledge of my country - the threat of a Christian controlled Executive branch, coupled with the Legislative and Judicial branches that they currently control is the greatest danger to secular freedoms in the United States, at least for the immediate future.
I held that position when we first met ... I maintain it now.
Although Islam is the most violent religion today I would agree that christian fascism is more of a threat to the United States. After all you have a Supreme Court mostly christian and conservative. And then congress and senate the same which leads to a slippery slope into the dark ages.
ReplyDeleteDo we need to choose which is the greater danger? Both/all are deadly. The real concern is which zone is the most protected from such virus. Those innoculated against smallpox or polio are the safest...our real concern. You are aiding that innoculation. Keep it up, and do not worry about keeping score about the greater/est enemy.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, another succinct and to the point view. As to the Xtian movement the white supremacist event also, which in many cases incorporates the same views. I agree these two elements are far more of a threat to everyone's liberties than the Islamic element.
ReplyDeleteLord Acton was certainly astute in his observation that, …"There is no error so monstrous that it fails to find defenders among the ablest men."
I think that I would agree with Neale; that there are many home grown genuine red white and blue Christian terror organizations operating as supposed citizen militias guaranteed under your very flawed constitution, who would attempt a coup d'etat on the current administration. Islam has no possible chance, but fucking xtianity sure does. The theocratic horde is at the gate
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. From the day Ronald Reagan was elected until the day I retired in 2003, I warned my high school English students against the dangers of a theocracy (well armed with historical literature) and also warned them that we were headed in that direction. I think only a few heeded me. And here we are, closer than ever. I wonder if my former students recall my words as they watch and read now. Sadly, I think many of them still blindly believe that "our" theocracy will be a good one. Oh yes
ReplyDeleteI do now think that the danger of Islam is strong, and as you say, particularly in Europe. We hear of all the pressure for European countries to accommodate their Muslim immigrants--who most likely left the Middle East to get away from that oppression. Now they want to recreate it. The same thing happened in the American Colonies, with the Puritans being even more restrictive than the church in England (once they had made up their mind what their church would be.)
But here in the US, we have a clear and present danger, all the more so, because most don't see it. So when they start fighting over whether the evangelicals or the pentecostals shall run things, they may realize what they have done to us
Yours, in fear (frankly),
Marie
Amen (satirically). I'm more worried about the christians next door than the muslims that live across the ocean and several miles further inland.
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