I recently stumbled upon this long list of quotes from “the American Taliban”. Looked at through an Integral lens, all of these people and their statements are merely expressions of a mythical/magical world-view, one that is intolerant of other grand narratives and fiercely at war with, above all else, rationalism. The mythic-magic orientation of understanding the world is concerned primarily with the tribe/clan/group/nation and demands either conversion or annihilation of people or viewpoints that differ from its own, and is pretty much the realm of organized religion the world-over (though there are important aspects and practitioners of various faiths that transcend). Of course, this world-view is an important and valuable part of human evolution and one that we all must go through- ideally around the ages of 6-10 though; then we hopefully begin to understand logic, rationalism, pluralism, and tolerance. For these folks, however, personal development goes awry at a crucial juncture and you get stuff like this. Warning, some extreme nonsense follows in a few of my favorites from the above link:
“I want you to just let a wave of intolerance wash over. I want you to let a wave of hatred wash over you. Yes, hate is good… Our goal is a Christian nation. We have a biblical duty, we are called by God to conquer this country. We don’t want equal time. We don’t want pluralism.” (Randall Terry, Operation Rescue)
Yes, I can feel the intolerance rising in me… I’m extremely intolerant of your opinions.
“George Bush was not elected by a majority of the voters in the United States, he was appointed by God.” (Lt General William Boykin, U.S. Army)
Well, at least he got it right that George W. wasn’t elected by a majority of the voters.
“The ‘wall of separation between church and state’ is a metaphor based on bad history, a metaphor which has proved useless as a guide to judging. It should be frankly and explicitly abandoned” (William Renquist, former Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court)
Yuck.
“The feminist agenda is not about equal rights for women. It is about a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism, and become lesbians.” (Pat Robertson, Christian Coalition)
OK, except for the “kill their children” thing, if you lived here in Central Vermont you’d probably think this was pretty funny and slightly familiar.
And probably my absolute favorite….
“Democracy originated in the mind of a rational being who has the deepest hatred for God.” (Robert T. Lee, Society for the Practical Establishment of the Ten Commandments)
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February 26, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Peter Buknatski
It’s historic (perhaps scientific?) that when things get bad, you have a new wave of religious hysteria. It’s like folks are sucking up to God in the event things get REALLY BAD. Fundamentalists support big business and big business supports fundamentalists by providing bad times. There’s money in God. I think I’ll become It.
But, I do think Pastor Melissa Scott is a babe. Is it true she used to be a porn star? Ah Christianity–something for everyone.