You Say It's My Birthday?
Published November 03, 2004
But this war-time president we've just put back up at the pulpit-er, I mean podium, would do well to remember that we had to, beginning on September 11th, 2001, really look into the abyss that was Islamic fundamentalism.
Now that fundamentalist christians are truly asserting their power by not blogging, or kvetching from behind TV anchor desks, but by simply getting up and voting those blue-nosed booties off, the president would do well, and could do well, without disrespecting his own coming to Jesus at all, to understand Nietzsche's old saw about those who fight monsters not becoming one themselves. With the steady infiltration of fundamentalist christians and fundamentalist christian doctrines into our governance, shouldn't we be a little worried about the truth of Freddie N's warning as applied to us? Separation of church and state has worked so well for us, for the last 220+ years. Now that we fight a war on terror against people who see no division whatsoever between the state and state religion, we must strive to not truly fall into the pit with them. Mainline protestants, of which Methodists are certainly a large chunk, believe that God gave man free will to use for good or ill. The separation of church and state respects this. Let's hope that in this way Dubya remembers what his church teaches.
And happy effing birthday to me, yo.
- You Say It's My Birthday?
- Published: November 03, 2004
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- Section: Culture
- Writer: Steve Huff
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Thank you! I've celebrated by taking a nap and changing my kid's diapers. It's been a BLAST!
I even seem to recall at one point early on in the operation in Iraq, that ole Dubya proclaimed our mission a 'Crusade'. While he had to back off of that remark, it is quite revealing. Just speculation, but could it be that in his peanut-sized mind, he sees this as spreading not democracy, but Christianity? Maybe he skipped his history classes at Yale and just got shit-faced instead.
Anthony - I believe he said it was a 'crusade' during his address to the nation shortly after 9/11...I do remember cringing when I heard him use that word! Definately not a good choice of words there!
I believe he said it was a 'crusade' during his address to the nation shortly after 9/11
And that was part of Bush's "great leadership" in response to 9/11?
Personally, I wished then, and I wish now, that Al Gore had been president.
Now that you all mention it, I recall the crusade remark as well. And I, too, cringed. Look, the part of me that was raised by an uber-hawk Daddy sometimes thinks, hell yeah, kill 'em all and let Allah sort 'em out...but the better angel of my nature knows that would be the road to hell for this country as well. The problem is, I think we may be doing just that - hurtling in as a horde with the little cross-bedecked banners hidden, rolled up inside humvee gloveboxes, and WWJD, or WWDD (What Would Dubya Do?) pins on the insides of our chinese-made jackets.
There's a nuclear bomb in someone's future, I fear, and the worst thing is, even if we're the ones using it, it still will be a horrific tragedy, a failure.
I wonder what file in the local Heimat-Sicherheit (Homeland Security) office the comments and entries on blogs like this and others goes into?
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(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/21819)
Happy Birthday, and well said! (From one UMC to another.)