When the president told us that we are now in the midst of a struggle against ideological extremism (and no longer fighting a war on terrorism), he sure wasn't kidding. (See video here in .mov format) So far, here at The Bulldog Manifesto, we have 'struggled against' uber-extremists Ann Coulter, Pat Robertson, and the so-called Christian group named Christian Exodus. Today, the struggle continues.
In the spotlight today is Focus on the Family's James Dobson. Is he an ideological extremist? You decide.
Recently, James Dobson came under fire for his comparison of embryonic stem cell doctors to Nazi experimentation 'doctors'. In doing so, Mr. Dobson said:
"In World War II, the Nazis experimented on human beings in horrible ways in the concentration camps, and I imagine, if you wanted to take the time to read about it, there would have been some discoveries there that benefited mankind." — Media Matters
Interesting view, don't you think?
But what about the time Mr. Dobson accused the cartoon character SpongBob Squarepants of being a vehicle for "pro-gay propoganda". Specifically, Mr. Dobson accused this cartoon video (Requires Internet Explorer 6.0) of promoting homosexuality. After you watch the video (which is located half way down the link's webpage) do you think the video is even remotely suggestive of homosexuality?
Regarding homosexuality, Mr. Dobson believes that "Homosexuals are not monogamous. They want to destroy the institution of marriage. It will destroy marriage. It will destroy the Earth"(The Daily Oklahoman, Oct. 23rd, 2004. He also believes that homosexuality is a mental disorder, that same-sex couples are unfit parents, that homosexuality can be cured, and that gays and lesbians are “sick, ungodly” people who want “special rights.”
But not only is Mr. Dobson a self-procalimed expert on the ungodly nature of gay people, but he is also a self-proclaimed expert in child rearing. In fact, Mr. Dobson is a firm believer in hitting your child until the child cries.
"[P]ain is a marvelous purifier. . . It is not necessary to beat the child into submission; a little bit of pain goes a long way for a young child. However, the spanking should be of sufficient magnitude to cause the child to cry genuinely." — Dare to Discipline, pages 6-7
And where, might you ask, did Mr. Dobson confirm his belief that physical pain can be a good tool for teaching a child? From beating his dog, of course:
Please don't misunderstand me. Siggie is a member of our family and we love him dearly. And despite his anarchistic nature, I have finally taught him to obey a few simple commands. However, we had some classic battles before he reluctantly yielded to my authority.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Victor Plenty
Dobson's encounter with the dog is revealing in more ways than one. Yes, it is shockingly brutal to use a belt on a 12-pound dog. No doubt about that, no matter how much the man attempts to mask it with blather about being boss of the house.
Beyond that, it's telling to note how Dobson's authoritarian presence in his household leaves the rest of his family so ineffectual, they are all being pushed around by a 12-pound dog after Dobson himself has been gone for only three days.
The fundamentalist view of the male as the "boss of the house" has destructive effects much more far-reaching than this, of course. That remains true no matter whether the fundamentalism is Christian, Muslim, or some other variant. This example merely illustrates one small way such unhealthy family relationships weaken everyone involved in them.
2 - Georgio
A better way to handle this would be to put a heater near the dogs bed..however this takes common sense ..something that fundies don't have..
3 - Lono
I regard Dobson and his posse as a bigger threat to American than the Taliban or Al Queda. He is a very dangerous and powerful individual whose only concerns are selfish and psychotic power grabs.
4 - Bruce Wilson
Who the hell would write about an epic confrontation with a 12 pound house pet ?
Dobson, I guess.
The whole affair sounds like a sadomasochistic version of a bad Hanna-Barbara animation.
Oddly, the 12 pound dog seems to have been, at points in the fracas, beating Dobson with the belt while Dobson was scratching and clawing at the dog.
"I fought him up one wall and down the other, with both of us scratching and clawing and growling and swinging the belt. I am embarrassed by the memory of the entire scene."
It sounds like the Marines fighting to take Iwo Jima or something. That must have been one heavily fortified twelve pound dog - I bet it had the belt and was whipping Dobson on the ascent .
Now, what kind of man allows a 12 pound housepet to whip him with a belt ? I'd be embarassed to talk about that too. Is it even legal ? It sounds a little kinky, like some permutation of a bestiality fetish.
Hmmm...
I'm sure it's possible to train a 12 pound dog to wield a belt to mean effect, but Dobson must have spent an awfully long time training the dog to do that. Maybe it's what he does in his spare time when he's not excoriating Spongebob Squarepants or accusing gays of plotting the destruction of Western Civilization.
I think Dobson should take his anger management issues out on foes his own size. Or maybe even, just so he gets a sense of what it's like to be assaulted by a much larger attacker, he should try disciplining a mid-sized Grizzly Bear.
Dobson could use his belt, just to even it up a bit.
5 - Dave Nalle
The world would be a better place if Dobson spent more time training his dog and less time trying to impose his set of beliefs on the rest of us.
Dave
6 - Randy Kirk
You have no idea about the man. You will take the few items you suck up from other Dobson haters and repeat them here. Read the whole book. Then review it.
Review the whole website. Then review.
Read the biographies. Then decide.
Ask the folks who have been touched by this man. Then decide. I personally know dozens and dozens of people who have had their lives personally improved by his work or by Focus.
And the millions who follow him are about 80% moms and grandma's who are just trying to raise their families in a way that the kids and grandkids will end up doing well.
Sad. Very sad.
7 - Natalie Davis
Mr. Kirk, read comment 39 on this post. Just because there are people who disagree with Dobson's work and motivations doesn't mean they necessarily don't know the facts about the man and his organization. For some, it is quite the contrary.
8 - Silas Kain
Indeed, Ms. Davis. We must keep our friends close but our enemies closer. Dobson is an enemy of humanity, the living wolf in sheep's clothing. Politicians better develop courage in the next two election cycles. The conservative tide is about to peak because it has welcomed the poltics of intolerance and hate spewed by Dobson, Robertson and Falwell - the Holy Trinity of Intrinsic Evil.
A month ago I would try and find common ground. I would urge for open mindedness and dialog. The door to that opportunity has been shut and sealed. There will always be intolerance in one form or another. I accept that premise. I will no longer tolerate the religious fundamentalist machine trampling over my Constitution. I will no longer tolerate those with extreme right wing or left wing views to beat me into submission by using economic warfare. There may be a physical war being fought in the Middle East but there is an intellectual war occuring here in America and I have just signed up for the battle.
9 - Bruce Wilson
Natalie - Did you know that there are still millions of Russians who swear by Joseph Stalin ? Doubtless, they felt touched by "Uncle Joe"....
I have had the experience of watching a nephew raised under Dr. Dobson's advice on the physical disciplining of children. I noticed a distinct personality shift - away from irrepressible exuberance and toward a taciturn sulleness. It seemed unfortunate to me. I wonder about the countless children "touched" per Dobson's advice...by belt-whipping and physical blows.
On other fronts, the level of hate-speech Dr. Dobson excretes concerning the supposed evils associated with homosexuality remind me of the Biblical principle of "False Witness" .
I would assume that principle would demand an honest attempt to research the factual nature of one's claims. I have seen little evidence of such attempts from Dobson and so I call him for what I perceive him to be :
A hypocritical purveyor of hate speech.
Words have effects, and hateful words tend to incite violence. The incitement of violence is neither Christian nor - according to Jesus - is judgement.
I would suggest Mr. Dobson remove the log from his own eye.
10 - Natalie Davis
Mr. Wilson, you've hit it spot on. I have dealt with many of Dobson's devotees. Lord knows I don't want to be like them.
11 - Silas Kain
On other fronts, the level of hate-speech Dr. Dobson excretes concerning the supposed evils associated with homosexuality remind me of the Biblical principle of "False Witness" .
Bravo, Mr. Wilson, you are spot on! Where is our anger? Why aren't more people - gay, straight or human - rising up? It's high time the intimidated become the intimidators. Here are three things we can do:
1) Demand a full revamping of campaign finance in this land and don't stop until Congress actually does something proactive.
2) Establish an economic boycott of any corporation which remotely approves or promotes the agenda of the extreme right.
3) Demand that Congress enact legislation whereby any organized religious group be subject to IRS scrutiny and tax assessment on any monies spent by said organizations which are targeted to influence the discharge of civil government.
12 - Natalie Davis
I'm in, Mr. Kain. Problem is, your nation has an even more pervasive threat than Dr. Dobson and his followers:
APATHY.
13 - Silas Kain
Indeed, Ms. Davis. And that apathy is perpetuated by Dobson and his clan. Somehow there has to be a way to get more Americans to see that this Pied Piper of Propaganda is the personification of evil.
14 - Steve S
You will take the few items you suck up from other Dobson haters
how quick we are to label those who disagree with Dobson as haters, when just days previous on another thread, we point out that just because Dobson disagrees doesn't mean he hates.
Just because we resent a man telling us that the way he beats a dog is the way to raise our kids doesn't mean we hate him.
15 - gonzo marx
Silas sez..
*There may be a physical war being fought in the Middle East but there is an intellectual war occuring here in America and I have just signed up for the battle.*
nice to have you aboard, Silas..
..:::hands him his insignia and uniform:::..
good to have you back here at BC, ya were missed...
so, any further ideas on the new Party?
06 should be fun , kiddies..get everyone you know involved...healthy debate..learning about the good folks on each side of the aisle, and total grassroots discussion
that's the american way, as doen by our Founders...
i'm for taking it back form the "professional" political elite, and their K street masters
how about you?
isn't it apparant, that for the most part, reasonable real folks can talk, and work out stuff..hell, even agree on many matters
it's the spin meisters and paid pundits that try and separate us, and keep us at each others throats...why?
because it's good for the nation?
fuck no...because it's good for their wallets
as long as everyone thinks the "other side" is made up of nothing but hyper-extremeists, and are as "evil" as punditry says they are...nothing gets done, because we remain split...sometimes one side up, other times down...but always by just a few percentage points...
think a second, don't you find that most falks you actually know, no matter their professed political inclinations, can agree on a lot fo stuff?
so why can't Washington?
because they don't want to..keeping the Citizens divided, keeps them in Power and keeps the $$$ flowing from K street lobbyists so they can rape and ruin our Nation to line their pockets...
"I've got no patience now,
so sick of complacence now.
time...has..come...for...US...to...
RAGE!"
Zach de la Rocha
nuff said?
Excelsior!
16 - Bruce Wilson
Natalie - I'm fairly certain that my relative in question moved gradually away from corporal punishment for his kids.
The boys seemed to get it the worst, but by the time of the 3rd child her irrepressibility didn't go away over time and so I assume that the belt or giant spoon or whatever had been put away in the closet more or less for good.
I'll say this too, to be fair :
Though there are aspects of the family culture of the Christian right that I have seen which I strongly dislike, there are other aspects I admire :
Anti-consumerism, thrift, self-reliance, and the prioritization of family needs.
Those aren't values held solely by the Christian right, but they are good values nonetheless. Indeed, I learned those values from my parents - who were committed liberals.
For example, my father - a Methodist minister and later a teacher and university administrator - never bought much of anything for himself. After he had died, I looked at his guitar - which had a horribly bowed neck. It would have never occured to him to but a new one for himself even though he loved to play. But, I looked closer - he had repaired one of the strings which had broken by looping the broken string end through the eye of a tiny cotter pin and tying it, to extend the broken string's length. He had fed the cotter pin ends through the guitar bridge and wound the two ends of the pin around a tiny nail to hold it in place. It just didn't occur to my father to spend money on himself though he was generous with money when it came to his children. He had grown up during the Great Depression, in hardscrabble Pennsylvania coal towns, but not all of his generation were so frugal - or so selfless.
That ethic of frugality and prioritization of family needs transcends left and right and is less than common now.
17 - Silas Kain
Steve, I know it's strong, but I hate him. Never in my life have I been at a point where I have loathed someone as much as Dobson and what he stands for.
18 - Natalie Davis
Same here, Mr. Wilson, re: the values. (Shout-out to mom and dad and grandma genevieve...) But that is just it -- one doesn't have to follow the fundies' beliefs and rules to be a good, moral person. Too many things done and said by Dobson are, IMO, completely immoral and anti-Christian. Whatever his good works, they are obscured by the immensity of his dangerous works and words.
It pleases me that perhaps your relative eventually decided to spare the rod. Violence begets violence.
Rock on and rage on, Mr. Marx. RATM ruled.
19 - Bruce Wilson
On apathy :
As I have learned about the Christian right, my level of political involvement has steadily risen - almost in direct proportion to my increase in knowledge of the threat posed by Dominionist, Reconstructionist, and other theocratic tendencies.
I blame the apathy of the American electorate on ignorance and also on pernicious and wishful concepts such as the "Pendulum" theory of American politics which holds that a magic force almost like a law of physics pulls extremist tendencies always back towards the center.
But - in reality - is it always the tireless work of concerned and politically engaged individuals that fends off political extremism and preserves pluralistic democracy.
20 - Dave Nalle
What I find interesting is that people of very different perspectives, like Silas Kain, Steve S, Natalie Davis and myself, can all despise Dobson for entirely different reasons. His hatefulness is so pervasive and displayed in so many different arenas that almost anyone can find some reason not to like him.
Anyone who values our basic liberties is going to have problems wiht Dobson. if you take his entire agenda and line it up with the Bill of Rights, you can pretty much find him speaking out in opposition to every fundamental principle of freedom our nation is built on, except perhaps the right to bear arms. He's against free speech, he's against freedom of religion, he's against privacy rights - frankly it's scary and fundamentally unamerican.
Dave
21 - Bruce Wilson
In short, I'm of the Frederick Clarkson school of response to the religious right :
The American left must re-engage and re-learn the techniques of electoral democracy...
Or face state enforcement of theocratic legislation enacted by Dr. Dobson and his ilk - bans on contraception, forced marriage and penalties for "wilfull" childlessness, death penalties for adultery and homosexuality....
Those are all positions advocated by the leaders and theologians of the Christian right movement - which I favor calling the Christian supremacist right.
Those extreme positions I mentioned will only be advanced incrementally, but even now approximately 41 US Senators ( all GOP ) enjoy a 100% voting approval rating from the Christian Coalition.
Think of that as the earliest stage of a "Theocracy-lite". The stronger version - without concerted opposition from the left - will come in due time.
22 - Natalie Davis
Point of clarification: I do not despite James Dobson. I despise what he says and does. Big difference. Same with Dubya, for that matter. I don't believe in hating people. It's better to pray for Dobson or send out healing beams for him rather than to despise him.
23 - Silas Kain
Thank you for the kind words and warm welcome back, Mr. Marx. Stay tuned, I am working diligently on crafting my campaign reform war. The tragic events of last month set me back a bit but now that the dust is settled and my head is clear it is damn the torpedoes.
Interesting side bar -- anyone watching some of the coverage of Peter Jennings' passing may have picked up upon the fact that he was quite skeptical of this government. He went so far as to say early on that he was not convinced there were weapons of mass destruction. He may not have shared his views immediately with America but behind the scenes he was working to find the truth. We've lost another great journalist. Now ABC will replace him with a pretty face that is more in tune with demographics and making news divisions profitable. Rest in peace, Mr. Jennings. You served humanity well.
24 - gonzo marx
aAAaaaRRrgGGGhhhh!!!!
Mr Marx?
ok, so now i'm "mister scribbles"??
ah well...
{8^P~~~~~~~~~~~~~
silly to capitalize, or treat the pun of my screen name as a proper name...but hell, call me anything ya like, except late fer dinner...
on another note...
i am truly sorry you had Tragedy, Silas..my best for you and yours...and i am glad ot have your "voice" back here
i meant it when i said you were missed...and not just by lil ole me
Excelsior!
25 - Natalie Davis
GM, sorry, but you know my queasiness about familiarity. "Gonzo Marx" is the only name I have for you.
And now that you mention it, indeed, it is good to have Mr. Kain back. I pray that all is well.