If the combination of this superficial holier-than-thou moralism with an ignorance-based paranoia were idiosyncratic to marginal characters who fire off email rants after being primed by right-wing TV shows, maybe we could chuckle at them. The problem is that this stance is hardly marginal. Think about how many U.S. politicians take positions that, while less harsh, reflect that same mindset. Think Pat Robertson, who regularly condemns gays and lesbians, and openly called for Chavez's assassination earlier this year. Remember that Robertson, who runs a television network and a powerful political machine, made a serious bid for the 1988 Republican nomination for president.
It's a cliche' among pundits these days that U.S. politics is too polarized, but there's nothing inherently dangerous about sharply divergent views jockeying for position in a democratic society. The real threat is in how this fusion of propriety and paranoia can trump humanity and analysis.
We might worry about whether that's what animates the real bastards and barbarians. Maybe that is the truly Satanic force being unleashed in this world.Next Page 1 | 2
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Robert Jensen is a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin and board member of the Third Coast Activist Resource Center. His latest book, All My Bones Shake: Seeking a Progressive Path to the Prophetic Voice, was published in 2009 (
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