Who's running the country? The Fundys or the Heathens?

[fly on the wall]

The Schizoid Country of Ours

We hear a lot these days about the fundamentalist Christians taking over the country mainly because the Republicans have the upper hand for a few more months. But I look out over this fair land of ours and abortion is still legal, you don’t dare say a prayer in school, you don’t dare bring the ten commandments into a public building.

Have the fundamentalist Christians taken over the country? Let’s turn on some TV cartoons. On the Simpsons tonight Homer was enjoying a meteor shower and he said, “If only God was alive to see this.” I don’t think the Fundamentalist Christians would have allowed this line if they were running things. Remember this is Fox, the network that is supposed to be conservative and Republican.

Last night on the Family Guy they sang a song that declared, “In God’s eyes everyone is hot.” They went on to fill in details as to who God would ‘do’. A real retched segment of the show that did not get censored by the Fundamentalist Christians that run Fox.

I won’t go into detail about what they do with Jesus on South Park, but it’s not the kind of thing one would expect Fundy Christians to approve of and allow to go on the air.

The most likely scenario for these kinds of sacrilegious things being censored would be if the Left grew stronger and decided that religious content of any kind is forbidden on the Public Airways because of the separation of Church and State.

Anyhow it’s odd so many see Fundamentalist takeover while the public media seems, instead, to be growing more hostile to religion.

Enough about my opinions, who do you think is running the country, the Fundys or the Heathens?

[MJC]

I'll bite and broadly categorize everybody.

The "heathens" have more influence on entertainment and the "fundies" have more influence on our actual government and laws.

[Cosmic Average]

There was a proposed amendment to the Constitution banning gay marriage that went to a vote on the US Senate. I've yet to see a proposed amendment ensuring the rights of all people to marry who they wish.

[Pól Rua]

Yup.
We get to do what we want in silly cartoons.
The Fundies get to do what they want to the legal and social fabric of the country.

Besides, in God's eyes, everyone IS hot.

[Tadhg Adams]

I think the country is run by the folks that do those anti-smoking adverts.

[KameTen]

The country is ran by both the corrupt and the individualist seeking to put their ideals and visions to life and gain something from it as well. Its just that the House, Senate, and Presidency are filled to the brim with corrupt crooks and dirty bastards.

[Citizen V]

^Exactly right.

Either that or The Aryans,who take pleasure in seeing the minorties suffer.

[BlairH]

Either that or The Aryans,who take pleasure in seeing the minorties suffer.
Oh please!

[Grazzt]

Enough about my opinions, who do you think is running the country, the Fundys or the Heathens?

Didn't Solaris recently post on how the government was refusing pagans who served in action and were killed the right to have a pentagram (pentacle?) on their tombstones?

[Mike Smash!]

Well, really it's run by people who use the Fundies for political power and the Heathens to make a buck.

[Weapon Ick]

Um, I don't think fundamentalist Christians can take control of the country because they've had it since day one.

And the truth is, this country is %100 heathens. It's just that half the people are liars.

[Iangould]

Fox News is a vehicle for Rupert Murdoch's personal political views.

It's one of several such - the National Standard (IIRC) is another.

But even more than politcal power Rupert loves money hance the Fox broadcast network would broadcast anything up to and including an infomerical for NAMBLA if there was dollar in it.

The resulting schitzophrenia is particularly noticable over here in Australia where Fox News is broadcast on the part-Murdoch-owned cable system and they cut straight from john Kasich's rants about the degeneracy of the modern media to ads for the E! Network's "Girls of the Playboy Mansion".

[Rob Imes]

The "heathens" have more influence on entertainment and the "fundies" have more influence on our actual government and laws.

But then, as fly said, where are the laws outlawing abortion, allowing prayer in school, etc.?

There was a proposed amendment to the Constitution banning gay marriage that went to a vote on the US Senate. I've yet to see a proposed amendment ensuring the rights of all people to marry who they wish.

But it's not only Fundamentalists who oppose same-sex marriage. If that was the case, then Al Gore would be considered a Fundamentalist.

[Calybos]

The fundies are running the government and passing pro-war, anti-gay laws.

But they're also secretly buying tons of porn and watching the crassest lowbrow entertainment imaginable--the very stuff they complain about in public as "an assault by the liberal Hollywood media on our family values." Then they go back to obsessing over American Idol and Angelina's baby.

I see very little contradiction here... once you recognize that fundies are pious hypocrites, of course.

[Iangould]

I think you've made the mistake of confusing fundamentlists with politicians and relgiious figures who seek to exploit fundamentlists.

I see no reason to assuem that as a group fundies are any more or any less hypocritcal than the rest of us. How many times have you seen someone reading Chomsky or Klein while wearing sneakers fresh from the sweat-shop?

[Drew Van T.]

I think you've made the mistake of confusing fundamentlists with politicians and relgiious figures who seek to exploit fundamentlists.

I see no reason to assuem that as a group fundies are any more or any less hypocritcal than the rest of us. How many times have you seen someone reading Chomsky or Klein while wearing sneakers fresh from the sweat-shop?

True, true. The fundies wouldn't even be a problem, if there weren't political and religious figures exploiting them. Fundies are harmless as long as the political classes ignore them (or can afford to ignore them).

[Dreadstar]

The people running the corporat--- I mean the country, excuse me, are neither and both. They're the folk with the money to buy influence. This can include the righties and the lefties both. It's just that there are more righties with influence ready cash on hand. Make of that what you will. But don't assume that the people with the cash are all "fundy," as some might be willing to espouse.

In fact, the only thing that's being worshipped in the influence buying arena is the Allmighty Dollar.

Which moves them directly into "heathen" territory, by my reckoning.

[Grazzt]

But then, as fly said, where are the laws outlawing abortion, allowing prayer in school, etc.?

The Constitution generally keeps those types of laws from being made.

[fly on the wall]

There was a proposed amendment to the Constitution banning gay marriage that went to a vote on the US Senate. I've yet to see a proposed amendment ensuring the rights of all people to marry who they wish.

True. That's one for the Fundies being in charge.

[fly on the wall]

Yup.
We get to do what we want in silly cartoons.
The Fundies get to do what they want to the legal and social fabric of the country.

Are they really that silly when they are chock full of sacrelige?


Besides, in God's eyes, everyone IS hot.

Why would we be sexually attractive to God? Is He also turned on by turnips?

Where are you getting your facts?

Heck, God made us sexually attractive to the opposite sex (except some notable exceptions). And even gay people are attracted to people even if it's the same sex. And even people that are attracted to sheep are still into mammals so they aren't that far off.

I never heard of anyone sexually attracted to lizards, turtles or crocs.

[fly on the wall]

I think the country is run by the folks that do those anti-smoking adverts.

You are aware that the people behind those ads are the cigarette companies! That's like forcing Nazies to make commercials for Jewish Charities.

[Mike Smash!]

But then, as fly said, where are the laws outlawing abortion, allowing prayer in school, etc.?Actually, they're mostly popping up in state legislatures lately.

The South Dakota abortion ban is one. The attempt by many in the MO State legislature to attempt to pass a resolution declaring Christianity the official state religion and a few others.

But it's not only Fundamentalists who oppose same-sex marriage. If that was the case, then Al Gore would be considered a Fundamentalist.I've yet to hear a justification for opposition to marriage equality that didn't involved at least a hint of religious belief behind or fear of pissing off religious constituents.

And yes, Al Gore sucks.

[Iangould]

Are they really that silly when they are chock full of sacrelige?


You're a scientist in real life correct?

So let's lok at this claim fom a scintific perspective:

1. is the media "chock full of sacrilege?"

2. is the amount of sacrilege in the media increasing or decreasing over time?

3. is there any evidence that sacrilege has any negative effects?

[Pól Rua]

I think you've made the mistake of confusing fundamentlists with politicians and relgiious figures who seek to exploit fundamentlists.

Actually, yeah. I'm prepared to go with that.
It's like I was saying in the 'family values' thread, the Christians are being glad-handed and treated as saps and rubes by the real powers that be as much as anyone else.
Frankly, some greed-head wants to use MY religion to justify his latest war on 'something spurious so the folks at home'll be distracted long enough for me to do whatever I please', I'd be pissed off. Similarly, I'd be pissed if someone wanted to change the definitions and meanings of what it means to follow my religion.

You want to see a 'War on Christianity', don't bother looking at the secular entertainment mafia (or whatever they're calling the Jewish conspiracy these days), look at hate-filled bastards like Phelps and Falwell.

Who's REALLY got the power?

Well, it's right there in the bible... it's called the Golden Rule.

He who has the gold, makes the rules.

[Jared_Humpherys]

I never heard of anyone sexually attracted to lizards, turtles or crocs.

http://mouse.webby.com/imagesc/crch1.jpg

[Wesley Dodds]

The reasoning's bad. If fundies ran the country, then they'd censor bad negative references to God in the media. Well, no, it doesn't necessarily follow.

Like free speech under Cirinism in Cerebus: total free speech means that dissent becomes fashion, because if dissent isn't repressed it doesn't have the thrill of transgression. So, the structures of power go untouched because politics has been reduced to making fashionable poses.

Clever fundies would let people say whatever they want -- encourage it, in fact -- to enervate dissent.

Like when Doom conquered the 2099 America. Because he had a laissez-faire attitude to dissent nobody cared what protestors had to say.

Plus there's a difference between real structures of power -- to take one example, the power to change bankruptcy laws -- and the freedom to say something in the media. The power to make a joke on a TV show is meaningless compared to power over policy.

Anyway, they're not fundies, they're evangelical Protestants.