It's great to have Freddie Phelp's crew back in Massachusetts. They protested at the Middle School in the town of Bedford where my wife teaches last time they were here.
I have to say that it is my personal belief that, while I'm sure these people that are protesting believe at least some of what they say, there is something larger behind their activity. It seems to me that these people and our current administration, Bush and friends, are basically doing what they can to kill Christianity off in this country. This actually seems to serve the direction in which they want to take this country.
As with the word "conspiracy", "Christian", is now too very likely to be followed by the word "nut" or "wacko" in the United States these days. It's not an accident. Karl Rove set out right from the very beginning with the goal of energizing the Christian right to create a culture war in this country. To divide and conquer by manipulating Christians into thinking Bush was their only choice. It worked wonderfully and many were convinced that the only way to vote if you wanted to support "Christian values" was for Bushco. Never before has any previous administration used religion to such potent effect. Rove knew full well what he was doing and from a psychological prospective it was a powerful plan.
The key is that if you stigmatize a group, like Christians or any other religious group for that matter, it creates the effect of making them feel as if they, and their way of life and beliefs, are under fire. It's basic psychological warfare. It also makes people say, do, and buy into things they otherwise may not have. Unfortuanately, as with any other type of psy-ops or this style of warfare there can result in what the CIA refers to as blowback. In this case the blowback is simple, Christianity has been sold out by these larger Neocon goals and as a result of it being used in this way is now thought of as a danger to this country.
If you are reading that last statement and think I'm off my rocker, think again. The "Christian threat" in this country right now is just as big a deal and just as real to the people who are trained to fight terrorism as the threat of attack by Islamic terrorists. I'm not joking, in training exorcises they specifically use Christians as the potential threat. This is also not an accident. Think about it, Christians are thought to be apocalyptic in nature. They supposedly welcome the end of the world because they will then be called home to heaven. This type of person does not at all suit the goals of the society the Neocons envision. They are simply tools and their adherence to the greater plan assures their self-destruction while advancing the agenda. Rove and Bushco know they have lit up the Christians in this country like a Christmas tree and they know the possibility of mayhem this creates. It's not an accident.
Who is Fred Phelps? Once a lawyer until he was disbarred, several of his family members are also lawyers. Where do they get the funding to fly all over the country to stage, according to their own estimates, some 20,000 protests? Why is what they say so off the wall and why would people as educated as this group seems to be believe that they can get the United States and EU nations to institute the death penalty for homosexuality? Seems pretty far fetched and you could just write them off as loons but perhaps they are professional noisemakers. Part of the organ music that plays so loudly in this country these days.
I know, I will now be accused of going off the tracks and dreaming up some giant right wing conspiracy...which in truth is not at all what I have done here. I don't think the whole right wing is in on the deal. I think the Republican party, just like the Christian religion, has been hijacked by a small but very powerful group of Neocons. Republicans and Christians are just backs they are riding on to get where they want to go. This is why there are so many contradictions in what they say and do. This hypocrisy that everybody wants to argue about. It's a sham because it's intentional. I understand it's hard to see past it all but that's intentional too, it's easy to scam people using their own beliefs as bait.
It's been noted again and again that the Bush administration does not at all seem to behave like Republicans or Conservatives. It's also been noted several times that they are obviously not Christian in their thinking. What do they believe in? Well try going here and reading this:
http://www.newamericancentury.org/RebuildingAmericasDefenses.pdf
I know it's old news but they state in no uncertain terms where they want to go and oddly enough we've followed the path they laid out with great precision. What a giant surprise that the guys that formed the PNAC all became the Bush administration. Including the odd choice of Dick Cheney as VP.
My wife is a Christian and her father is a retired UCC pastor. They feel nothing but shame and sadness over where Christianity is headed in this country. We have Fred Phelps and his ilk, the Catholic Church scandals, and Bushco to thank for that. The choir keeps singing though as the ship sinks. I can hear the organ loud and clear...
