Reading about Texas Governor Rick Perry's prayer rally, which likely is a kickoff to him becoming a Republican candidate for president of the United States, I wonder how his religious fanaticism would be viewed if he were a Muslim speaking of the need for people to embrace Allah and the Koran in order to return our nation to greatness.
"Father, our heart breaks for America. We see discord at home. We see fear in the marketplace. We see anger in the halls of government, and as a nation we have forgotten who made us, who protects us, who blesses us, and for that we cry out for your forgiveness," Perry said.
If someone seeking to lead Egypt talked in this fashion about how Islam had to be the foundation of that country's political processes, lots of Americans would worry about the dangers of Muslim extremism.
But Christian extremism is OK to them. Hypocrisy is running wild in the Republican party these days. In non-Christian countries, they favor "separation of church and state." In the United States, though, bringing God into politics is just fine.
I married an agnostic woman who came from a family of fundamentalist Christians (lapsed Catholics - the worst kind IMO). We were married in the town hall by the Deputy Mayor. Their chagrin was effectively disguised for decades, but I did manage to bear up well to the tedium of being in the presence of my parents-in-law. They simply assumed that I would eventually be "saved". The stalemate continued until their deaths.
Now, if my in-laws were fundamentalist Muslims, the disparity of viewpoints would have been dealt with immediately. My head would have been removed from my shoulders. No point in argument.
Live and let die.
Posted by: Willie R | August 08, 2011 at 06:59 PM