Jerry Falwell dies
First off my condolensces to his family. While I vehemently disagreed with his views, I never celebrate anybody's death no matter how disgusting or vile I found their views.
However, I still think it is worth looking at his legacy. He played a strong role in making the religious right a major force in the Republican party and American politics. I have been a strong critic of the religious right as I believe in tolerance as well as the right of people to live their lives as they wish so long as they don't harm others. The religious right clearly opposes those ideals and more importantly has sometimes shown breathtaking hypocricy by only selecting elements of the Bible that suit their right wing agenda, rather than following it completely. I didn't agree with Pope John Paul's views on abortion or Same-sex marriage, but at least he was consistent in following the bible since he opposed the death penalty (something the religious right strongly supports) and opposed the Iraq War (which Jerry Falwell strongly backed). Still, while I will not celebrate his death, I do hope that this marks a decline in the influence of the religious right on American politics since they have only caused grief for many and done little to help others. In closing, Falwell may have delayed progress, but he hasn't denied it as it will still happen, just maybe not as soon as it should have.
However, I still think it is worth looking at his legacy. He played a strong role in making the religious right a major force in the Republican party and American politics. I have been a strong critic of the religious right as I believe in tolerance as well as the right of people to live their lives as they wish so long as they don't harm others. The religious right clearly opposes those ideals and more importantly has sometimes shown breathtaking hypocricy by only selecting elements of the Bible that suit their right wing agenda, rather than following it completely. I didn't agree with Pope John Paul's views on abortion or Same-sex marriage, but at least he was consistent in following the bible since he opposed the death penalty (something the religious right strongly supports) and opposed the Iraq War (which Jerry Falwell strongly backed). Still, while I will not celebrate his death, I do hope that this marks a decline in the influence of the religious right on American politics since they have only caused grief for many and done little to help others. In closing, Falwell may have delayed progress, but he hasn't denied it as it will still happen, just maybe not as soon as it should have.
posted by Monkey Loves to Fight at 7:42 PM
3 Comments:
Narrow minded 'progressives' really seem to be cheering his death. It makes one wonder how 'progressive' these people really are when they can't stand to hear another point of view. Pathetic.
I am not cheering his death, although I find his views reprehensible. It is not a matter of having a different view, but it is more the fact he tried to promote hate against certain people and I have little tolerance for those promoting intolerance. Intolerance is not just another viewpoint.
I am glad to see some one is showing a little respect to a dead person,I didn't like his views but I don't think some of the comments I have seen in the last few day are acceptable either.
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