Chalcedon Blog

This weekend the blogosphere will experience moderate traffic in the marginalized pockets of "theocratic" resistance, viz., secular blog sites. This is referred to as a "blogswarm," and it means a handful of Christophobic bloggers will simultaneously write critical posts of the Religious Right--whom they refer to as "theocrats."

The objective is to educate their constituencies to America's great danger: a Christian takeover of America. Some say the leaders of the Religious Right are scheming to use the Blackwater private military organization to violently restore America to its original Christian vision. I know, I know. They are absolutely darling, aren't they? As to how a relatively small band of hired soldiers -- most of which are tied up in Iraq -- will subdue 300,000,000 Americans is beyond me. These folks are delusional and paranoid. I've never witnessed anything like it.

In case you thought this one blogger is the only fearful grape in the patch, the ridiculous Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, Chris Hedges, recently published his book American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America in which he writes:

When Pat Robertson was asked by Jerry Falwell if God had allowed the attacks on September 11, both the question and its answer stoked fear of divine wrath and apocalyptic judgment... Should another castastrophic attack occur, what will prevent these preachers from calling for the punishment, detention and quarantining of gays and lesbians--as well as abortionists, Muslims and other nonbelievers--to safeguard the nation? What will stanch the hate crimes and physical attacks against those deemed immoral by fearful and angry Christians, those condemned by these preachers as responsible for the nation's abandonment of God? [1]

Mr. Hedges is insanely paranoid. So much so, that I recommend some form of sedative or therapy. He could be a danger to himself, or others. You see, Mr. Hedges holds a similar philosophy to that of the neoconservatives. It's the doctrine or preemption, i.e. get them before they get you! In fact, he begins the first chapter of his book with a favorable quote from Karl Popper:

"[W]e should claim the right to suppress them (the intolerant theocrats) if necessary even by force; for it may easily turn out that they are not prepared to meet us on the level of rational argument, but begin by denouncing all argument; they may forbid their followers to listen to rational argument, because it is deceptive, and teach them to answer arguments by the use of their fists and pistols. We should therefore claim, in the name of tolerance, the right not to tolerate the intolerant. We should claim that any movement preaching intolerance places itself outside the law, and we should consider incitement to intolerance and persecution as criminal, in the same way as we should consider incitement to murder, or to kidnapping, or to the revival of the slave trade, as criminal." [2]

What is Mr. Hedges doing? He's threatening me and my family. Yours too, if you believe that homosexuality is a sin. You are intolerant and equal to a murderer or kidnapper. Therefore, the "secular fascists of tolerance" must put aside their tolerance only to arrest those whom THEY deem as intolerant. This man is insane (he's in state of mind that prevents normal perception, Oxford Dictionary). There's no other word for it.

So, I can't say that I'll participate in the Theocracy Blogswarm, but as providence would have it, I'm about to go to press with the next issue of Faith for All of Life. And guess what the title is? THEOCRACY NOW!

I love the smell of irony in the morning!

1. Chris Hedges, American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America, p. 106.
2. Ibid., p. 1.