The Christian Right

To read a book chock full of information is a pleasure. To read a book full of information at a time when that information can do tremendous good is a thrill. Such was my sense of fulfillment in completing American Fascists. The Christian Right and the War on America by Chris Hedges. This important new book is must-reading for anyone who cares about America. The book is non-sectarian but unapologetically hostile to those who would take the name of Christ and use it for cheap personal and political aims.



We live in a time when irrationality has taken root in the American culture. It is a time when large numbers of people care more about who becomes America's next "idol", than who becomes its next President. The question in my mind at the moment is whether this culture of hostility to thought has taken over or whether it is simply a large threat. At the very least, any time you get such a high degree of ignorance of both American and world affairs on the part of so many people, conditions are right for despotism. The despot requires deceipt. The despot requires a compliant press. The despot makes use of a crisis.



For the moment, I will leave it to others to decide whether we have despotism in America. Certainly, powerful people with a fascist bent have gained the upper hand in many areas of government. The enforcers this time are not the brown-shirts. The Great Enforcer is Fear. This subject goes beyond the current confines of this web log. For now, it is useful to state that the events of September 11, 2001, have been used for nefarious purposes, for purposes of selfish economic gain (Halliburton, Blackwater, etc.) and political advancement (re-installation of political candidates running on a 9/11 platform). It was Fear which brought us the U.S.A. P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act. It was Fear which brought us intrusive investigative techniques. And it is Fear which discourages Congressional Democrats from standing up completely to the forces which aim to keep America mired in Iraq for the next fifty years.



The book American Fascists is a good place to start for an understanding of the large role played by the Christian right in what has been happening in the United States over the last twenty-five years or so. (As was noted in one on-line review there is one instance of strong profanity in the book, for those who need to know. Otherwise, the book is free of obscenities.)



I hope you will be able to read this work very soon.