There is no way to write this without sounding crazy. Most folks will roll their eyes and say I am exaggerating. I don't think so.
I am surrounded by terrorists.
Not like the two nitwits in Boston who are indeed terrorists but more like the dumb assed petulant youth kind rather than murderous ideologues.
No, I am talking about an international network of sophisticated religious right winged zealots that dedicate every minute of the day to the destruction of Democracy and liberty....all under the guise of protecting Democracy and liberty. Hard to balance a call for a theocracy and respect the rights of individuals deemed abominations in the eyes of God.
So what in the hell am I banging on about?
The Westboro Baptists?
No. Even though those folks give me the willies I must respect their honesty and conviction to what they believe. No obfuscation here. You know exactly what they want and they carry their beliefs out to their logical conclusions.
The network I fear is as insidious as the Taliban and uses many of the same tactics and vocabulary as the Muslim radicals. Both see tolerance and being progressive as a fast track to hell.
The American Family Association is our little nest of well funded and highly influential zealots who are right in line with everything the Westboro crazies spout but they are much better at sugar coating intolerance and making it seem like our patriotic duty to defend the nation and our immortal souls from the scourge that is secularism. We must defeat the Godless infidels and heretics. Hmmm....where have I heard this before?
Freedom of speech I cry! And I truly believe these evil bastards have every right to spout their musty hateful bullshit.
My appeal is to you my fellow humans. It is up to us whether to accept or deny ideas. All this blather is just so many words unless folks accept these ideas into their hearts and minds.
Then we have problems. Unjust laws are written. Bent clergy and political leaders normalize intolerance. Good plain folks harbor terrorists.
Nobody stood up for the Boston bombers. Sure friends and family members couldn't believe these two could do such a horrible thing but nobody was going to aid and assist thoughtless murderers.
But think back to Eric Robert Rudolph.
Olympic bomber. Abortion clinic and Gay night club bomber. Bombed for the unborn and against the sodomites. Oh yes and set secondary devices to kill first responders.
Now most folks say this man was a murderer and terrorist but I know many good Christian patriotic Americans living in western North Carolina who gave aid and assistance to this terrorist when he was a fugitive. They saw him as a defender of freedom and was helping to take "our country back".
And this is where it all comes back to the AFA.
Ugly ideas and careless words of insurrection and revolution plant the seeds for thousands of evil deeds and convince good folks that violence and intolerance are tools to bring about liberty, honor, and brotherhood.
We must give safe harbor and nurture the best parts of our nature.
To the grind stones of hate and intolerance, we need to let these drop.
