Tim Graham of the conservative media watchdog organization Media Research Center has written an account of my recent post on the subject of Catholicism's historical crimes and bizarre doctrines and the extent to which they are comparable to those of the Soviets and Maoists. "Account" is the only term I can think of, insomuch as that Graham does not deign to defend what I presume to be his deity or otherwise criticize my argument other than by, I suppose, implication; the purpose of his article, and of most of the content which appears on Newsbusters, is to give the impression that conservatism and overlapping social constructs - literalist religion, for instance - are under some relatively high and unwarranted level of attack from the media. As such, Graham spends the small portion of his post that was not written by myself in asserting that I am a "mainstream" fellow.
He's correct. My fundamental views on the subject are very similar to those held by many of our republic's Founding Fathers and other early American figures, many of whom criticized not only the Catholic Church but literalist religious dogma in general.
I have recently been examining all the known superstitions of the world, and do not find in our particular superstition one redeeming feature. They are all alike, founded upon fables and mythologies.
– Thomas Jefferson
How has it happened that millions of myths, fables, legends and tales have been blended with Jewish and Christian fables and myths and have made them the most bloody religion that has ever existed? Filled with the sordid and detestable purposes of superstition and fraud?
– John Adams
All national institutions of churches, whether Jewish, Christian or Turkish, appear to me no other than human inventions, set up to terrify and enslave mankind, and monopolize power and profit.
– Thomas Paine
There are in this country, as in all others, a certain proportion of restless and turbulent spirits – poor, unoccupied, ambitious – who must always have something to quarrel about with their neighbors. These people are the authors of religious revivals.
– John Quincy Adams
The correspondence of our Founders and associated American revolutionaries is dotted with such language as seen above, which is one reason that they are so rarely quoted on the subject of religion by the sort of religious people who would like to see their deity be given the credit for a republic that would be more correctly attributed to people such as Thomas Jefferson. Of course, that fellow has recently been given the Trotsky treatment by my home state of Texas, where the school board officials in question have done a better job of lessening the influence of the author of the Declaration of Independence than the British ever did and should all be awarded the Order of Merit and perhaps granted some favored parcel of land in Sussex. It's a shame, because Texas is really very pretty and far more fun than most other states. Living there is akin to dating some hot chick who is also insane.
Even if Graham seems to be playing his cards close to this chest regarding what exactly I've done that merits any particular degree of attention, the article comments provide some insight:
This idiot just proves to me he doesn't know the God of Abraham, Isssac, and Jacob. If he did he wouldn't be spouting this hatred. I am ease [sic] because I know there is coming a day of reckoning for him whether or not he believes it. He'll get to answer for his words.
No comment. So to speak.
A true atheist doesn't give a damn what deestiny the Catholic Church believes awaits him. Brown may be doubting his own convictions. Brown sounds like an ideal guest for Rachel Maddow, but I would hope that he would get some CNN exposure, too. Maybe even Fox News, though I doubt he has the courage to appear on it...
I've been on Fox News. They put me up against some goofy-ass fellow who uttered perhaps two grammatical sentences. Man, I'm a real fucking daredevil.
Anyway, if Graham can think of an argument or some such thing in opposition to anything I wrote, I would be happy to make fun of it. More to the point, I'd like to see any notable conservative commentator address the recent campaign against the Texan citizenry's awareness of our nation's third president, and to provide a take on what efforts to deliberately dampen the knowledge of the young regarding a major revolutionary figure say about those of their ideological allies who resort to such efforts.