The first thing I usually do after arriving home from school is check out HBO on Demand for episodes of Real Time with Bill Maher that I've missed. Although I don't always like Bill all that much, his panels are usually balanced, informative and candid. I was particulary impressed with the panel consisting of Sen. Joe Biden, Ben Affleck and Bill Sammon.
Biden, who I think of in the highest regard, made some excellent points about the so-called elites of the Democratic Party. He also discussed the epidemic of fundamentalism, and how the government plays into it.
Fundamentalism has grown across the board over the last thirty years and it has coincided with the neo-conservative upswing. I refuse to believe that such a large segment of this country is fundamentalist that it could have that much power in swaying thirty years of political discourse. Biden argued that the government encourages it by playing into the "we're completely helpless" mindset. The government has left people on their own, without a sense of communal safety net. They turn to radical faiths to find some sense of reasoning over why they have no control over their lives.
Progressive policy can help create that safety net and give people control over the outcomes of their lives. I honestly believe this will curb the influence of radicals like Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell. Fighting poverty, providing more Americans with solid middle class jobs and making affordable health care and perscription drugs avaiable to all Americans will help to fight the plague of fundamentalism. Falwell and Robertson will have less helpless souls to recruit. The American people will once again become believers in the power of a progressive government.