Republican Comments

I spent several years on the AOL Message Boards. I made an effort to be one of the calmer voices but sometimes I was truly stunned by the kind of thoughtless comments that were made, mostly from the right (I wish I could say the left was free of thoughtless comments but that wouldn't be true). One of the more common phrases that was used on the right was, "Nuke 'em!"; it seemed a particularly pointless phrase that poisoned many discussions (unfortunately there are signs that our president is thinking seriously about those words). I still don't quite understand what it was all about. Some of the more outrageous comments probably came from adolescents who found their way to the boards. But the rest?

Accidental Blogger has a list of some of the more thoughtless comments made by prominent Republicans which, on one level, are tamer than the ones I saw on the AOL boards. I have no doubt the list could be considerably longer. Here's three that were listed:

Bob Dornan (Rep. R-CA)
"Don't use the word 'gay' unless it's an acronym for 'Got Aids Yet?"

George Bush Sr. (President of the United States)
"I don't know that atheists should be considered citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."

Jerry Falwell
"AIDS is not just God's punishment for homosexuals; it is God's punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals."
"If you're not a born-again Christian, you're a failure as a human being."

Accidental Blogger uses Stephanie Miller as a source. Miller doesn't source her quotes but she has a radio show which suggests the quotes have probably been researched. Given comments made by Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter in recent months, the comments above seem about par for right wing conservatives these days. I have to admit Bush Sr.'s comment surprised me; I had the impression he was more tolerant than his son. It's hard to say anything about the other comments. Most religions of the world, including Christianity, are based not on self-righteousness, but on the idea of love and compassion; there are many in the world, both here and abroad, who appear to have not gotten the message.

Others are saying it so I'll say it too: we have a lot of work to do. I, for one, don't have a whole lot of answers, except to keep speaking the truth as best I can.