Tampa Tribune
6,000 People Murdered Because God Was Annoyed?
Published:Sep 21, 2001
T his could be our secret weapon at a fraction of the cost.Simply drop Jerry Falwell into the middle of Afghanistan. The toxic gas burbling from this twerp would probably have the Taliban waving the white flag in no time.
We are in a time when all Americans, or at least those citizens with an IQ above a Brussels sprout, are pulling together against the forces of evil in the wake of last week's terrorism.
And then there are the likes of Jerry Falwell and his Renfield of religion, Pat Robertson, merchants of mendacity, preying on the darker corners of people's fears.
Last week on Robertson's ``The 700 Club'' program, which is to theological enlightenment what Kabul is to urban renewal, Falwell was endeavoring to explain the assault on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by international terrorists with strongly suspected ties to the mother of all thugs, Osama bin Laden.
Bobblehead Doll Falwell blamed the assault partly on God's decision to lift a veil of protection on the United States, asserting the loss of 6,000 lives and destruction of the buildings on domestic pagans, abortionists, feminists, homosexuals, the American Civil Liberties Union and People for the American Way.
``All of them who have tried to secularize America, I point the finger in their faces and say, `You helped this happen,' '' this Deacon of Demagogues said.
Robertson sat there like an Elmer Gantry bobblehead doll nodding in agreement, as Falwell continued: ``God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us what we probably deserve.''
So God caused the murders of 6,000 people because he's angry over the fall television season, because he's annoyed with Gloria Steinem, because he's upset with Ellen DeGeneres?
It was only after a torrent of criticism buried Falwell under an avalanche of invective for his rank stupidity that the Vicar of Vitriol attempted to back off his statement, claiming he had been misquoted and that the terrorists who attacked America were solely responsible for the country's grief.
But it was an apology as hollow as Falwell's heart.
Senior Moment In an oozy statement Falwell said he assumed he was on a Christian television program speaking to a Christian audience - as if any true Christian would buy into the notion God facilitated the murder of thousands of people because he was out of sorts with the ACLU's position on school prayer.
``In retrospect, I should have mentioned the national sins without mentioning the organizations and persons by name,'' Falwell wrote. So in other words, he didn't regret the sentiments expressed, only that he didn't obfuscate more.
For his part, Robertson said he really wasn't paying attention to Falwell and didn't understand what he was talking about. Ah, the ``senior moment'' alibi. And this guy thought he was smart enough to be president?
Although controversial, abortion is still legal, and doesn't the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of freedom of religion also include those who choose to be pagans?
Indeed you could argue the ultimate feminist is the Blessed Virgin Mary, and doesn't believing in God include love of all mankind, including homosexuals?
And has this country become so politically intractable that to hold liberal views such as the ACLU and the People for the American Way is tantamount to eternal damnation?
America is a secular society, that was the intent of the founders. But it was also a deeply spiritual country long before Sept. 11, 2001.
Great crises often reveal great statesmen: Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, Charles DeGaulle. But they also yield the manipulating yahoo, too: Father Charles Coughlin, for example.
Since Sept. 11, both President Bush and New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani have risen to the occasion, providing leadership and grace under fire.
And then there is Jerry Falwell.
The prevailing wisdom is that the United States was attacked out of a perverted, insane adherence to religious intolerance.
Absent the carnage, how is Jerry Falwell any different from Osama bin Laden?
Columnist Daniel Ruth can be reached at (813) 259-7599. druth@tampatrib,com
Preachers of Hate & Intolerance
http://tampabaycoalition.homestead.com/robfal.html