The American Taliban

Few Americans take such an idea seriously, probably because they are either not interested in knowing or not well informed about what is going on in the land of true believers.

In 1980, Republican Strategist Paul Wyrich wrote, "We are talking about Christianizing America. We are talking about simply spreading the gospel in a political context." In 2002, another Republican announced, "We need to find ways to win the war". These are the words of Karl Rove, President Bush's political director, talking to a gathering of the Family Research Council – one of the most powerful lobbying groups of the Religious Right. Rove wasn't talking about the war on terrorism. He was talking about the war on secular society. (Winning the War)

An article in the online Progressive, entitled Bush's Messiah Complex, shows that, while Karl Rove tackles the domestic evils, Bush seems bent on ridding the world of evil – at the barrel of a gun.

A picture emerges from the President's public statements--and even from such adulatory accounts as Bob Woodward's Bush at War and David Frum's The Right Man--of a President on a divine mission. Call it messianic militarism.

The step from the Bush administration's messiah complex to a seeming disregard for scientific evidence to bolster its political agenda is a matter of public record.

The problem is not so much that Bush and other members of his administration (including his Attorney General) seem guided by "higher" purposes than science and reason; the point is that such "leadership" is sending messages to some of Bush's Taliban-esq supporters.

"I want you to just let a wave of intolerance wash over you. I want you to let a wave of hatred wash over you. Yes, hate is good... Our goal is a Christian nation. We have a Biblical duty, we are called by God, to conquer this country. We don't want equal time. We don't want pluralism." -- -Randall Terry, Founder of Operation Rescue

"In winning a nation to the gospel, the sword as well as the pen must be used." "Democracy is a heresy against God!"(Source) -- -R.J. Rushdooney, Director of the Rutherford Institute (the person behind Christian Reconstructionism).

This is not purely a religious issue. It is a fundamentalist issue, not that different from the values and beliefs of the fundamentalist Taliban in Afghanistan. The Religious Tolerance group published this article showing comparisons between Christianity and Islam. Religious Movements, a Virginia-based group, also has an interesting article on religious fundamentalism.

Now, if all this does not seem Taliban enough, all one has to do is look at this site to understand that the Taliban mentality is alive and well in America, in all shapes, stages and ideologies.

Evil Freedom Should Be Disallowed

We, the corporeal citizens of America (and the world community), should acquiesce to the fact that many of the so-called "rights" and "freedoms" guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, its Amendments and the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights are not genuine rights and freedoms, but moral evils in the sight of God.

This was a sampling of what one might call up-front Talibanism in America. But, as I said at the top, few Americans take such threats seriously. Well, here's one person who does.

The media were shocked, shocked to discover that prominent Republicans have a soft spot for segregation -- something that was obvious long before Mr. Lott inserted his foot in his mouth. One of these years they'll be equally shocked to discover that prominent Republicans have a soft spot for theocracy.

And then, years from now, when it becomes clear that much public policy has been driven by a hard-line fundamentalist agenda, people will say "But nobody told us."

Gotta Have Faith by Paul Krugman (New York Times)