Blog Archive

I know I said I was going to concentrate on thinking rather than linking but I saw something I wanted to share. Read these two Toledo Blade letters to the editor:

The resemblance is astonishing

I come from a very wealthy family.
I conduct business under a veil of secrecy.
I make decisions with religious conviction.
I have destabilized world peace.
I call on thousands to do my bidding.
I am responsible for thousands of innocent deaths.
I have bankrupted the United States of America.
I can wash my hands of all this and collect my pension in two years.
Am I Osama bin Laden or George Bush?
Astonishing!

MATTHEW GOLKIEWICZ
Petersburg, Mich.

A satanic lie

Your June 23 editorial commenting on speculation that Superman might be a homosexual was a satanic lie. If Superman had turned out to be homosexual, he would not only be totally uncommitted to “truth, justice, and the American way,” he would also be against them. The American way is the Christian truth that declares homosexual behavior to be an abomination (Lev. 18:22), which justice demands should be eradicated.

It is foolish to think that what happens at the Fortress of Solitude stays at the Fortress of Solitude. When your off-duty pursuits are evil and sinful, they become everyone’s business.

The people promoting homosexuality will not rest until everyone is forced to say that this perversion is good and right. It is already illegal to speak the truth about homosexuality in Canada and Sweden. Homosexuals need help to escape a sinful lifestyle, not enablers who condone it.

Terry Hubert
Holland

These are the type of sentiments that largely drove me from the political blogosphere as a daily participant. Obviously, there are intelligent and well written blogs out there, but a great many blogs reflect little more than extended versions of the above. You have Bush haters who have passed from legitimate criticism into the realm of silliness and critical blindness. If you can’t tell the difference between President Bush and Osama in Laden, or if you think making these type of comparisons is insightful and illuminating, than you have lost an important part of your critical faculties.

In the same way, if you think a discussion of the possibility of Superman being gay is a “satanic lie” and that being gay cuts against “truth, justice, and the American way” then you have lost your perspective in a rather serious way. When you can segue from a discussion of a comic character in a movie to “When your off-duty pursuits are evil and sinful, they become everyone’s business” you are in trouble.

I am not saying that criticism of President Bush or a belief that homosexuality is wrong are off limits or not worthy of discussion. Rather, I am simply pointing out the extremes that these issues seem to evoke. These type of arguments – if they can be called such – mostly cause me to sigh and turn away. But on an important level they are toxic if they become too large a part of the discussion.

It is often easy to point at the extremes and brag in a self-satisfied way how sensible and moderate we are when compared to the wackos and moonbats out there. Sentiments that are expressed in anger or in un-artful ways still contain truth. But I don’t think overly stringent concerns about polite conversation are the temptation we are giving into these days. Perhaps, I lack a historical perspective on this issue or maybe technology is simply making the national conversation more accessible, but it seems to me that there is entirely too much bile and ranting going on.

I am obviously biased in my political leanings, but without getting into who started it or who does it more; I think too many on both sides of the political spectrum are overly invested emotionally in the cultural and political wars. It worries me that the thoughts expressed – and the style of expression – by the letter writers above are becoming dominant in our national discourse.