“The fundamentalist seeks to bring down a great deal more than buildings. Such people are against, to offer just a brief list, freedom of speech, a multi-party political system, universal adult suffrage, accountable government, Jews, homosexuals, women’s rights, pluralism, secularism, short skirts, dancing, beardlessness, evolution theory, sex.”

The above was published on 10/5/01. The topic was Islamic fundamentalism. The author was Salman Rushdie. You'll recall that a month earlier this country experienced the worst terror attack in our history. He's been in the news recently due to a horrific attack on his life. The suspect has been arrested and has been indicted by a Grand Jury. He only read two pages of a book published before he was born. That said, this isn't about Rushie or his attacker. It is about the words he wrote over two decades ago and the words he has written since.

He calls for freedom and tolerance of those that are not like you, or me. He does it in a way that rejects extremist fundamentalism. He casts it into a place where it is toxic and dangerous. I really can't help but see some dangerous parallels between radical fundamental Islam and radical fundamentalist Christianity here on our soil.

TriSec touched on it the other day in his blog. I believe it goes much deeper than what many of us may think. The toxicity of this form of Christianity was there long before MAGA-world existed. Think of Westboro Baptist Church, Anti-Abortion Violence and, hell, the Holy Wars.

And if I am being honest about it, there is a long history of violent militias in the United States from the KKK onward to today with the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, and other violent groups. But...

What we are seeing is a melding of these two places into one thing, Violent Militant Christianity. It's becoming a vacuum of ideology and only exists to make the others suffer. They thrive on the claustrophobia of power. There is less and less air to breathe as long as this threat continues.

That power is embraced by far too many in elected office from the local level all the way to federal office. It is fueled not by an Ayatollah of Iran. It is not fueled by Bin Laden. It is fueled by a man who lacks the empathy espoused by Jesus and instead thrives on violence done by others in his name. He is the former occupant of the White House.

Rushdie's words can apply equally to the climate we live in here, today, it's just a different theology.

&.
Raine