Not if my man Glenn Beck has anything to do with it. Check out Glenn's latest effort to improve our society.
I'm almost too baffled to type. I guess I could begin by pointing out that Glenn Beck is a Mormon and then ask you to Google: Mormon + social justice. If you don't feel like doing it yourself I already have; the first link that comes up is about Glenn. Here's the second...Mormons for social justice? Has Glenn left the church?
Hypocrisy aside, let's think about what Glenn is saying. We should start by remembering that the Declaration of Independence begins with "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal..." Of course, that didn't translate into immediate social justice and equality, but it certainly laid the framework for a country where all people are supposed to be treated equally. For someone who likes to talk about the Constitution on his 9/12 website, Glenn must not have a lot of use for the Declaration of Independence.
Furthermore, Glenn's knowledge of history appears to be, at best, abysmal and, at worst, completely absent. Equating social justice to fascism and the Nazis is ignorance at its very best, or worst, I'm not sure which. A history lesson for Glenn, the Nazis facilitated the worst atrocity in human history, it's known as the Holocaust. Maybe Glenn hasn't heard of the Holocaust, or maybe, like Mahmoud Admadinejad, he thinks it didn't happen. Is there a way to get these two guys together? I bet they'd be matched up pretty quickly on eharmony. Is there a way to make that happen? While we're talking about Nazis and simultaneously educating Glenn, it's worth pointing out that Hitler ran a euthanasia program for disabled veterans during the early years of WWII. Social Justice at its best right there. Of course, euthanasia is exactly what President Obama has prescribed for unsuspecting Americans in his health care plan right? Death panels I think they're called, maybe I should check in with Sarah Palin. Does eharmony encourage love triangles?
Now Communism is a different story. Communists are all about social justice. Just ask any North Korean. If you can't find one that's because they're locked in that prison of country. That's ok, there are plenty of Cubans that have fled their country to come here. Maybe we can ask them about social justice in Cuba. Or we can just study the history of Soviet Russia, you know, the one in which Stalin killed millions in his Gulag camps? Communism is a failed experiment and Glenn knows it. It's not the 60s anymore Glenn. We've beaten Communism. Stop trying to scare us with your paranoia and fear-mongering.
Of course, the real ironic paradox here is that Glenn is encouraging people to leave churches that preach social justice. You know who censored churches that preached social justice? I bet you do. That would be the Nazis and the Communists. So really, by encouraging religious Americans to flee their fascist and communist churches, Glenn is acting like Hitler and Stalin. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Religion has been both a driving force for progress and justice and also the spur that has led to many atrocities. People interpret religion in many different ways, but it is worth pointing out that the major western religious traditions were started by social reformers. Perhaps the message of those people has been lost, but if you're someone who puts faith in a holy text, go reexamine it. You'll find that both Jesus and Mohammed were interested in making life better for people. No matter how much Glenn Beck and other modern religious fanatics distort that message, it's undeniable that the very people that western religions are based around were trying to make the world better.
Which lead me to the ultimate, mind-boggling, Glenn Beck inspired conclusion - Jesus was a Communist!
No comments:
Post a Comment