Friday, June 19, 2009

Thinking Alike

Viewing the speech by Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei to a crowd of thousands, I wondered what would happen to a person in the crowd who said, "I don't believe in that Mohammed was a prophet of God". I imagine he or she would be torn limb from limb.

And then I wondered what would happen to a person, who made a comparable statement, in a crowd listening to a hate filled speech by some politician pandering to the religious fears and anger of Americans. Such a person might not immediately by violently attacked, but he or she would be be denounced as worthy of being attacked or killed - as was Dr. George Tiller.

There isn't too much independent thinking going on in a rabid crowd motivated by fear and hate. Let's be frank - the right side of the political spectrum in this country actively courts such crowds of followers.

The left side of the political spectrum is not free from blame either. They could do a lot more to point out the harm that religious prejudice does in political dialogue.