"A Collection of Hysterically Irrational Ideological Extremists."

My feelings on the subject of organized religion are no surprise to those of you who have been my faithful readers over the life of this blog. For those of you who are new to my cobwebby little corner of cyberspace, those feelings might be summarized thusly: adherence to a named, organized religion has nothing to do with leading a good ("godly," if you will) life.

Religion can be a comfort in times of difficulty, provide a moral compass for those desperately in need of one, and offer a framework within which to make sense of a frightening world. It can also lead to righteous intolerance, bigotry, violent jihad, suicide bombing, the Spanish Inquisition, pogroms, and witch-burnings. It produces garden spots like Pakistan, where those who oppose the draconian blasphemy law can be murdered with impunity while the killers are celebrated as heroes, and Saudi Arabia, where it's a crime to worship God in other than the approved way.

On a less violent, but more immediately concerning level, here at home - where the Constitution guarantees us freedom of (and from) religion - we can see the unholy marriage between the extreme religious right and the Republican party.

In an interesting article titled "The GOP's Iowa Problem," author Steve Kornacki looks at the rise of hard-core Christian fundamentalist candidates in the Republican party. His final, cautionary words are particularly apt: "It's hard to imagine any of them [extreme religious candidates] winning the GOP nomination next year, but one of them could very well win Iowa, and emerge as a major player on the national stage throughout '12 -- a non-stop headache for a GOP that desperately wants swing voters to see the party as something more than a collection of hysterically irrational ideological extremists."

"A collection of hysterically irrational ideological extremists."

That's just about the best description of noisily irresponsible Republican wingnuts I've heard in a long time. Whether driven by religious hard-liners, tax haters, or wealthy business-worshipers, the Far Right has cast aside the principled conservatism thinking people could support with its brand of half-baked I'm-okay-you're-not-worth-listening-to political-economic-religious beliefs.

One can only hope that people willing to keep an open mind - rather than an empty one - will realize what's going on and vote in large numbers next year.

In the meantime, worship at the church, synagogue, mosque, temple, ring of stones in a forest, or bonfire of your choice, as is your right. Just don't feel like you have a right to force me to do it, too. If I wanted to live in Pakistan, I'd move there.

Have a good day. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo