Ranting Against the American Theocracy

This weekend I read a graphic novel titled Persepolis. In it, Marjane Satrapi describes her childhood in Iran during the overthrow of the Shah and followed by the (fundamentalist) Islamic Revolution. Marjane and her mother are forced to take the veil. Parties, dancing and music are forbidden and the Iran/ Iraq War begins – devastating the Iranian countryside and Tehran. Marjane describes a nearly useless healthcare system, because many doctors have fled the country and (for example) one hospital is run by a former window washer because he is a devout muslim. This head of hospital denies her uncle an emergency passport to England for a life-saving surgery, because if the uncle’s life is meant to be, “God will provide.”

Fuck you, you ignorant, sanctimonious shitbag!!!

Does my last phrase seem harsh? Good. Because the ignorant, sanctimonious assholes have been whipping up fear in the heart of the United States… while they’ve been systematically undermining anything good about our nation -- all in the name of some twisted, ignorant uninformed version of Jesus Christ which they've concocted in their obtusely isegeisical interpretation of the bible -- an interpretation so simplistic, it makes a fourth grade book report seem comprehensive.

It is time to firmly denounce religious fundamentalism of any flavor! Hell, denounce any kind of fundamentalism of any flavor. Call these Fucked-up mental "Christians" what they are -- xenophobes, war-mongers, anti-christs -- when they preach war and social engineereing. When they try to program your children, when they try to destroy the American way of life by taking over municipal governments, use their barely-educated prejudices to inform school curriculum and science, when they try to tell you our forefathers intended this to be a Xian nation (they didn't -- read the Constitution) call these nasty ignorant dictators what they are -- STUPID, XENOPHOBIC, POORLY READ, DICTATORIAL LIARS! And anyone who thinks I'm exagerrating should rent Jesus Camp, check out the religious affiliation of those sitting on their local school board and read the news.

Dear Mr./Miss/Mrs. Fundamentalist Christian,

Everytime you lie -- you shit-spewing, fundamentalist idiot -- the baby Jesus cries. I am aware that you consider yourself to be at war with me and every other person on this planet who does not identify as a fundamentalist christian. I hear you chanting, "This means war!" while you program your children that evolution never happened and that the Bible is the only source of fact and thereby make it clear that the concept of metaphor is completely over your head. You tell us evolution is a fallacy because clearly, you want to see society devolve -- dragging us all back into some neocon dark ages in which ignorance and disease become the norm and starvation continues to escalate. You deny the scientific accuracy of global warming because you want to destroy this planet -- and you allow yourselves to be manipulated by the interests of multinational corporations.

Fuck you! We were born right the first time. We know we can only save ourselves and each other and the gods and God and the goddess do not care for ignorant, needy bigots always seeking to cast the first stone.

Divine intelligence is much greater than your puny prejudices.

Beware the insidious, fundamentalist, ignorantly manipulated religious right.

(Joe made me aware of Biblia. Thanks, Joe.)