Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Jimmy Carter on the fundis and on the Israel-Lebanon WarOne of the consequences of the Christian Right "putting God back in the public square", in their terms, is that addressing public policies also now requires addressing the particular religious beliefs of the fundis. Other Christians are becoming more outspoken in distinguishing their understanding of the faith from that of the fundis. Other Christians like Jimmy Carter:The fundamentalists believe they have a unique relationship with God, and that they and their ideas are God’s ideas and God’s premises on the particular issue. Therefore, by definition since they are speaking for God anyone who disagrees with them is inherently wrong. And the next step is: Those who disagree with them are inherently inferior, and in extreme cases — as is the case with some fundamentalists around the world — it makes your opponents sub-humans, so that their lives are not significant. Another thing is that a fundamentalist can’t bring himself or herself to negotiate with people who disagree with them because the negotiating process itself is an indication of implied equality. And so this administration, for instance, has a policy of just refusing to talk to someone who is in strong disagreement with them—which is also a radical departure from past history. So these are the kinds of things that cause me concern. And, of course, fundamentalists don’t believe they can make mistakes, so when we permit the torture of prisoners in Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib, it's just impossible for a fundamentalist to admit that a mistake was made.Carter had that to say, among other things, in a recent interview published in "The US and Israel Stand Alone" Der Spiegel English edition 08/15/06. Carter is also not hestitant to express a critical opinion about the Cheney-Bush policies on the Israel-Lebanon War: SPIEGEL: You also mentioned the hatred for the United States throughout the Arab world which has ensued as a result of the invasion of Iraq. Given this circumstance, does it come as any surprise that Washington's call for democracy in the Middle East has been discredited? | +Save/Share | | |
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