Guest Post by Morbo
The Rev. Jonathan Falwell is proving to be a real chip off the old blockhead. The son of the late Jerry Falwell, Jonathan took over Thomas Road Baptist Church and the television ministry after his father died last year. (Another Falwell son, Jerry Falwell Jr., is chancellor of Liberty University.) Anyone hoping for a more moderate tone out of Lynchburg is disappointed.
Jonathan Falwell recently penned a column titled “Our Dishonest Nation.” He complains about a recent report by the General Accounting Office that found some government employees have been diverting tax funds for personal use.
“I imagine this is typical behavior within many businesses around the country. We have become a nation increasingly comprised of me-first citizens who have no problem using deceitful practices to satisfy their personal needs or to enhance their lifestyles.”
What comes next is predictable:
“First, I see the GAO report as being reflective of our nation’s continued departure from its Judeo-Christian heritage. This nation was founded on biblical principles, and those principles largely sustained us until about a half-century ago. As our nation has turned away from (and even become hostile toward) the Ten Commandments and other biblical principles, we have seen our citizenry become progressively more dishonest and deceptive. Crime has risen, our schools have failed and our culture has become vulgar and crude. I believe it’s all related to the ouster of God from our schools, our media and our society.”
So the bottom line is, we’re all a bunch of crooks. But you’ll notice the one thing missing from Falwell’s screed is anything like proof of his assertions. Are we really more dishonest now than we were in past years? Can Falwell cite a controlled-study on that?
Yes, some people are just crooks. They have always been with us and always will be. But they are not the majority. Most Americans are fundamentally decent and honest. Yet Falwell tars us all with the brush of dishonesty.
I’ve noticed that Falwell and other members of the Religious Right “America stinks” brigade tend to assert that things went in the toilet about 50 years ago. So we’re to believe everything was just wonderful until 1958? Has Falwell never heard of the Petticoat Affair, Tammany Hall, Credit Mobilier, the Whiskey Ring, Prohibition-era gangsterism, the wave of bank robberies during the 1920s or Teapot Dome?
It seems to me an argument can made that we’re more moral now, at least in some areas. I’d like for Falwell to travel back in time and ask a black man who wants to vote, eat lunch in a Woolworths or attend the University of Mississippi if he thinks all is well. Ask that of a Jew who wants to join a “Protestants-only” country club or a woman who wants to become a doctor. Modern society has its ills — as all ages do — but I think we’ve made impressive progress in some very important areas.
What’s galling to me is that people like Falwell say things like this and then have the nerve to assert that it’s the liberals who don’t love America. It sounds to me like Falwell is unhappy living among a bunch of thieving, no-good, lying Americans. I’d like to recommend a favorite right-wing line: If you hate America so much, why don’t you go live somewhere else?