America prides itself on it’s First Amendment right of free speech.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Among other things, that provides a legitimate place for conservative talk radio, which, at least in our part of the country, is extremely popular. Now and then I’ll listen to a bit of it just to hear what’s going on. For the most part it appears to consist of sarcastic bombast thinly disguised as informed political commentary. Harmless enough, I guess, if you don’t take it too seriously. But I was distressed to read in the paper that radio hosts the likes of Michael Savage continue to be among the most popular. He, and a few others, are blatant in their racist hate mongering in ways that can do nothing but incite conditions of intolerance, even for our Constitution and First Amendment rights. It isn’t that he, and some others, are on the air, but that they remain popular, that there are people eating up that stuff because it’s their stuff, they like it.
What really discourages me is my suspicion that many of their listeners would also proclaim themselves to be Christians. I don’t see how the gospel of Jesus Christ can be reconciled with a mindset based on fear, intolerance, hatred and ignorance. Maybe my suspicion is wrong, but when I look at Barna Surveys on the politics of so-called born again Christians I wonder.
\”and they will know we are christians by our love\”But then in history, the burning of heretics was considered an act of love and compassion. go figure.we are a strange lot, humans, we are always creating god in our image.