Censorship on the Left?
Last April I was one of the featured speakers at City College in New York at a conference sponsored by the New York Open Center. The conference was billed as "Examining the Real Agenda of the Religious Far Right."
As a long-time advocate for the separation of church and state, and an opponent of the religious right, the organizers of the conference assumed that they knew what I would say. I think by now, most educated voters know the position and agenda of the religious right. It's pretty much in the open.
However, some of the speakers at this conference seem to be conspiracists on the left. They seem to think that so-called Christian Reconstructionists and Dominionists are guiding the movement we call the religious right.
While I believe that things will swing back toward the center in the next election, I also believe that the current climate is a reaction to so-called liberals who have pushed the envelope beyond acceptabilty.
During my talk, which, for the most part, was well-received by the audience (but not the organizers), I talked about witnessing two men having sex on the street in New York's West Village. Without going into the details of what I witnessed, I, a liberal in many matters, was appalled by their actions.
I also mentioned that abortion is undesirable, and that we should do all we can to curb it, while still keeping it legal. I personally know women who use abortion as birth control.
A couple of people in the audience verbally protested any suggestion that we stop pushing the envelope in these areas.
To get to the point, I don't believe that there is any kind of serious conspiracy by Christians to take over the country. On the other hand, I do believe in a separation of church and state, and feel that there are many violations of this principle nationwide.
The other day I received a DVD from the Open Center called "Examining the Real Agenda of the Religious Far Right." The video disk contained seven of the featured speakers, but left my talk off. I wasn't surprised, but I do find it disappointing that my efforts to present a balanced, rational view was left out.
As a long-time advocate for the separation of church and state, and an opponent of the religious right, the organizers of the conference assumed that they knew what I would say. I think by now, most educated voters know the position and agenda of the religious right. It's pretty much in the open.
However, some of the speakers at this conference seem to be conspiracists on the left. They seem to think that so-called Christian Reconstructionists and Dominionists are guiding the movement we call the religious right.
While I believe that things will swing back toward the center in the next election, I also believe that the current climate is a reaction to so-called liberals who have pushed the envelope beyond acceptabilty.
During my talk, which, for the most part, was well-received by the audience (but not the organizers), I talked about witnessing two men having sex on the street in New York's West Village. Without going into the details of what I witnessed, I, a liberal in many matters, was appalled by their actions.
I also mentioned that abortion is undesirable, and that we should do all we can to curb it, while still keeping it legal. I personally know women who use abortion as birth control.
A couple of people in the audience verbally protested any suggestion that we stop pushing the envelope in these areas.
To get to the point, I don't believe that there is any kind of serious conspiracy by Christians to take over the country. On the other hand, I do believe in a separation of church and state, and feel that there are many violations of this principle nationwide.
The other day I received a DVD from the Open Center called "Examining the Real Agenda of the Religious Far Right." The video disk contained seven of the featured speakers, but left my talk off. I wasn't surprised, but I do find it disappointing that my efforts to present a balanced, rational view was left out.
posted by Skipp Porteous at
4:26 PM
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1 Comments:
Thanks, Skipp. For the benefit of my readers. I will edit your comment on my blog http://www.sgtstryker.com/index.php/archives/oh-this-should-be-interesting/#comments so it permalinks to this post directly.
Yes, it certainly seemed to me as though the original footage was heavily edited (including the presentations of the speakers they included) to make it as alarmist as possible.
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Kevin L. Connors, at 7:07 PM
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