Why Christian Republicans should be environmentalists
For a group who recites the Bible to oppose euthanasia, the disintegration of the nuclear family and media violence, it should be expected of them to honor the multiple biblical references demanding Christians maintain a positive stewardship of the earth.
Amen.
Reader interactions
3 Replies to “Why Christian Republicans should be environmentalists”
Comments are closed.
“You might be surprised to learn what your kids and grandchildren have running through their minds.”
PROPAGANDIZING THE KIDS
By: Jerry Shilan
Yesterday, I took my cousin’s nine year old grandson to see the current Harry Potter movie.
He had a recent birthday, got all (A)s and (B)s on his report card and besides it gave me an excuse to see a movie I would not have normally opted for. He had read the books and could explain it to me.
After lunch, on the way home, he turned on the car radio. As he grazed through the stations we heard Sean Hannity denigrating John Kerry.
If you don’t think propaganda and half truths and distortions don’t have their intended affect listen to this.
“I think Kerry is right about some things” said nine year old Austin.
I had no intention of trying to indoctrinate him or get into a political discussion with a fourth grader. He comes from a non political family. My cousin, his grandmother, hasn’t voted in years. She is from the “All Politicians Are Crooks” School of Thought. Austin’s single mother doesn’t have the time nor inclination to devote much thought to world affairs.
“Oh!” I said cautiously.
“Yea! He wants everyone to have health care,” he opined. “But he flip flops on other things. First he voted the 87 million dollars for the soldiers and then he said he voted against it!”
I was astounded at the depth of his thinking.
“Well, what do you think of the war in Iraq?” I asked.
“We had to do it, they attacked us first,” said Austin
“What do you mean?”
“They bombed the buildings in New York and sent two other airplanes against us?” he explained.
“Who is they? I wanted to know.
“The Iraq people!” said the boy.
It was at that point the anti propaganda hackles raised on the back of my neck.
“Did you know that there was no one from Iraq on any of those airplanes.” I asked.
“No!” responded Austin
“Did you know that most of those men were from Saudi Arabia — a whole different country, which is suppose to be our friend.” I continued.
“No!” answered the boy.
“Did you know that no one has found any connection between Iraq and the terrorist attacks?” I quizzed.
“No! But we captured that guy Osama in a hole in Iraq.” said Austin, wanting to rebut my point.
“I think you mean a bad guy named Saddam Hussien, who was the president of Iraq. Osama Bin Laden is the man who ordered the attacks on us. He is a Saudi and he is still in hiding somewhere in Afghanistan or Pakistan.” I reported, giving the boy probably more than he wanted to know.
“Well President Bush said they had weapons of mass destruction and wanted to destroy us.” concluded the boy.
I realized the kid had been brainwashed by the insidious propaganda machine and there wasn’t much I could do about it. I didn’t want to spoil the aura of an otherwise most pleasant outing, so I changed the subject. I really enjoyed his company and was totally surprised to discover the depth of his interests.
Perhaps he will mature into a committed voting citizen, which will break the family cycle of non involvement.
I probably won’t be able to resist trying to help him learn how to determine the difference between truth and propaganda.
Mass communication is a marvelous thing, but it can be used to mold or distort the minds of men and boys.
J.L. Shilan June 12, 2004
thanks for the comment. not really about my post, but i certainly enjoyed reading it. i’ve had to help my (admittedly 5-year old) son reach similar conclusions. He had something in his head about Iraq being bad, and I had to explain to him that most people are good and the the leaders of some countries, including our own, can do things that the people of a country don’t agree with or understand. He didn’t know how to respond but i’m hopefully helping him see things in a light that he doesn’t seem to be getting from his half-listening to the news.
Not having a child of my own that is an incredibly scary comment to read… I was afraid the media was being listened to by younger generations, but know I now they are. During my generation the news switched from informative to purely tabloid style in a matter of months. It scares me to think that people are growing up knowing believing the media propaganda and not being able to see past it. Where will this planet be in 20 years?