Amazon

I was reading today's installment of the American Atheists e-mail newsletter about Judge Roy Moore's appeal over the removal of his commandments rock, and something struck me about a quote by one of Moore's supporters. here is the section:

Following the rally, members of AVIDD will march to the Alabama Judicial Building to "view and guard the Ten Commandments monument."AVIDD is a relative newcomer to the religious right scene. The organization has been active in the so-called "property rights" movement. The Chairman of the group, a former U.S. Marine Corps general says that AVIDD plans to "involve all veterans, civic leaders, law enforcement groups, churches and neighborhoods" in its campaign."Our culture is being destroyed by Hollywood, rockers, and rappers, aided and abetted by the news and entertainment industry," warns a section of the AVIDD web site titled "The Challenge."


Here's what seems wrong to me:
If religionists make up 86% of the US population, then aren't the RELIGIONISTS to blame for Hollywood, rockers, rappers, and the media? They are the ones generating the demand for the "filth" that they are protesting.

Shouldn't they look away from the religious perspective to see if we have a better grasp on what might add some class and dignity back into America? Or should I just content myself in the knowledge that it's always our (non-believers') fault, no matter what.

Ojuice5001

I tend to agree with the religious right that the spiritual forces behind atheism are in control of the media. The media and the intellectual elite are two parts of society, perhaps the two most important, that control thought in general, and their thoughts have little to do with Yahweh's plan. Yahweh was in control in medieval times, and therefore he must want the kind of world that existed in medieval times. But the media, the intellectual elite, etc., are only tangentially in favor of a medieval-type society, and therefore they are under the control of not Yahweh, but the new gods.

These gods do not promote a religion, they promote atheism. Hence, any person or segment of society that is under the control of these atheist gods is in touch with the same spiritual forces as atheism, even if they have not formally renounced the cultural habit of worshipping Yahweh.

I am not a Christian. I do not support eliminating the "media culture" in favor of what Yahweh wants. I think the media has a great promise to uplift the human spirit, and to undermine the false Christian-Zorastrian idea that things can be divided into what's from God, and what's from Satan. The media makes a lot of mistakes, but it is trying to grasp what's good and avoid what's evil. Nevertheless, I think that if Jupiter and crew took the media out of the atheist gods' hands, they could keep what is good in the media while purging out the pointless vulgarity and violence that it is prone to.

Amazon

Good morning, Jupiter's Terrier.

I'm not sure I follow the concepts of the "atheist god" and references to the god Jupiter, but I think I get the rest of what you were saying.

Interesting perspective. Perhaps I am generalizing too much, but my impression of the current climate is that it is moving to the whim of the south at the moment - which seems to be the most religious part of the country. While I agree that the media has a grand potential to truly inform and enlighten, the talking heads cannot seem to hide their bias against secular America. The tastes of the warring, coutry music-loving, religious, intentionally narrow-minded, and stubbornly America-centric residents of the south are disproportionately represented. Any one of these qualities by itself (except perhaps for "warring") is not dangerous (nor offensive to me, if you care), but all of them lumped together create the impression of America that is broadcast by today's media, in my opinion.

Then the right wingers say they don't like it, and blame it on us. I just think they need to point their fingers at themselves here.