If I were the DNC- I would base my campaign on Republican statements of ignorance, arrogance and jingoism and pick up every minority voter in the country. Play the national anthem in the background.

Take Rush Limbaugh’s 10 second stint as a sportscaster, or O’Reilly’s trip to a soul food restaurant. They can’t help it, these comments just slip out and they wonder what normal folks are shocked at. We are shocked we say, because thats something only a narrowminded ignorant schmuck would utter, and you would have us believe you aren’t one.

Its only a big deal because he’s black, it was just like a normal restaurant, my religon is perfect and yours isn’t. What? What did I say, why are you looking at me like that?

On the other hand, I think that religious groups need to be a little more secure in their beliefs. Ann Coulter is not a threat to Judaism as much as she is to humanity at large.

So, which side to take. Choices. Choices.

Can I abstain by ignoring both?

We have an old chestnut in my church “They will know we are Christians by our love”, taught to every kid in Sunday School.
It’s not “They’ll know we are Christians by our chauvanistic assumption that every other religion should be like ours”, Egads.

AC has so little (love of others, mankind )in her heart, and the venom in her tongue taints whatever else comes out.

Christ travelled without worldly possesions and spoke of God’s love. Not so, dear Ann.

I understand.
I was waxing philosophical in more general terms. Your comment just provided a jumping off point.

My point was that everyone becomes complacent about their beliefs when things are going well.
When controversy arises, we react on a superficial ‘not my religion’ manner.
To be prepared for the next controversy or challenge, we need to think more deeply.

My own atheism has needed rethinking on many occasions, when I read something that doesn’t fit smoothlly into what I had begun to accept as ‘truth’.

BTW, I read on the internet a while ago that fellow Christians could not remember ever seeing her at the church she purportedly attends.

Whether or not she’s being unChristian, though, depends on how one defines ‘Christian’
Christianity does involve proselytizing and seeing conversion as a major goal. How far conversion is from ‘perfecting’ is open to debate, but should at least be considered.

Proselytizing, like Christianity itself or any other religion or religious practise, depends on how it’s
interpreted and practised. It would be correct to say that Courter was expressing an injuriouws or unenlightened interpretaion of proselytizing for Christiankity, but it would be incorrect to say that her veiws are unchirstian in this respect.

In much the same way, one can not do intellectual battle with Islamist extremists by saying that their beliefs are not Islamic. Extremists have to be challenged on the basis of how they interpret and parctise Islam.
The difference may be subtle, but it’s important to acknnowlege it and deal with it.

What she says matters less than why she says it. What is of more concern is the vast numbers of conservatives who continue to buy into her intolerant, xenophobic, narrow-minded thought patterns. Unless you are an American Christian conservative, you don’t count in her world. You can say she’s just a nutcase on the fringes, but her books are always on the NYT’s bestseller list, her opinions always sought by the media as a venerable conservative pundit, she was named number 2 in popularity by conservative bloggers, and she routinely headlines their conferences.

And the networks who continuously put her on for a ratings boost are her enablers.

But that won’t stop her critics (as well as those, hint, hint, who use her to trash all conservatives) from going after her and making unsubstantiated allegations. Again, anything’s fair when you’re trying to win a partisan fight, right?

Most really religious folks, deep down, think their religion’s the best, and that the others get it wrong. I mean, I could run with Coulter’s comments and turn them around, showing how problematic Christianity is and why Judaism is superior. Newsflash: if I didn’t think Judaism was superior I wouldn’t still be one.

But I don’t say that (usually), because it’s rude, pointless, and I have the god-given good sense to recognize that what’s true for me might not be true for someone else. Coulter lacking sense is not news.

The woman is a troll. Trolls should be ignored. I’m really just posting because I want to fight this idea that we should all “respect” each others’ religious preferences. That’s just a kind of thought-policing: what if my religion demands that I not respect yours? Thus in public discussion, we need to focus on practicalities of policy, not theology, and agree to disagree, with all the eye-rolling that entails. We also need an engaged citizenry that will stand up to our leaders’ war-mongering, but that’s a whole other story…

I despise reality TV and don’t indulge in it (or virtually any TV, for that matter) but Ann has a sort of car-accident morbidity to her. I always say we should ignore her and not comment, but then I always go and read it all and comment.

She reminds me greatly of Fred Phelps. Granted, she seems totally sane relative to Freddy, but both I think share a huge need of attention. Also true is that both somehow revel in being hated. I feel it’s not that Ann doesn’t care that she’s hated, but that somehow she wants that, that it helps her reaffirm herself in some twisted way.

There’s the brand in all it’s disgustingly effective glory, Donny boy. Charming, isn’t it?