I guess my standards have been whittled down to the point that I don’t even flinch anymore when Fox News does stuff like call the religion of Buddhism inadequate. Maybe Benen is right, though. Maybe Brit Hume should lose his contract. But I just don’t care. For me, the entire existence of Fox News is an insult. It makes the people who watch it meaner and more ill-informed. Insulting Islam has been part of their mantra for a decade. What’s one more religion?
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BooMan
Martin Longman a contributing editor at the Washington Monthly. He is also the founder of Booman Tribune and Progress Pond. He has a degree in philosophy from Western Michigan University.
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Yep, what’s one more religion. Eventually they’ll turn on evangelical Christianity. When it suits their purposes.
In a way they have already turned on evangelical Christianity. What teachings of Christ do they ACTUALLY follow?
It’s incredibly sad if you look too deep.
nalbar
One of the unspoken goals of Fox is to promote as exceptional and superior anything which they feel is associated with “The American Way”. This is really nothing new. It has been going on in some form or fashion since the founding of the Republic. The only difference in these days is that their megaphone is astronomically bigger than anything previously available to spread this message. And with that comes quite a powerful influence on a significant portion of the population.
The ironic thing is that this attitude really is just an indication of the level of fear so many people in this country have of their own inadequacies and shortcomings. That is why so many people who fear things like diversity, tolerance and the anything which is different to them will flock to networks like Fox. They need constant reassurance that they are superior to all those despicable and lowly outsiders. They need confirmation that somewhere on this big blue orb there are savage and beastly people to look down upon and conquer. As long as we can minimize the humanity of someone, we can delude ourselves with some kind of imaginary pride that America is truly God’s chosen country and that as Americans we harbor some inherent genetic superiority to the lesser peoples of the world. Demonization and dehumanizing of other human beings is a core and closely held tenet of their authoritarian minds. It is a practice with a long and sordid history. From the beginning of recorded time, man has required some sort of demonic enemy. It is probably the greatest flaw in the long evolution of human culture and the human mind.
I would imagine that most Christians in this country would consider Buddhism to be inadequate simply because it does not undertake two of the most important foundational actions in Christianity. They do not believe in praying to a higher power (a.k.a. GOD-Jesus-Yahweh) nor do they practice rituals or elaborate rites (e.g., being “born again”, taking communion, full immersion baptism). That pretty much seals the deal with even the most lukewarm of Christians. The general ignorance concerning most all other major belief systems in the world lends itself to an overwhelming smugness on the part of most of religious America.
Christians consider Buddhism to be inadequate for one basic reason — because it is not Christianity. Funny thingm that is the same reason they find all other religions inadequate. There is plenty of prayer and elaborate ritual in Buddhism.
Buddhism has been found inferior to Christianity for walking on water or helping Kurt Warner win football games.
Warner sure could have used Buddha at left tackle, though. Buddha guarding the blind side. What more could he ask for.
Satan on the left might do a better job.
nalbar
Somehow I see Satan more as a safety; crazily roaming the field delivering crushing blows to unsuspecting infidels. Kinda like Troy Palumalu…without the hair. And somehow I can see Satan in the Steeler black and gold. Apropos uniform for a Mephistopheles type character, I think.
I just don’t see Buddha as a lineman. He won’t hold or chop block. He won’t aggressively run block. And when his quarterback gets a cheap shot, he won’t have his back.
Maybe a field goal kicker?
nalbar
And the Harpies as cornerbacks. Light, fast, and always looking for revenge.
nalbar
The predictable wailing that so-and-so at Fox should be fired gets tiresome. Hume is an asshole, always was, always will be, just like everybody else at FN. Trying to make crusades over this one or that one is like trying to hunt down and kill the particular fire ant that bit you, or the particular virus that initiated your swine flu. Poisonous insects, viruses, cancer cells, and Fox”News” all just act according to their natures.
To my mind Hume did us 2 services: he further nailed down FN’s total irrelevance to anything remotely like “news”, and he further exposed the vacuity of the Christian theocrat cult for anyone interested in seeing it. What more can you ask of one moron?
And don’t you just love a tool like Hume whining about the “liberal” media, especially because he acts like his career covering the White House at ABC never existed.
Brit Hume still hasn’t explained which religion right wing Christians convert to when they fall from grace. rolling eyes
I agree with Booman…..Fox News is an insult for those of us who have functioning rational brains!