Kowabunga

Ran across this brilliant article by Bernard Moon over on the Boston Globe website. He takes the Liberal Elites to task for their ranting about hot the Chritians voted for Bush.

Here's an excerpt from the article:

IN A recent speech at Tufts University, Andy Rooney reflected on the election and said, according to The Tufts Daily, that Christian fundamentalism is a result of "a lack of education. They haven't been exposed to what the world has to offer."

Those comments as well as the identification of the "bigoted Christian redneck" after Election Day in various editorials left me wondering: Where do these "liberal elites" get this fictional image of Christians? When did this distorted perspective begin in our cultural history? How can I work to bridge this gap?

Rooney is reflective of the "liberal elite" in America that suffers from an odd disconnect with much of America and those who voted for President Bush. With respect to Isaac Asimov, I have decided to create "The Three Political Laws of Christian Fundamentalists" for the confused "liberal elite":

A Christian is a human being capable of independent, logical reasoning to the highest order.

A Christian is not a mindless entity seeking to obey public religious leaders, such as Pat Robertson, John Paul II, or Ralph Reed, when voting on the future of America.

Moon refers to an article covering a speech Rooney made at Tufts University, so I thought I would go check that out as well. What an eye full.

From the Tufts Daily:

Rooney also attributed voters' reliance on religion in the recent election to ignorance. "I am an atheist," Rooney said. "I don't understand religion at all. I'm sure I'll offend a lot of people by saying this, but I think it's all nonsense."

He said Christian fundamentalism is a result of "a lack of education. They haven't been exposed to what the world has to offer."

Rooney said he also could not understand how "men who work with their hands voted for George Bush," and again attributing the phenomenon to a lack of education. "The labor force is conservative," he said. "How in the world did that happen?"

Egads! I guess I must be one of those "uneducated", Christian Evangelicals who has never been exposed to "what the world has to offer." Never mind the fact that I have a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, served in the Air Force and lived in Spain as well as travelled quite a bit.

Just like so many other the Leftist Elites, Rooney is a man who manages to insult Americans, whenever they open their mouths about their politcal beliefs.

He goes on to mention how it was staff at CBS with a politcal agenda (axe to grind?) that ran Dan Rather's report using forged documents on President Bush's National Guard Service, and that the news industry has been taken over by the "moneychangers."

My question is: Why do we honor people such as Rooney?