Nate Knows Nada

Keith Olbermann, who’s a
reporter over at MSNBC, proudly proclaims his membership in the
community of the religious, while still pointing out James Dobson’s
idiocy over the whole SpongeBob thing.  Why is this
relevant?  Well, Dobson’s group singled Olbermann out for “e-mail
action” because of his anti-God viewpoint.

And not to let the facts get in the way of FOF’s prejudice, but I
happen to be a religious man. I believe in God, I pray daily, and if
I’ve ever gotten any direct instructions from my maker, they were that
I’ll be judged by whether I tried to help other people, or hurt them.
Also, that true belief should not be worn like a policeman’s club, nor
used like one. And, finally, that I’m in big trouble for helping to
introduce funny catchphrases into sportscasting….

It goes back to the core of the Dobsonian point of view here: the fear
of the “pro-Homosexual” agenda. That may be the way he delicately
phrases it, but it is not shared by most of his followers who emailed
me. They were clearly angry that there was no anti-homosexual
agenda. And one of the most fascinating things about the studies of
homosexuality in this country is that while there is still debate
between the creationists and the environmentalists, I’ve never heard
anything suggesting that a child is more or less likely to be gay, depending on whether he’s taught not to hate nor be intolerant, of gays….

Hey, guys, worry about yourselves. You’re
spewing hate, while assuming that for some reason, God has chosen you
and you alone in all of history to understand the mysteries of
existence, when mankind’s existence is filled with ample evidence that
nobody yet has been smart enough to discern an answer.

You might try keeping it simpler: did you help others, or hurt them?

I’ll
be happy to be judged on the answer to that question, and if it’s a
group session, I don’t expect I’ll find many members of “Focus On
Family” in the “done ok” line.

Machiavelli taught us that in fear lies one of the most effective
political tools available.  Seems like Dobson read his Machiavelli
— too bad he didn’t read more of Jesus.