If there’s one thing that absolutely intrigues me about American politics, it’s the religious right – and by ‘absolutely intrigues me,’ I mean ‘really irritates me to no end.’
Christianity teaches humility, sacrifice, and an all-around doctrine of selflessness. Jesus mercilessly decried the Pharisees for using public displays of prayer and piousness to advance themselves – it was in the sense that the Pharisees saw Jesus as a potential threat that they conspired to kill him; culminating in the crucifixion.
And yet, Pat Robertson, the very vocal head founder of the Christian Coalition and host of The 700 Club, has fallen into the very trap that the Pharisees did – using his religion to advance his political views. Some of Robertson’s gems of wisdom include comparing judicial activism to the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and claiming “We should resist the temptation to identify our religious convictions with the platform of a party,” even though this man himself ran for President in 1988. (By the way, Pat Robertson has a net worth of about $200 million. That kind of money can reach and influence a lot of people).
Therefore, it’s safe to say he’s gone out of his mind when, during a broadcast of his show, he advocated the assassination of Hugo Chavez, sparking outcries from officials in Venezuela, the United States, the media, and a lot of Christian leaders. And now, he’s dropped another bombshell on us: on another broadcast of his show, he claimed that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts should “be thankful” that Hurricane Katrina has “brought him some good,” as it will divert senators from blocking his nomination.
Say what you want about John Roberts’ viewpoints or background, but if someone like Pat Robertson so desperately wants him appointed so as to trivialize a national disaster, I wouldn’t want him on the Supreme Court.
So as it seems, the victims of both 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina mean nothing to Robertson – as long as his political agenda gets advanced further. Sparking potential diplomatic crisis is a fair tactic as well, so long as he can further convince his viewers that his idea of politics and government is not only right, it’s the will of God. Yikes.
Of course, not everyone believes what Robertson says, and certainly, not every Christian shares such radical views (for instance, advocating assassination). However, he is very influential amongst his viewers. And if any of them happen to be reading this, I implore you – get your political views from any other source. CNN, the BBC, the Herald, even Fox News – and yes, I just said ‘Fox News’ – anything but Robertson. His rhetoric is even more potentially harmful than Sean Hannity’s. And believe me, that’s saying a lot.
Jay Rooney can be contacted at j.rooney@umiami.edu.