Sometimes Divisive

Heal!

by blogSpotter
When Jerry Falwell passed away recently, fond farewells were given across all the media. Because his tirades were given under the aegis of Religion, and the word "Reverend" preceded his name, the newspaper remembrances were softened with phrases like "sometimes divisive" or "oft controversial". As Slate writer Christopher Hitchens so aptly points out, Don Imus could've salvaged his whole career with the prefix "Reverend". Hitchens went even further, by referring to Falwell’s dead body as a “carcass”.

In his early career, Falwell was pro-segregation and referred to Civil Rights as “Civil Wrongs.” He wasn’t much more enlightened by the late 90's; he elicited laughs with his now-famous outing of Tinky Winky -- a children's Teletubby character. Not so laughable were his dark insinuations that the Antichrist will “of necessity” be a Jewish male. His anti-Semitism was barely kept below the surface. His stance in favor of Israeli settlers in Gaza was more of a goading toward what he saw as ultimate Biblical prophecy -- Armageddon. Falwell crossed a Rubicon of sorts when in 2001, he said that the 9/11 attacks were divine retribution for gays, lesbians, feminists and the ACLU. He actually was compelled to apologize for that statement. There is no rational justification, divine or otherwise for what happened on 9/11.

"Speak kindly of the dead," they say. There are so many dead people of differing viewpoints; it's hard to stay consistent with that dictum. And if the recently deceased is "oft controversial" it's harder still. I have a friend who once said, "I don't care about Heaven or Hell -- when I die, I just want to know why things happened as they did. Give me an explanation for why life sucked, and what it was all really about." If there is one ultimate, real truth, may we all be apprised of it at least in death. Maybe we die, and then we just get a good talking-to. Jerry, I can't help but think that someone would set you straight about children's television, the ACLU and a few other things.

© 2007 blogSpotter