Pat Robertson is a Christian? Really?

Pat Robertson, the "Christian" televangelist of 700 Club fame, spent this past sunday on the ABC Sunday moring show This Week. He told George Stephanopolis that he believed the threat to America from "Liberal" judges was "probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings." When an incredoulous Stephanopolis probed further asking if he really believed that "Liberal" judges were "the most serious threat America has faced in nearly 400 years of history, more serious than al Qaeda, more serious than Nazi Germany and Japan, more serious than the Civil War?", Robertson responded "George, I really believe that." Apperently when Robertson asks himself that immortal question "What Would Jesus Do?", the answer he gets is "hate, hate, hate." Of course this is the same sanctimonious wind bag who proclaimed on September 12, 2001 that "liberals, feminists, and homosexuals" were responsible for 9/11. Of course, that little gem was delivered on the 700 Club and was intended only for the faithful. When word of the comments reached the mainstream press, he retreted from them as fast as a fat little man could (apprently gluttony is no longer a deadly sin). These most recent comments were intended for mass consumption, which really tells you the state of the union. Or, at the very least, just where Robertson and his ilk feel they stand now as opposed to 2001.

Don't get me wrong, I am now, as ever, a staunch defender of the First Ammendment. Robertson has the right to say and think whatever he wishes. I'm just constanty dismayed that no one from the Chrtistian side of the aisle ever seems to repudiate what he says. I hope, and am fairly confident, that Robertson does not speak for most Christians. But when no Christian leaders step forward to denouce this garbage, it has the effect of making Robertson a spokeperson for the entire religion. Silence can be as bad as active agreement. Witness the "March of the Living" being held today from Auchswitz to Birkenau in Poland. 20,000 survivors and reltives of those who perished in the Holocaust are a powerful reminder that everyone must speak out against hatred and intolerance. Voltaire once claimed that he might disagree with another man but would defend to his own death the right of another to speak his mind. Voltaire was right, but the First Amendment gives you only the right to speak your mind. It does not guarantee an audience or sheild you from the consequences of your words. We must all turn a deaf ear to hatred and make sure that those who expouse it are exposed for the human garbage they really are.