Photophobia

Grace Nearing over at Scriptoids links to an excellent post concerning the intellectual murder of one Jay Bennish, a high school teacher in Aurora, Colorado. His crime was trying to teach his students to think on their own. She links to an article by Michael I. Niman, Keeping Kids Stupid: The Intellectual Lynching of Jay Bennish and it very carefully and tragically describes the assault on Jay from the right for doing his job.

It's something I have talked about here before and it is probably time to revisit it. The ultra conservative and/or religious right have a deep seated fear of anyone who can think and reason. Their whole world view cannot stand the light of reason and instead relies on fear and ignorance for it's life. They will go to any length to stifle those who would teach or enable rigorous and creative thought. I have known them all my life and I will tell you once again that if you think to challenge their belief in God/Jesus as master and punisher for sin they would just as soon have you dead. The only reason they don't do it themselves is because it is currently against the law. If they have their way with the law though, it soon won't be.

Since the fundamental root of their miserable lives is fear, whether it be fear of death or fear of eternal damnation or fear of being wrong or fear of happiness or fear of freedom they have to have someone to point to as the source. Since their feeble understanding of the world cannot grasp the concept that their fear is self created then they have to have someone to blame. Guess what...it's you and your liberal, heretical beliefs.

How dare you accept the world as it is and resolve to make it better. Don't you know that there is them and us and we are better and Jesus says so. If Jesus loved them then why are they starving and diseased? Why do you accept him as other than the devil he is when he doesn't even worship Jesus? I could go on and on but you get the drift. They will not and cannot accept the reality of the world and therefore need a scapegoat to blame it on.

Keep this at the forefront when you consider these people. They are the most dangerous thing this planet and society have ever faced. They can justify any act or crime with their belief that the ends justify the means. We have seen the results over and over again throughout civilization when the zealots get control. They will attack and try and destroy every bright light like Jay that rises above the hedgerow. We have to fight them at every opportunity and shine the light of reason and freedom on their black deeds. They will not tolerate light and will shun it or attack it with all their might. We have a responsibility to keep it burning.