How dare you express an opinion a liberal (or an atheist) disagrees with?!

A few days ago I read a well-written (if ironic) story about an American woman of, er.... progressive inclinations marooned in the UK by a miltary coup in the United States fostered by Christian fascists.

Wherever we look, we see the Right (and specifically the Christian Right) painted as dangerously totalitarian in inclination, and a threat to the freedoms of those who disagree with it. The irony, of course, is that in the real world wherever you look- from the indoctrination in atheism offered at public expense at state university campuses, to attempts to portray moral objections to sodomy as somehow expressions of "hate" against those who practice it, to laws in Canada and Australia and Great Britain actually criminalizing politically incorrect speech- it is in fact the Left, and specifically the atheist Left, which seems (excuse the expression) hell-bent on suppressing the expression of any opinion or viewpoint which differs from its own.

This, as Jordan Sekulow and Matthew Clark point out- is the season when the totalitarianism of self-proclaimed defenders of diversity is most evident. While the Supreme Court (as it ought to be painful for any Christian to remember) has ruled civic manger scenes to be acceptable on the ground of their essentially commercial rather than religious import, any specifically religious symbolism connected with the celebration of a primarily religious holiday (the birthday of Jesus) worshipped at least nominally by the overwhelming majority of the American public is somehow held to be an attack on the right of dissenters to dissent.

Once again, we encounter the skewed logic which says that the way diversity is preserved is to suppress the expression of any opinion or attitude except one. Ant that is a far greater threat both to diversity and to freedom than anything advocated by the Christian Right.

If you're looking for real bigotry, look to your Left, not your Right.

HT: Real Clear Politics

ADDENDUM: Interestingly, Craig Ferguson did a riff or two Friday night (with the help of his foul-mouthed bunny rabbit puppet) comparing atheists with militant vegans as rivals for the title of most obnoxious type of  intolerant boor. Somehow, I didn't expect old Craig to see things this way, but as a fan of his I am gratified.


ADDENDUM II: Just noticed that Topix had posted this to the "Atheism" discussion. Interesting responses. The first attacked  my intelligence and suggested that I should be killed. No rebuttal, however. The second agreed, and expressed the opinion that my article should be suppressed.

Thanks, guys, for doing such a masterful job of validating my argument! :)

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