Choosing Between The Extremes

Look anywhere on the American political scene these days and you will find widespread liberal paranoia regarding the "religious right." The religious right is bent on turning the bow of the nation into the winds of the dark ages, and woe be the enlightened secularists along the way. Given that the religious right makes up a rather small percentage of the Republican Party, the rest of us are asked often how we can align ourselves with their brand of extremism.

A couple of points on that issue. Firstly, I have yet to have pointed out to me an instance where the religious right has "forced it's views" down the throats of anyone. Defending their culture from assaults by the ACLU does not count. Defending against an abortion on demand mentality does not count. Defending national and state laws against gay marriage does not count. Even the opening of the federal courts, widely attributed by the left as a sign of a new era of global religious rule, accomplished only the affirmation of Michael Schiavo's original position.

Yet these are the most prevalent examples of the offensive by the religious right, which sounds more and more like a contradiction in terms. Still, the paranoia on this subject knows no bounds and I am often asked, as a godless pagan, how I can align myself with these dark forces. My answer is invariably: what are my choices?

Given that both political parties have extremes, regardless of which you affiliate yourself with you get nut-jobs. The discussion then becomes, which nut-jobs are worse, the right's or the left's?

The right's "nut-jobs" sometimes refer to the sexual ambiguity of cartoon characters, or inquire as to why stuffed animals are carrying purses. Occasionally, they fight for a "culture of life" and, right or wrong, that doesn't really seem that extreme. They choose their battles based on philosophy just like any group, as the environmental or gay lobby, for instance. Their goal is to slow down the assault on the nation's traditions, plain and simple. In some cases it is in our best interests, in others for their own benefit...just like any lobby.

On the other hand, were people like me to be scared away from the Republican Party, what would await us on the other side?

The left's extremists have resorted to throwing food at conservatives. They have a suicidal philosophy on national security, think America is always the bad guy, and would love to see the United Nations rule the world. It's not that they don't believe there should be a God, but that the widely accepted God should be replaced by their favorite deity, government.

Even more concerning, is the tactics used by the left to further their agenda, which should be of concern. One need only find a Krugman column, or that of any other leftist sycophant, and replace all references to the religious right with the word "Jew" to realize we are not in Kansas anymore.

Worst of all, while the right's "religious extremists" are treated like any other lobby in Washington, the left's secular extremists are in control of the party. Howard Dean, who thinks Republicans are "evil," is in charge of the DNC. The new leaders of the party are Barbara Boxer, Ted Kennedy, and Robert Byrd; dangerous ideologues to the core. The left's heroes are Ward Churchill and Michael Moore, liars and propagandists who believe we are the true terrorists in the world.

Aside from these core beliefs, they have not one single plan for how to address the issues of the day. From the War on Terror, to social security, to health care, the party is bankrupt of ideas. In fact, the left has been reduced to an entirely obstructionist party, whose sole platform is knee-capping the government that the American people elected.

The left demands that the Republican Party end it's affiliation with the religious right and end the "grave danger" they pose to our society. Of course, they show no willingness to back away from their extremists; the global government and abortion on demand crowds, the anti-American propagandists, and the Euro-socialists-fascists.

The religious right, at it's core, seeks to preserve America in it's current form, the form that has allowed for the greatest freedoms individuals have ever enjoyed, the form that allowed our country to rise to the prominence it has in it's short history, and brought the opportunity for prosperity to everyone.
The left's extremists who, again, run the party, seek exactly the opposite; nothing short of the entire dismantling of that country, block by block, and it's rebuilding in an entirely new image.

The choice than, between right and left, is preserve or dismantle. This is the option that every American who doesn't align themselves with extremists must make when choosing a political party. Given that choice, is it any wonder that the left finds itself on the outside looking in?