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Journeys into the Twilight Zone of Religion and Politics Close Encounters with the Religious Right: Journeys into the Twilight Zone of Religion and Politics by Robert Boston, Prometheus Books, 2000, 289 pages, $22.95
Few people disgust me in the deeps more than the practicing gay Roman Catholic English neo-conservative writer Andrew Sullivan who's now, unfortunately, a regular contributor to the New York Times Magazine. In the April 16 issue, Sullivan cozies up to the Religious Right—like the sniveling Republican-gofer he is—saying: “I discovered a shocking secret about the religious right: they're really quite nice.” Yeah, Andrew. Sure.
Fortunately for my nerves, I was reading, at the same time, an antidote to Andrew's tiresome twaddle. Robert Boston's newly published Close Encounters with the Religious Right: Journeys into the Twilight Zone of Religion and Politics, provides a savvy heterosexual male's chronicle of just how nutty and dangerous religious fundamentalists and evangelicals are. Boston's accounts of his entries into the lunatic compounds of Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, James Dobson, D. James Kennedy, the Promise Keepers and others should be required reading. This superb book tells, with humor and candor, how insidiously vicious are those zealots celebrated by traitor Sullivan as “quite nice”. Assistant Director of Communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Robert Boston has spent twelve years—“like a zoologist tracking rare animals” following the Religious Right in the field. He's attended meetings and conferences of devotees, toured headquarters of Religious Right organizations and has debated their faithful fanatics in the media.
The intrusion of Robertson, Falwell et al, into the current presidential campaign, their unrelenting support for Republican candidate George W. Bush, is only the tip of an iceberg which, beneath the surface, is getting large enough to pop up and stage a right-wing religious coup, populating the U.S. political system with Christian-style Ayatollahs. The degree to which these sworn enemies of gay men and lesbians succeed with their agenda, is mind-boggling. In the boondocks, school boards and city and county commissions have been taken over by hosts of Christian Coalition types—Republicans one and all. These Trojan horses, no matter what the real problems of a community may be, stupidly focus on non-problems like equality for same-sex lovers. They vote down any teaching about condoms in public school sex education classes, leaving ignorant students exposed to disease. Addicted to their own “Christian” brand of witchdoctory, they are 21st century primitives who will live to see their own children perish as a result. “I heard (Pat) Robertson speak at a 'Road to Victory' conference,” writes Boston, “about the great strides the Christian Coalition had made in taking over the Republican Party in the states. A magazine had reported that the Coalition was dominant in about half of the state GOP units and had a significant presence in many others. Robertson said that was great but that more work remained to be done because 'I like 100%' ” Boston says: “It is wishful thinking to believe that Robertson will simply decide to go away. It's wishful thinking to believe that his Christian Coalition will collapse overnight. It's wishful thinking to believe that the Religious Right will simply fade from view. Robertson wants 100 percent. He has stated his views up front. His agenda is no longer a secret. His ambitions and those of his Christian Coalition have been laid out for the American people to see. He will work toward them until the very day he draws his very last breath.” Close Encounters with the Religious Right is the best current record of Christian Right ambitions, being a fascinating tour of our enemies' camps. It is an essential tool for gay and lesbian activists, putting us on notice about the depraved plots that religious fanatics perpetually hatch against us. It is clear that American United for Separation of Church and State ranks among the most valuable watchdogs for our rights and liberties and that Robert Boston's new book lets us know—in no uncertain terms—the full horror of what our foes are fomenting. |
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