Not a Good Week for Reasoned Discourse

This was not a good week for reasoned discourse. Here are three whoppers from the recent week:

1. After the Haiti earthquake, Pat Robertson suggested that the earthquake was payback for a deal with the devil made to secure Haiti's freedom from France. He said:

"And they got together and swore a pact to the Devil. They said, 'We will serve you if you'll get us free from the French.' True story. And so the Devil said, 'Okay, it's a deal.' . . . But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after another."

2. Also remarking about the Haiti earthquake, Rush Limbaugh said:

"This will play right into Obama's hands -- humanitarian, compassionate. They'll use this to burnish their, shall we say, credibility with the black community, in both the light-skinned and dark-skinned black community in this country. It's made to order for him."

When asked about the White House relief effort, he replied with cynicism:

"Would you trust that the money is going to go Haiti? But would you trust that your name's gonna end up on a mailing list for the Obama people to start asking you for campaign donations for him and other causes?"

Finally, he quipped:

"Besides, we've already donated to Haiti. It's called the U.S. income tax."

3. At a rally in Austin on Saturday, State Rep. Leo Berman, R-Tyler, said:

"This usurper in the office of the President of the United States has been shredding our Constitution. Washington is dominated by socialists. . . . Socialists do not believe in god. Their god is the state."

These statements speak for themselves. However, let's dig into them a little bit deeper.

Pat Robertson's Pact With the Devil

Pat Robertson is disturbing on many levels and so are his recent comments. First, he asserts as historical fact that the people of Haiti made a pact with the devil to gain their independence. This is an example of spinning a historical fact into something unrecognizable. In August 1791, a Jamaican-born priest and an African-born priestess performed a pagan freedom ceremony in which a pig was slaughtered and exhorted their listeners to take revenge against the French opressors and "cast aside the image of the God of the whites." This is viewed as the catalyst of the slave rebellion against the French, which led to the independence of Haiti in 1803.

While it is accurate that a pagan ritual was held and that slaves were urged to cast aside the the God of the whites, it is exaggerated to say that the people as a whole made a pact to serve the devil. That is just pure spin.

Furthermore, to assert that God sent an earthquake to Haiti some 219 years later in retribution thoroughly negates the Christian message of unconditional love and forgiveness of sins. Robertson's pact with the devil mythology is particularly disturbing since 80% of Haiti's population is Roman Catholic and another 16% is Protestant. Thus, Robertson's statement suggests that God punishes Christians today for the actions of their pagan ancestors many years before.

What was Pat thinking?

Limbaugh's Petty Diatribe

U.S. Sen. Al Franken wrote a book entitled "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot." Once again Limbaugh proves that it is true. Consider Limbaugh's three connected comments. The first is that the Haitian earthquake "will play right into Obama's hands." Well, if the President handles the American response to the crisis well, it should play into his hands. So???? Second, he expressed cynicism that the White House would actually use contributions for Haiti relief. Third, he snarkily commented that America's taxes already went to pay for Haitian relief. The problem with his second and third comments is that he used his distrust of the current President and the government in general to discourage charitable donations for emergency relief. While he later backpedaled and said that he encouraged donations to private relief efforts but not the White House version, the fact remains that he forgot to mention the private donation part. Here, Limbaugh engages in the fallacy of believing that anything that is good for his enemy is bad for him.

Was Rush thinking?

Usurping Anti-Christian Socialists

Rep. Berman described President Obama as a "usurper in the office of president." According to the Merrian-Webster Dictionary, the word usurp comes from the Latin usurpare, meaning to take possession of without legal claim. As I recall, there was an election and President Obama won. He may be a lot of things, but he is not a usurper.

Berman's second statement says that most people in Washington are socialists, that socialists do not believe in God and that therefore, people in Washington do not believe in God. This statement is based on several fallacies. (I wish that I had more time to correctly label them). The initial statement is an over-generalization. While there may be many people in Washington who believe in big government, that does not make them socialists. Further, socialism is an economic system, not a religion. It is Marxists who do not believe in God. On the other hand, Jesus and the early church could easily be described as socialists, so that socialists are not necessarily anti-God. (See Luke 18:22--sell all that you have and give to the poor; Acts 4:32b-- no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common). Thus, the premise that people in Washington do not believe in God is built on a series of faulty premises. Berman could have more accurately stated that many people in Washington believe in big government. However, that would not have made for a good soundbite.

Was Rep. Berman paying attention in English class?

If you would like to support relief effort in Haiti, you can go to:

www.redcross.org

www.catholicrelief.org

www.lwr.org

Two options for sending support through your mobile phone are to:

text the word "Haiti" to 90999 and $10 will be added to your cell phone bill for the Red Cross

text "LWR" to 40579, $10 will be added to your bill for Lutheran World Relief.