... the administration's public communications contained four characteristics simultaneously rooted in religious fundamentalism while offering political capital:

* Simplistic, black-and-white conceptions of the political landscape, most notably good vs. evil and security vs. peril.
* Calls for immediate action on administration policies as a necessary part of the nation's "calling" and "mission" against terrorism.
* Declarations about the will of God for America and for the spread of U.S. conceptions of freedom and liberty.
* Claims that dissent from the administration is unpatriotic and a threat to the nation and globe.

In combination, these characteristics have transformed Bush's "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists" policy to "Either you are with us, or you are against God." To the great misfortune of American democracy and the global public, such a view looks, sounds and feels remarkably similar to that of the terrorists it is fighting.

posted by Cyndy | link | | |