One down, one to go

There was a time when Jerry Falwell, along with his evil twin Pat Robertson, occupied significant places in my psyche. That largely had to do with my sense that he was dangerous to me and mine. Unlike Christopher Hitchens, I heard the news of his death with equanimity. I think I kinda felt sorry for him because he was so fat.

Pat, on the other hand...well, I do not have a visceral response to him anymore. But the echoes of those days are stronger. His joshin', good-ol-boy bonhommie presentation covered a lot of bullshit. I think that when he dies, I may feel some satisfaction...or not. Who knows?

I hold no affection for these men. But part of my fall from grace has been to recognize how similar to them are the many people who loathe them. The moral vanity, the smug sense of superiority, the desire to have their viewpoint imposed....I feel this from the Left all the time.
A meeting of Evangelicals For America, a meeting of the Modern Language Association ...different content, same template.

PS. At my neighborhood's busiest intersection, someone laid down a 3x6 piece of astroturf and a cardboard tombstone with Fallwell's info, with an invitation to walk on his grave. There was certainly no love lost twixt Jerry and the gays, --as I said, he used to evoke strong feelings from me- but somehow this felt very mean-spirited. It actually made me physically uncomfortable.

I wondered if, when Osama Bin Laden dies, will there be a grave there for us to walk on, too?
I suspect not.