Sharon Stone and the Right Wing June 4, 2008
Posted by Conrad Hubbard in : The Chip , trackbackIf there is one thing that I have recently seen that the left and the right share to some degree, it is the art of absurd declarations that those with whom they disagree have somehow indiscriminately invoked the rightful wrath of whatever forces make bad things happen to people.
John Hagee and other conservative religious advocates have proclaimed that God threw Hurricane Katrina at New Orleans to punish us for sins and homosexuality. If you Google for “katrina punishment from god” there is plenty of evidence that many other conservatives feel similarly. Uh, yeah, because God is a loving God?
For a long time, I felt such absurdities were the domain of the right wing. Sadly, such is not the case. Recently, actress Sharon Stone said that the tragic earthquake in the Sichuan province of China may have been the result of bad “karma” due to the nation’s treatment of Tibet. While I agree with her assessment that the government of China has poorly treated Tibet, the idea that the innocent citizens of the Sichuan province have been somehow targeted by an earthquake because of the actions of a totalitarian regime is absurd. One important difference between her actions and those of her mirrors in the right wing is that at least she has apologized.
If there is divine vengeance or karma in the world, I doubt that the lives of thousands of innocent people are randomly destroyed for the express purpose of punishing a few fascists or free-thinkers. At least I hope not. If so, then I would be distressed by the idea that the moral compass of the universe would target innocents atomically. Don’t get me wrong. I sometimes hope that bad things will happen to bad people, but why would people hope for bad things to happen to innocent folks in the process?
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