still dreaming

It was really a different world here in 1960, the one in which Grandpa's classmate (he was telling us yesterday) threatened to disrupt a civil rights sit-in at the old Andrew Jackson Hotel in Nashville by throwing bottles at the protesters. Racism and ignorance still plague us, and the most ignorant racists still hold big megaphones (Hello, Pat and Rush) but there's been measurable, undeniable progress towards a society in which people are finally judged only by the content of their character.  Let's not give up on ourselves just yet.

"Altar call"

We''ve really heard more than enough about the "worries" of angry gun-toting, tea-tossing Christian conservatives, spouting venom about the "Obama-Pelosi-Reed axis of evil," issuing "marching orders to slay the socialist monster" and "altar calls" imploring ill-informed Christian jihadists to smite the Democratic infidels. ("Altar call confronts worries of Christian conservatives," Nashville Tennessean August 1)

We've heard barely a peep, however, from politicians and the press in condemnation of such histrionic hate-mongering.

"Some of the audience wore [para-military] uniforms, and brought their guns."

Terrific. Our legislators said they could, after all.

The Tennessean has done part of its job, reporting the story. When will it do the rest of its job, and take an unequivocal editorial position against hateful and incendiary religious displays? When will its "religion reporting" stop providing an unchallenged platform for hate speech?

If your conscience needs a guide, Tennessean, look to the report Bill Moyers aired last week ("Rage on the airwaves," July 24) and then ask yourself what John Seigenthaler would do.