To call Mr. Dunbar's recent article a ridiculous distortion would be a compliment much more worthy than it deserves. His rant against the "radical right-wing conservatives" is a gross misrepresentation of the views of those that he attacks. I will attempt to show the flawed reasoning and outright deception that takes place throughout this article, although to do so thoroughly would require an article of Biblical (yes, pun intended) proportions.
Mr. Dunbar first turns his sights towards abortion, raving about how those lunatic fringe Christians want to ban all abortions and shut down groups like Planned Parenthood. Even Dr. James Dobson, whom Mr. Dunbar refers to in his title, has not called for this extreme of a position. According to a February CBS News poll, only 27% of Americans support abortion in any case, which is the current abortion policy. Over 70% support at least some restrictions on abortions. But I can see how this is only the opinion of a few right-wing crazies.
When Mr. Dunbar talks about gay rights, he almost manages to not distort the views of religious conservatives. However, to only associate gay marriage bans with religious groups like the Family Research Council, which he does, ignores the fact that nineteen states have bans on same-sex marriages and forty-three have statutes defining marriage as between a man and a woman. In addition, a Gallup Poll taken from last April indicated that 57% of Americans favor a ban on gay marriage. This really supports Mr. Dunbar's argument that only a small fraction of the crazy religious people favors such a ban.
I don't know who told Mr. Dunbar that Christians claim that prayer is banned in schools, but he and Dan Rather have been known to make similar mistakes. The issue that religious conservatives have with religion in school is that any religion in school is often seen as wrong, even if it is voluntary on the parts of the students. For example, students haveto fight to wear Christian symbols or shirts, yet it's fine to wear a shirt calling President Bush an "international terrorist." By the way, calling for other theories to be taught alongside the theory of evolution is hardly calling for it to be "thrown out of the classroom." However, since evolution is such a logical theory, then it will surely be able to stand up to those other silly ideas that dare to suggest that we aren't simply here because of dumb luck.
I fully support the UN, an organization that throws the evil US off its Human Rights Panel and allows human rigts star Sudan, to remain on the panel. As for his critique of tax cuts and economic policies, it is less an attack of the views of religious conservatives and more a disapproval of the entire Republican Party economic platform in general. Again, I can see how those crazy Christians are completely to blame for these draconian economic ideas.
Let's say that radical fringe elements of the left wing seized control of the country. Killing mentally retarded babies-even after they are born-would be acceptable, as would the use of ecoterrorism to protect the environment from the evils of apartment complexes and SUV's. We would also allow the ideas of groups like NAMBLA to be a part of our "great society," and would immediately abolish private property, since it promotes unfairness. Sounds like a literal utopia, doesn't it? Vote Sharpton-Franken in 2008!
Caleb Enerson is a freshman in the School of Public Affairs.
