The Rise of Fundamentalism in North America


Every time I see the news, I grow more and more concerned about the power being held by the Christian Fundamentalist Right in the United States. I believe strongly in tolerance and letting people lead their own lives up until the point that the beliefs of others significantly impede on the rights of those who do not share the same view. So often we hear of the Islamic fanaticism in countries like Iran and Afghanistan, perhaps growing blind to a similar movement in America. An indie film that I just watched over the Xmas break, “Jesus Camp”, illustrated an indoctrination of youth much like those Islamic extremists brainwashing youth in their particular brand of the Muslim faith. Are we becoming unwittingly fundamentalist our selves in the support of things like the mission in Afghanistan? Is there another agenda hiding beneath the guise of spreading democracy? Is any nation’s foreign policy ever truly benevolent? If we look closely to the answer of many of these questions, we might find our individual silence to be akin to those who turned a blind eye to National Socialism in Germany in the mid 20th century. Any fundamentalist with a massive nuclear arsenal is a danger to humanity. The average citizen must look beyond the evening news feed and become an active part of the process. Otherwise, democracy will be dead and you’ll be amongst the first to go in a megalomaniacs utopian state.