Saturday, January 05, 2008
I Don't Get Pissed Very Often, But.....
TFMCD and I went out to dinner and a movie last night - Will Smith's I Am Legend - and had a lovely evening. Lovely, that is, until we got back to the car, turned it on, and the radio was still tuned to talk station KTAR. The disembodied talking head on duty at that time was a complete idiot, who I later learned was Larry Gaydos.
Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions here about the idiocy of Gaydos, because frankly, I'm not sure I ever heard his name before that moment. But he said something so offensive, so devoid of intelligence, so infuriating, so overwhelmingly stupid, that I immediately passed judgment on him and changed stations. I wanted to put my foot through the radio, but my own common sense and good judgment prevailed and instead, we listened to KDKB rocking Arizona the rest of the way home and my instrument panel was saved from a violent death.
So, you ask. What was it this guy said that so provoked the ire of a laid-back guy like The Crime Dog? It might not be verbatim, it might not even have been live at the time, but the gist and intent of it was:
I'd rather have a Mormon as president than an atheist. At least a Mormon has some kind of moral compass. There was more, but that's the best I remember it.
In one repulsive statement, Gaydos managed to disparage both Mormons and atheists. Nice going, genius. To use the term "at least" is to say that Mormons don't have much more than a moral compass. That's offensive enough, but to suggest for one second that an atheist completely lacks a "moral compass" is ignorance of the highest order. Perhaps Gaydos orients his own moral compass with the help of ancient writings that have only occasional relevance in today's world, and his belief in an invisible god in the sky. That's fine. But to suggest one must subscribe to his own brand of mystical, magical beliefs in order to even have a moral compass is simple stupidity. Some of the most moral, conscientious, and devoted people I know are atheists, agnostics, or simply have no beliefs one way or the other.
If belief in the Christian God is what establishes a moral compass, then I'd rather take my chances with getting lost on my journey through this life. It's the Christian "moral compass" that brought us the Inquisition, witch burnings, Jonestown, Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, the Reverend Fred Phelps, David Koresh, Warren Jeffs and.....and.....and.....should I go on?
Understand that I am not here to disparage Christianity. One cannot place the guilt of the few evil, twisted folks I've mentioned upon the shoulders of the vast millions of wonderful, loving, believing Christians out there. But the fact is, in my opinion, one's moral compass comes from within - not without. And that seems to be what Gaydos missed here.
So, Mr. Gaydos, I know your job is to do exacly what you did here: Stir the pot and try to encourage controversy and the "lovely" dialogue that goes along with it. You probably don't even believe your own drivel. That's my hope. Otherwise, you are indeed an idiot.
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Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions here about the idiocy of Gaydos, because frankly, I'm not sure I ever heard his name before that moment. But he said something so offensive, so devoid of intelligence, so infuriating, so overwhelmingly stupid, that I immediately passed judgment on him and changed stations. I wanted to put my foot through the radio, but my own common sense and good judgment prevailed and instead, we listened to KDKB rocking Arizona the rest of the way home and my instrument panel was saved from a violent death.
So, you ask. What was it this guy said that so provoked the ire of a laid-back guy like The Crime Dog? It might not be verbatim, it might not even have been live at the time, but the gist and intent of it was:
I'd rather have a Mormon as president than an atheist. At least a Mormon has some kind of moral compass. There was more, but that's the best I remember it.
In one repulsive statement, Gaydos managed to disparage both Mormons and atheists. Nice going, genius. To use the term "at least" is to say that Mormons don't have much more than a moral compass. That's offensive enough, but to suggest for one second that an atheist completely lacks a "moral compass" is ignorance of the highest order. Perhaps Gaydos orients his own moral compass with the help of ancient writings that have only occasional relevance in today's world, and his belief in an invisible god in the sky. That's fine. But to suggest one must subscribe to his own brand of mystical, magical beliefs in order to even have a moral compass is simple stupidity. Some of the most moral, conscientious, and devoted people I know are atheists, agnostics, or simply have no beliefs one way or the other.
If belief in the Christian God is what establishes a moral compass, then I'd rather take my chances with getting lost on my journey through this life. It's the Christian "moral compass" that brought us the Inquisition, witch burnings, Jonestown, Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, the Mountain Meadows Massacre, the Reverend Fred Phelps, David Koresh, Warren Jeffs and.....and.....and.....should I go on?
Understand that I am not here to disparage Christianity. One cannot place the guilt of the few evil, twisted folks I've mentioned upon the shoulders of the vast millions of wonderful, loving, believing Christians out there. But the fact is, in my opinion, one's moral compass comes from within - not without. And that seems to be what Gaydos missed here.
So, Mr. Gaydos, I know your job is to do exacly what you did here: Stir the pot and try to encourage controversy and the "lovely" dialogue that goes along with it. You probably don't even believe your own drivel. That's my hope. Otherwise, you are indeed an idiot.
