Sunday, March 11, 2007

God's Army

I meant to post about this earlier, but I finally saw part of the documentary Jesus Camp recently (only part, because once you've seen one kid writhe on the floor under a life-size cutout of Bush while speaking in tongues, you've seen them all). I thought it was alarming but at the same time easy to get hysterical about. For me, the documentary's main value was thinking about it in the context of the image of the U.S. that's developed over the past six years, and how that image comports with the agenda of nations that might seek a nuclear deterrent. If the mullahs needed some video to go with the tagline "They've already invaded one Muslim country on a false pretense," they couldn't ask for anything juicier than this disturbing segment. Nor could future historians, who will no doubt use Jesus Camp to explain the early 21st century nexus between politics, religion, and -- yes -- the military. What we still don't know, I suspect, is the full scope of the disaster about which those historians will write.

7 Comments:

Blogger Ahistoricality said...

That clip reminded me of those 70s-era movies that tried to make a political/social point by taking an adult situation and replacing all the roles with children..... Nuremberg Rally for Kiddies.

3/12/2007 3:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Child abuse at its most insidious. The organizers of this event ought to be spewing their dogmatic bullshit from a prison cell. It doesn't matter if one does or does not believe in god or allah or whomever she is. Worshiping a cardboard cutout of GeeDubya is insane.

3/12/2007 10:32 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

organicgeorge, the guy you're thinking of is William Boykin. I don't believe he led the assault on Falluja.
That is one freaky piece of video. Is that freak woman speaking in tongues at one point?

3/12/2007 1:31 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Gus,
Yes, she is speaking in "tongues" at one point. My understanding was you speak in tongues only once you are totally overcome by the holy spirit. You'd think she'd do a better job at faking being overtaken before spouting a few words in tongues.

Scary stuff...

3/12/2007 1:50 PM  
Blogger Chris Bray said...

Ahh, but did you watch the part where the counselors bring up a bunch of coffee cups with the word "government" written on them, and have the children take turns with a hammer?

"Smash the government! We have to smash the secular government! Go ahead, hit it!"

Grreeeeeaaaaat.

3/12/2007 4:12 PM  
Blogger Grace Nearing said...

Well, if you really, really want to get depressed, read Kevin Philips' American Theocracy.

And it's not just the Islamic countries in the Middle East we should be concerned about. The US is a debtor nation, and our main creditors -- China, Japan, and to a lesser degree, South Korea -- read stories about Bush and his religious supporters and their "resistance" to evolution, stem cell research, higher education, global warming, etc, and they wonder if they should continue funding a country that seems determined to slouch back to the pre-Englightenment era.

3/12/2007 4:59 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow! I just saw that video and it scares the hell out of me! How is this different from North Koreans wearing a lapel of the "Dear Leader" on their clothing? How is this different from the seig heil? Why were we inculcated against communism for so long just to have a new form of idolatrous demon worship here? For this were the many wars fought? Fuck the USA. Fuck the government! Fuck the pompousness and propaganda! I suggest we bring back the old Soviet Union. At least they have a sort of "finesse" about the whole thing! This cultish behaviour gives me the creeps.

7/30/2008 6:40 PM  

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