I'm pretty much aligned with John Cole when it comes to feelings about Ted Haggard: now that he's been knocked out of power, I mostly just pity him. The latest revelations about his indulging his pay for play tastes in young men, spilled by the guy who took over his megachurch perch, make me think of three things.
First, and obviously, this is yet another in an endless series of examples of the Christianists practicing the exact opposite of the message preached by the guy they claim to revere.
Second, and just about as obviously, it's a damned shame that Haggard had to be raised in a culture that makes it so hard for him to to be himself.
Third, however, I'm still inclined to think poorly of Haggard himself. He's a grown man and he has to take the responsibility for his own actions. Continuing to live in denial, and worse, trying to cash in by playing a martyr on TV, is contemptible. As Perry Farrell said in another context, "Ted, Just Admit It."
Be yourself, Ted. The reality-based community stands ready to embrace you as soon as you embrace who you really are. And if you must continue to believe in Jesus, at least make the effort to understand his real philosophy. Until then, you remain worthy of mockery.
And in any case, Roy Zimmerman's song is too funny not to post.
(h/t: Sadly, No!)
4 comments:
"...Be yourself, Ted. The reality-based community stands ready to embrace you as soon as you embrace who you really are..."
Hey, don't draft me into this group hug o' man love, thank you very much. The dude's ugly, inside and out.
I take your point, especially after seeing him in the movie Dawkins made, but I have a feeling a lot of that ugliness is just twistedness that comes from living a permanent lie.
I'm willing to bet if he can ever admit he's gay, he'll also lose a lot of the fundie hysteria.
Afterthought:
TC asked via email if I meant Bill Maher, not Richard Dawkins. Haggard may well have been in a Maher movie, too, but I did mean Dawkins.
I should have looked things up for the sake of specificity originally, but in the spirit of better late than never, here are the details.
Dawkins made a documentary for the BBC that first aired in 2006, called "The Root of All Evil?", in which Haggard was featured.
Segment from the film featuring Haggard, about eight minutes long, here.
Full thing (in two parts, each about 45 minutes) here and here.
Wikipedia page on the film here.
P.S. In case you've lost track of the time sequence, the interview with Haggard took place before his fall from grace.
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