Yesterday afternoon, I happened to find myself in a car with the radio tuned to WYPR just in time for the hourly NPR news broadcast.
Falwell Dies at 73
by
Day to Day, May 15, 2007 · Fundamentalist preacher Jerry Falwell died Tuesday at age 73.
The founder of the Moral Majority was discovered unconscious in his office at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., about 11 a.m.
The cause of death is unknown, but he has had heart problems in the past.
Falwell was a leader of the Christian right, a group that has transformed America’s political scene.
He founded Liberty University in 1971.
That’s right… Jerry Falwell, founder of the “Moral Majority” (which was, interestingly, neither), right-wing windbag and all-around public nuisance finally improved the world by leaving it yesterday. Before I’m accused of speaking ill of the dead, or at the very least, lacking sensitivity, let me remind you, gentle reader, of the Rev. Falwell’s character.
As a grieving nation woke to face September 12th, 2001, most of us prayed that the previous 24 hours had all been a bad dream. Just as the harsh reality began to set in, Jerry Falwell appeared on the morning news shows to give his perspective on the previous day’s attacks. Did he offer a message of hope, attempting to heal and unify a wounded nation? Not exactly. Instead, he said this:
“The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way—all of them who have tried to secularize America—I point the finger in their face and say ‘you helped this happen.’ “
Of course… it was People for the American Way and the ACLU, not Islamic fundamentalists driven to desperate, horrific acts of terrorism by decades of misguided U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Ignoring for the moment the disingenuousness of his comments audacity of his shameless lies, one would have thought that even Jerry Falwell would, just this once, put aside his malignant bigotry and narrow-mindedness but, alas, Falwell was nothing if not consistent. Except where he was inconsistent to the point of blatant self-contradiction (check out this lovely assortment of Falwell quotes over at Slate.com).
I don’t want to waste too much time or bandwidth on that ignorant old fool. But I did want to mark his passing, as I like to think that with his departure from it, the world became a slightly more tolerant and loving place.
post scriptum - Happy Birthday, Kana!
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