Thursday, January 14, 2010

Pat Robertson; what is wrong with the right


"And you know Kristi, something happened a long time ago in Haiti and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French, uh you know Napoleon the third and whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the Devil. They said we will serve you if you'll get us free from the French. True Story. And so the Devil said "OK, it's a deal." And they kicked the French out. You know, the Haitians revolted and got themselves free. But ever since they have been cursed by one thing after the other, desperately poor. That island is Hispaniola is one island. It's cut down the middle. On one side is Haiti, on the other side is the Dominican republic. Dominican Republic is prosperous, healthy, full of resorts, etc.. Haiti is in desperate poverty. Same island. Uh, they need to have, and we need to pray for them, a great turning to God and out of this tragedy. I'm optimistic something good may come."



Pat Robertson's comment on the tragedy that has befallen the people of Haiti is shameful. This is exactly what is wrong with the religious right. The entire purpose of Jesus' ministry was to bring hope to the people that the temple left behind. His vision was to bring the word of God to everyone, to make people feel that they were worthy of the love that only God can provide. He surrounded himself with people who, at the time, were not considered to be the righteous according to the hierarchy at the temple. One of his apostles was a tax collector for Rome, not exactly a popular job. He helped the people suffering from leprosy who not only were dealing with physical illness but also were shunned from society at large. His short ministry was about making the people on the fringes of society to feel welcomed and loved. His forgiveness knew no bounds, nor did his love. It seems that Pat Robertson has forgotten that. He is saying that innocent children were killed while attending school because they deserved it. Innocent God fearing people have lost everything they own, which was not much to begin with. The country of Haiti’s problem is due to a corrupt and unstable government. A government that has let its people down at every turn.


During the Bush administration I was put into a situation that I felt that I had to defend him. Not because I was a big fan of his, but because of how low the dissent became. When Obama took office and I realized that I needed to become more active in the political system, I was determined to surround myself with people who wanted to bring about positive change and to not lower themselves to same level. Statements like this make that almost impossible. People who disagree with what I believe in will use these statements to lump me into a pack that believes this nonsense.


I have a good number of "friends" on facebook. Many of which I have never met, but believe in returning our country to our constitutional roots. I sometimes get very useful information from this source. When President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, the posts ”breaking news, Obama won the PBA and PGA championships with the same ball" had me laughing so hard that tears were literally running down my cheeks. Yesterday I was reading some comment streams about Haiti and Pat Robertson. I was embarrassed and ashamed that I have anything to do with people who made the statements that I was reading. Not only were some people agreeing with him, but expounding on his statement. I have de-friended some of these people.

I also was reading statements from people who have such a blind hatred of President Obama that they were saying how no one should be giving money to the fundraising that is being conducted on the White House site. The money goes to USAID, a program that has been in existence for a long time. The administration is trying to make it easy for Americans to give to people whose lives have been devastated. There is no evil intent. A friend of mine was being attacked for saying that it is ok for tax money to be used to help these people. She was being called a "liberal troll".

It is a sad statement of where our country is. I don’t agree with President Obama. I think his world view is wrong, naive, bad for Americans as well as bad for people in general. I don't want to live in quasi-socialist country like France. I truly believe that is what the President meant when he said "we are 5 days away from fundamentally changing America". His belief that regimes like Iran and North Korea will change their ways if we simply talk to them is not only wrong, but dangerous. His belief that Islamic terrorism can be solved by reasoning with the likes of Usama bin Laden is crazy. He and his followers have no intention of being reasoned with. It is quite plain and simple, they want us dead.

I believe that the facts are on our side. We can win these debates by using them. The American people are not stupid, they just need to be presented with the facts and ultimately will make the right choice. That is what I am hoping to do. Educate and empower people to get the facts in order to make an informed decision.

Mr. Robertson's comments just made that job that much harder. He has fed into the belief that people of faith and conservatives are narrow-minded bigots. I do not believe this to be the case for the majority of them.


8 comments:

Catawissa Gazetteer said...

Jesus did not just preach love, peace and happiness; he also preached hell and eternal damnation. He preached that while we cannot earn our way to heaven, the wages of sin is death. There are consequences to our actions.

In the old Testament God destroys cities and nations. He probably did not remove the innocent children beforehand. It would be entirely consistent with the Bible that God would do what Robertson suggests. If the Haitian people have rejected God through Satanic religious practice they may have caused their own undoing.

While this is not comfortable for modern man because we have tried to remove all stricture form sinful activity and the punishment that goes with it, the idea of calling down a curse on society would have rung true to our forefathers. If you can call down a blessing through prayer to God, why not a curse through prayer to Satan?

Left Coast Rebel said...

I agree with what you are saying here, I hope that I am not one that you don't want to associate with - because you are right!

Just a conservative girl said...

Catawissa:
You used the word if. Are you saying that the people in Haiti are praying to devil on a daily basis? Because you don't know that, and neither does Pat Robertson. You are also bringing up the old testament. Jesus releases us from much of that.

Why did the Tsaunimi happen? Are they making a pact with the devil as well? Did the people in the world trade center believe in devil worship? While there are people in this country who probably do believe in devil worship, it is far from the majority. You can't pick and choose which people deserve these calmaties and then say it was just an act of nature on others.

Haiti is 80% catholic. Church is actually a big part of the culture there. Even Robertson himself came out with a statement today saying that isn't what he meant. If that wasn't what he meant he shouldn't have said it to begin with. He is a narrow minded man who has a bad habit of saying things that make it sound like he is a hate monger.

LCR -

Not you, I have seen anything on your site that makes me believe that you are narrow minded or a bigot. You are also not name calling. Just laying your opinions based on the facts as you know them.

Catawissa Gazetteer said...

The practice of voodoo is rampant in Haiti. While the country +/- 80% Catholic the Church condemns the practice of voodoo as necromancy and Satanic. Voodoo calls on the spirits of the dead. Catholics are forbidden to do this; and for good reason. One never knows exactly which spirit has been called.

Even Haiti's leaders have practiced voodoo to hold power. Aristide and Duvalier were both known to do this.

I'm not judging the people of Haiti. I don't know what is in their hearts. I do know, however, that you get what you ask for. If Haiti has been working with the Devil it is entirely possible that they have called down a curse upon themselves.

As for Pat Robertson, well, I'm not going to judge him, either. The guy does come up with some interesting statements.

My reason for believing as I do is not based on some sort of hatred for the people of Haiti or anyone else. I believe what I believe because it is what my Catholic faith teaches me. I also believe that it is the logical conclusion to the laws of physics, both of a material sort and extended into the spiritual realm. I posted an article about this on my blog which I assume you can get to by clicking on my name above. If you have time read it and blow it apart. I love when women yell at me. That's how I've stayed married for almost 30 years.

hometown guy said...

conservative girl, thanks for writing this. i disagree with you strongly on politics and your underestimation of the intent and intelligence of the other side, but i've always respected your desire for rational discourse and aversion to namecalling and other nonsense. you're saying something here that needs to be said.

as far as any other comments on here, i don't believe it is man's place to interpret the judgments God has indicated He will make, or - even worse - to attempt to make them ourselves. it is the height of arrogance for man to pass judgment upon man in spiritual matters. the one thing religion DOES teach us that should be beyond ANY dispute, is that we should be compassionate toward - and offer assistance to - our fellow man regardless of their behavior or beliefs.

just sayin'.

Just a conservative girl said...

H/G:
Thanks for the compliment.

I don't under estimate the intent of the other side. I realize that some democrats want what is best for the country and we disagree on how to get there. But not all feel that way. They are some that are trying to remake what America is and has always been. That I feel is more than a little stupid.

CJ said...

Way to go for standing up to the religious right. Educated people abandoned supernatural explanations for natural disasters long ago.

I also admire that you say President Obama, giving respect to the office even if you disagree with the person who occupies it.

I do not think President Obama thinks simply talking will change Iran or North Korea. He's never tried to reason with Osama Bin Laden. Being willing to talk does not mean you think talking alone will solve problems. I'm not sure what he thinks about Osama Bil Laden, but I think he's a loser not worth talking to or even worrying about very much. We need to keep catching mass murderers as best we can, but I think elevating Bin Laden above other psychopathic criminals is a mistake. I don't know if President Obama agrees with.

I disagree with some of Obama's policies, and would possibly be a Republican if it weren't for the religious right.

Just a conservative girl said...

CJ:
You shouldn't let the religous right turn you off to republicans. Yes, social issues are important to conservatives and some (not all) have a tendency to make it seem that they are narrow minded about it.

You have to look at the entire plank of party, not just one side of it.

I do respect the office, I just don't like who is in it at the moment.

By the way, I am part of the religous right. See, we are not all bad.

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