The One With Aldacron

I’ve posted a lot on this blog about Conservative Idiots, from politicians to radio hosts and news anchors, to wingnut religious leaders. No matter how idiotic they are, or how much they do to advance the cause of idiocy, their authority at the Idiot Pulpit derives from the legions of morons who agree with what they say.

Conservative radio talk show host Dennis Prager is one of those mouthpieces, like Rush Limbaugh, who spews idiocy on the airwaves and in online columns. Recently, an article of his was published at Townhall.com. In the article, he attacks Keith Ellison, the first Muslim to ever be elected to the United States Congress, for his announcement that he will take his oath of office on the Koran rather than the Bible. Here’s some of Prager’s drivel:

Forgive me, but America should not give a hoot what Keith Ellison’s favorite book is. Insofar as a member of Congress taking an oath to serve America and uphold its values is concerned, America is interested in only one book, the Bible. If you are incapable of taking an oath on that book, don’t serve in Congress. In your personal life, we will fight for your right to prefer any other book. We will even fight for your right to publish cartoons mocking our Bible. But, Mr. Ellison, America, not you, decides on what book its public servants take their oath.

Prager is demonstrating some of the hallmarks of Conservative Idiocy. Conservative Idiots often equate Christianity with Patriotism, as if America were some sort of secular nation steeped in religion, led by priests who are derive their governing guidance from the Bible, which Prager demonstrates by his claim that the Bible is the only book America is interested in. Conservative Idiots also often disregard the Constitution and any other laws of the land that don’t fit with their distorted view of reality, as Pager does here with his assertion that America decides which book should be used for oath-taking. Prager is ignoring Article VI of the United States Constitution. Surely he’s read it, since he is so good at telling people what it says.

Regardless of what Prager believes or says, he isn’t the sort of person sane Americans should worry about. It’s the hundreds of people who commented on his article that should raise the red flag. There are way too comments to read without setting aside a couple of hours, but from skimming them it would appear that more posters agreed with Prager than not. Those are the people to worry about. The ones who can barely spell their names, much less speak proper English or understand history. The third comment on the page is a real gem:

Wow-
It is clear that we are losing are heritage. My forefathers died for the right to have only one Bible sworn on. Jesus was the 1st American. That guy was a patriot. He would surely desire to live in a land where only one book would be worthy of public office. That was His message, right? God Bless America, the greatest nation on God’s (the God w/ Jesus attached!) green flat-universe centering earth.

There are a great many more like that one. I even saw one that called Jesus the first American and a truerager, Keith Ellison patriot. In more posts you can see the typical Muslim-bashing, pronouncements of the demise of America (which I tend to agree with in principal, but for different reasons — namely the people posting in that thread), conspiracy theories, and other right wing lunacy. Granted, there will be more posts by like-minded readers because more like-minded readers will be reading the article. But what’s scary is how many like-minded readers there are. Those are the people to worry about. People like Dennis Prager only tell them what they want to hear. He might not be such an idiot, really. When there is a large audience of lunatics and idiots, spouting off lunacy and idiocy can make you a lot of money.

If you live in a red state but don’t ascribe to Conservative Idiocy, I suggest you pack up and move to a blue state. Not only will you be surrounded by people with brains, you’ll be in friendly territory during any future culture clashes or civil wars.

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