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It is great to finally see a thoughtful article on what I consider to be the real nature of the threat which the Sarah Palin nomination presents. This story is spot-on in its identification that Palin's religion dichotomizes people into absolute good and absolute evil. When one is on the side of absolute good, one can do anything to those on the side of evil because the evil ones by their status are deemed the "enemy" and do not merit humane treatment. Indeed, given such a dichotomy, one need not stretch in order to imagine Mrs. Palin gutting one with a knife while smiling because what she is doing not only is for the will of God, but also is God's Will for the heathen, for his own good. Equally horrible is the specter of taking some action that would help bring about the "End Times" because, as Mrs. Palin would be among those rescued from it by the Rapture, she would not be around to see what dues would have to be paid by the rest of us for her decision. A belief system which rationalizes such scenarios has the potential to be atrocity producing. And a true believer wielding governmental power has the means to produce the atrocity. For the results of the objectification to which such an absolute good/evil dichotomy can give rise, one need not look any further than the treatment of the "evil ones" at Abu Ghraib. Such a result dehumanizes all it touches. Sarah Palin is, and should be, scary. Fundamentalism (whether it be Christian or Islamic) fused with politics generates the type of establishment of religion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent. The Founders recognized that a state religion is hideously corrosive of the liberty of those individuals who chose neither to adopt nor endorse it. Thank you for making the threat crystal clear. Our citizens need it.
