Moral Panics, Authoritarian Government, and Conservative Christianity
Thursday March 6, 2008
America's Christian Right has long made the idea of 'law and order' an important political slogan. Religious conservatives have attacked the prison system for being too lenient, for emphasizing rehabilitation over punishment, for pampering prisoners, and for being too sentimental. It's as if they are more interested in the vengeful God of the Old Testament than the forgiving Jesus of the New Testament. There is a precedence for such arguments, but it's not a pleasant one.
Comments
The best deterrent for crime is Hope.
i didn’t rob a bank today. Not because i fear getting caught or punished, but because i have hope that someday i might have a six figure salary.
Todd,
While I can understand the idea behind what you say, I must disagree.
The best deterrent for crime is respect for another’s person and property.
I didn’t rob a bank today because it is wrong. It is wrong because that money belongs to someone else. If I don’t want money stolen from me, then I must support a system that protects everyone’s property, including the bank’s.
I, too, share your hope that one day I will be wealthy. But no one owes me this. This hope must come from within, not from some theoretical promise made by the state.
Tick off religious authoritarians today. HAVE SEX!!!! (Then brag about it to them, of course.)
Powerful stuff Austin. I only wish the Christian Nationalists could see the parallels. My favorite Fundy is too busy calling me a Communist, Nazi, atheist, liberal, racist, baby killer to notice.
Do you have a book in the works Austin?
Right now the UNC Chapel Hill campus and surrounding communities are reeling with shock, sadness, and disbelief over the tragic murder of UNC student body president Eve Carson. In the local news forums there is a lot of talk about retribution, harsher laws, the death penalty, that NC should be like Texas in that regard. There are comments about how the area is going down the tubes morally. Forum bickering is already taking hold. Soon maybe scapegoats will be picked out.
Anyway, I thought the forum posts had relevance to this article.
How do the people of NC feel about gun control?
I’m not sure. Gun sports are big. Gun safety is also big. Gun laws are pretty strict. I don’t have the knowledge to say but your question has peaked my interest.