Tuesday, October 24, 2006

Herding the Sheeple

James Dobson is a man I watch closely. He has access to a wide audience of willing listeners who lap up his words as if he speaks with the moral authority of God himself. He is political, motivated, well funded, and most troubling , he seems hell bent on establishing a Christian theocracy in America through whipping up the irrational fears of true believers. His targets are usually those who are too weak politically to mount an effective defense, like gays and teen mothers. Fortunately, Dobson seems to have been hoisted on his own petard.

I found a list of reasons why people who follow Dobson are called "Sheeple".

As chairman of the $145 million-a-year propaganda organization Focus on the Family, Dobson is the ultimate puppet master, giving conservative members of Congress marching orders in exchange for votes from his flock. …

By manipulating religious teachings, Dobson represses his followers with a reactionary societal code: Get married, stay married, procreate and – most important – donate your money to Focus on the Family.

The more his listeners believe, the more easily they can be exploited. That explains why many of those listeners – hardworking middle-class people who are struggling with bills or caring for elderly loved ones – vote against their own interests.

Instead of voting for the party that created the 40-hour work week, workers compensation, and has been pushing for universal health care, they vote for the party of James Dobson: members of Congress who for nine years have refused to increase the minimum wage above $5.15 an hour, yet accept automatic pay raises for themselves each year. …

There is no proof that Democrats knew about Foley’s lurid instant messages, but two Republican congressmen, John Boehner of Ohio and Thomas Reynolds of New York, have publicly stated they told House Speaker Dennis Hastert about it months ago.

So wouldn’t a person of strong moral values at least chide Hastert for his inaction?

Nope. Not when you are a puppet master of members of Congress who use the name of God to pass laws that take away civil rights in exchange for campaign contributions and the promise of votes from the flock. A man of real moral values would urge Congress to increase college Pell grants, expand work training programs, and offer struggling working-class families subsidized day care.

Instead, he vilifies gay people as people who are destroying marriage. Dobson talks about having a pro-life agenda, but never speaks out against the deaths of more than 2,700 American troops in Iraq, or against capital punishment, which is really a euphemism for state-sponsored murder.

The sad part is the sheeple don’t see the hypocrisy and don’t realize they’re being used. [links added]

Source: Atlantic Free Press - Hard Truths for Hard Times - Herding the Sheeple, Voting on Justice

Sheeple - I like it.