“Pastor Ted” (aka disgraced closeted homophobe Ted Haggard) was her “tour guide.” “He was so good to me. He took me under his wing. . . .He was reasonable, an everyday normal man.” This was before the scandal broke. That it did, broke her heart.
DS quotes Pelosi in the movie:
“I believe in the culture war. . . . If I have to take sides, I’ll take their side. If you give me a choice of Paris Hilton or Jesus, I’ll take Jesus.”
All well and good. But Paris hasn’t hurt anyone who didn’t want to be hurt. Jesus has been misused by plenty of evangelicals to hurt a lot of people — non-Christians, gays and lesbians, women, etc.
I just wonder if her journey took her to meet anyone who has experienced the sharp end of the evangelical stick.
In an article in the Mercury News, she’s described as a “liberal filmmaker,” and says:
“What I was trying to do was be a tour guide for those of us from the blue states who have some interest in who these evangelical Christians may be,” Pelosi said. “I felt like I was on an archaeological dig. I was going as an ambassador of the blue states into the red states to try to understand and figure out if we could all get along.” . . .
The result is a fascinating if somewhat flawed piece that seems to suggest that, maybe, we could all get along — but there’s a fairly large gap to close.
“If we are able to look past the two most polarized and political issues — abortion and gay marriage — if you can bring yourself to look past those two issues, then yeah,” Pelosi reported. “There are a lot of really decent, nice, hardworking people that just go to church every Sunday. But if those two issues are really important to you, then you might not be able to get past that.”
Easy for a straight, married white woman to say.
“What’s interesting,” she added, “is that the civil rights movement came out of the church, and Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson have been campaigning in churches for as long as I have been watching politics, and we never complained when they did it. But now that the Republicans are doing it and we don’t like their issues, we are complaining.”
Maybe that’s because the civil rights movement was about giving people rights they’d been denied, not trying to keep rights away from those who have been denied them.
By the way, Arizona has stepped back from introducing another constitutional marriage ban. A constitutional amendment was introduced in the legislature last Wednesday but removed on Thursday. Last November, voters defeated a ballot initiative. Arizona still has a marriage ban in its laws, just not a constitutional amendment. That story is far from over.
If anyone watches Pelosi’s documentary, let me know what you think.
I have HBO–I really shouldn’t be spending the money, but I’m hooked, I’m afraid. The younger Pelosi sounds like she gets emotionally involved with her subjects, something that indy filmmakers often do, I believe. I think the problem is that when you get to know evangelicals, you realize that they’re not evil people, as individuals they’re often very nice and generous, it’s just their beliefs that are evil. Of course, when those beliefs get turned into action, people get hurt, and there’s no getting around that. It’s just too bad some of them couldn’t make the effort to get to know some people on the other side, to realize that homosexuals don’t spend their life in one big orgy…the problem with these so-called Christians is that they aren’t willing to take that step, they are the ones building the wall that lets them believe they are good while they go about doing evil.
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I think the bit about Paris Hilton and Jesus is completely bogus, though…it is an insult to us, and to Jesus. Paris Hilton doesn’t represent me (or you, I’ll wager), and I don’t think Jesus (what I know about him) would care to be represented by the fundies. Jesus was notably tolerant for a person of that era (that’s what the story of the Good Samaritan was all about…Samaritans were foreigners, non Jews, “them.”)
Jesus vs. Ayn Rand would be more accurate.
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But Alice – there are more ‘culture war’ issues than just gay marriage and abortion. And she’s right about Jackson et al. His preaching wasn’t JUST about civil rights – it was war, it was poverty, it was many things, and how to solve them. Nor all about rights, but also about civil government – same as today.
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Why the double standard?
I think Kira summed it up rather well…the difference between expanding rights, and restricting them. Those are not mere “disagreements.” Overall, though, I think that zeroing in on just abortion and civil rights for gays ignores the larger picture of what fundamentalists are: people who are seeking to excape from modern civilization, to cling to the simplicity of a time before science changed the world, to retreat into tribalism and away from cosmopolitanism. It is the same impulse that fuels Islamic extremism in many parts of the world (thankfully, ours are not into suicide bombing–our “culture war” is fought on the field of publishing and electoral politics, for the most part).
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Also I disagree that Ayn Rand could represent “our side”–most every “secular humanist” I know loves their family. I remember reading that Ayn Rand thought we should judge our family members based on their abilities and qualities, rather than loving them just because they’re family. I don’t know anyone who believes that.
Love the believers,
Hate the beliefs.
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Nice post, Kira. It’s hard to see this movie as a documentary, if Pelosi just basically drank the koolaid as indicated. But of course I havent seen it so I sill have to withold final judgement (of others – I have no tv).
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I hope folks who watch is will compare/contrast to Jesus Camp. Great movie.
I’ve always hated that “Love the sinner, hate the sin line”. To me it sounds like saying to a friend or sibling, “Man, I love you, but I hate your wife…and she’s ugly to boot!”
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Let me say “Jesus Camp” was great, and dove tails nicely into our previous conversations about politics and faith intersecting. In addition to Laurel’s link, here is the trailer via YouTube. Seeing children gleefully responding to the question “Who is ready to lay down their life for Christ?” is jaw-dropping. It has just been released on DVD.
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As for not having a TV, PBS, Frontline et al is a strong argument to have a TV, even if it is the one channel you get. Thankfully, PBS seems to be making an effort towards making all of thier content available online. I just saw a new Frontline called The Hand of God, an exploration of the Boston Archdioces sex abuse scandal from a Salem family’s perspective. The documentary’s connection to the BMG dialogue on faith and politics may not be obvious, but it is great portrait of how indoctrination allows for a “pious class” to wield power over children and adult lay people – a dangerous power given freely by religious comunities that is at the root of many societal ills, from sex abuse to homophobic bigotry.
I’ve always hated the ‘love the sinner, hate the sin’ mantra too, because being L, G, B or T is not a sin. So I simply don’t agree with the premise. That’s why it’s satisfying to turn it around a bit for use on a fundie admirer. (And let me say, many of may family members are fundies. They can be wonderful and loving people, as long as you agree with them setting the rules for your life…)
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As for TVs, yes I know there’s useful stuff on it. Problem is there’s also fun stuff I like to watch too, not to mention old crap that I never can seem to turn off. So I deliberately have no TV because it monopolizes too much of my time/attention. SSome of us just can’t seem to find the ‘off’ button on the remote, so the next best thing is ditch the whole set. It is astounding how much reading and study and conversation I’ve accomplished in the few years I’ve been TV-free.
..and loved it. But then I moved in with a new roomate with a big TV and Tivo. However, knowing that PBS, especially Frontline, puts their stuff online now, I may never have a problem going TV-less again. (Off topic, I recomend the Frontline expose on pre-war ‘intelligence’ and Cheney et al called The Dark Side. Perhpas discussed here before.)
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As for sin, I love the reaction I get from my religious family/friends who say “You can’t do [X], it is a sin!” and I reply, “It is impossible for me to sin because sin does not exist. It is a human-made idea.” And you are right, even if sin did exist, being L, G, B, or T is not a sin. [Not that you needed me to validate your beliefs đŸ™‚ ]