Before I really get into the meat of the matter I suppose I should put up a little disclaimer here. I am man who is in any way shape or form overly passionate about anything other than a good story. That being said I do not follow politics, religion, sports, celebrity news, or a good chunk of pop culture. I do not have enough strength in my arsenal to defend anyone or anything except my own point of view and even then I will back down in the event that I am proven wrong. What I am about to discuss is not meant to slander or scandalize religion or faith in general, but rather ask a general question of "Why?"
I just recently watched a, i think you could call it a movie but it was more of a special, in which Kevin Smith, a noted director and actor performed a Q & A segment in Texas after his release of the movie Red State. I have not watched every movie this man has made but I will say that I have enjoyed what I've seen and even own afew of his titles, top of the list DOGMA. In this special one person asked him a question revolving around how the movie Red State came about and he went on to talk about a friend of his who did a documentary and even an interview with a very notable member of a christian family, the Phelps Family. I never really knew about the Phelps family until hearing about them there but they are apparently a very faithful family, in that their faith tells them they should picket soldier's funerals and various other places with placards saying things like "God hates Fags" and other messages of hate. Needless to say the story that Mr. Smith was going on about was revolving around his movies and his instances of being protested, said in a very humorous manner with lots of profanity, but needless to say it got me thinking...
Is this the full extent of their agenda, holding up signs saying "God hates ______" and singing songs about how we're all sinners bound for hell? Or is there something more going on. Pardon the expression but we are living in a godless time, and by that I mean we have basically separated the church from a good chunk of every day life. We, in this country and in afew other nations around the world, have mostly gotten the church out of our sex lives, our government, our music, our jobs... the list could really go on. Back in the early days it was everywhere and if you ever went against the word of these holy men you could wind up being put to death in unspeakably horrible ways. It is because of this that I wonder if the Phelps Family is trying to basically keep "God" relevant. It seems like if anything is done in the name of god or the church anymore nobody really notices unless it is something horrible. Church charities go on daily and we may participate but what gets the most press, a Priest molesting young boys. It seems that the more vile the act or the speech the farther it travels the longer we remember it, and it hasn't just been the church either. We will never forget the names of Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, Adolf Hitler, Vlad the Impaler... why? Because of the acts they committed! All the good we phase out, but the evil we remember!
Not only that but our fight against these people makes them even more powerful, not by making them right, but by letting people know that they still exist. I mean granted hearing about the Kevin Smith counter-protest is really a smart way to go, but honestly I think that the best way to react is to do nothing.
I have the feeling that people who read that last sentence are scratching their head so let me kindof elaborate. By reacting and fighting back they still get their message heard for good or ill. People will hear about the Family who protests gay marriages and tells us we are all going to hell, and they'll tell other people, and they will live on letting them influence our daily lives... when really we can do nothing, ignore them, do not even recognize their existence because in the end this is our lives and we shouldn't even acknowledge that they have a say in it. I'm not saying we shouldn't defend ourselves when the situation calls for it in order to defend our lives or the life of someone else. But when it comes to arguments over the way we live, even if we react and fight back and counter-protest, they still gain ground.
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