Posted on 07/24/2004 2:54:50 AM PDT by goldstategop
It's open season on Christians – again
By Rabbi Daniel Lapin
One-time girlfriend of quirky California Gov. Jerry Brown in the '70s, singer Linda Ronstadt has been busy lately. She dedicated her song "Desperado" to Michael Moore and his bogus-mentary, "Fahrenheit 911," she got herself tossed out of the Aladdin casino in Las Vegas, and she gave an interview to a newspaper. Although I doubt this was her intention, she has actually taught us three lessons: One, she and many of her fellow entertainers do have a religion – I'd call it "secular fundamentalism." Two, it's open season on Christians, the last unprotected minority in America. Her third lesson, well, I'll tell you that in a minute.
When loud protests greeted her sycophantic tribute to Moore and his anti-Bush movie, she got thrown out of the Aladdin. The casino management ejected her, not because they are all Republicans but because they are all businessmen. Given current political demographics, it is likely that at least half of any randomly chosen audience is conservative, and business professionals dislike their hired entertainers insulting half of their customers.
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How could someone who has been entertaining professionally for 35 years not know that people come to a Las Vegas show to be entertained not to be politically polarized? The answer is of course she knows this, but she is serving a higher cause than her career. She has found religion, the religion of Secular Fundamentalism.
Any seriously committed Jew or Christian would put faith before career. Like countless Orthodox Jews over the centuries, I would unhesitatingly jeopardize my career to stand up for my faith. My many Christian friends would do no less. So why should anyone be surprised when Linda Ronstadt also puts her faith ahead of her career?
Just as both Judaism and Christianity each puts a face on evil, so does Secular Fundamentalism. At this stage in America's second civil war, the face belongs to George W. Bush. Linda Ronstadt, as one of the priestly class of entertainers, feels the call to denounce the face of evil, and that call of her faith is more important to her than her career.
Her soul told her to say, "The Bush administration is awful, and so lying and so deceitful. And they're doing so much harm. They're making it more dangerous for us. They have to be stopped, I think. We have to throw the neocons out." (Note to Linda: President Bush is not a neocon.)
Then, in a remarkably candid interview with the San Diego Union-Tribune, the entertainer said: "It's a real conflict for me when I go to a concert and find out somebody in the audience is a Republican or fundamental Christian. It can cloud my enjoyment."
What do you suppose might be the reaction if an entertainer would say, "It's a real conflict for me when I find out someone in the audience is Jewish. It can cloud my enjoyment"? Or what if some politician had once announced, "It's a real conflict for me when I find out that someone in the audience is homosexual. It can cloud my enjoyment"? Of course almost no entertainers or politicians would ever say anything as bigoted.
But singer Linda Ronstadt did. The point is, however, that she didn't insult protected minorities like Jews, homosexuals, Muslims or blacks. She insulted what she calls "fundamental" Christians. (Note to Linda: the term, if you must use it at all, is "fundamentalist.") To quote a line from the lyrics of your song "Desperado," Linda, "Lighten up while you still can, don't even try to understand."
The media and the do-good-kiddy-clubs all explode in paroxysms of righteousness any time a public figure inadvertently insults one of the protected minority groups, but nobody ever demands an apology when a secular celebrity demeans Christianity. That is because many Americans view Christianity as a problem, an execrable obstacle to America's progress. The rest of us, including many serious Jews, view Christianity as part of the solution to America's problems. We think "progress" is the problem, and what we need is a return to traditional morality. That is largely what today's civil war is all about, and Ronstadt has shown us on which side she fights.
Oh, and I did say that I'd tell you the third lesson we can learn from Linda's antics. It is that she herself has learned little since those far-off days when she consorted with Gov. Moonbeam. She backed losers then and she is backing the losing side now. To quote another line from that song she sang before being banned from the Aladdin Hotel: "We may lose and we may win, though we will never be here again."
Radio talk-show host Rabbi Daniel Lapin is president of Toward Tradition, a bridge-building organization providing a voice for all Americans who defend the Judeo-Christian values vital for our nation's survival. For more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact Jennifer Brunson at (206) 236-3046.
Except that, like all the left, she wants to proclaim her faith and, instead of living with the consequences, she feels entitled to adulation for it and is deeply offended when she's not applauded.
Another tolerant remark from the loving left.
Don't expect the Hollywood left to start apologizing.They've been at war against America since the 60's.Wait until a Bush win and see the real fireworks.This is just warm-up.
Good article, but the lyrics he's quoting are from "Take It Easy," not "Desperado."
Rabbi Lapin's criticism of Linda Ronstadt (despite the Aryan surname, she is Mexican) is like using a MOAB to smash a gnat. Intellectually speaking.
Really, who cares what that _COW_ thinks!?
"Good article, but the lyrics he's quoting are from "Take It Easy," not "Desperado.""
Yeah, that threw me for a loop too, heh. Unfortunately, it's a bad enough error that makes an otherwise excellent article difficult to distribute without getting nothing but jokes and mocking in response :(
Qwinn
Ooops, wrong song or wrong line. The line is from "Take it Easy"
Maybe he meant to quote, "You've been out ridin' fences for much too long"
Linda Ronstadt is a secular fundamentalist who expresses with a passion bigotry towards Christians. The last minority it is considered politically correct to hate in America. No body ever demands an apology from those who insult or jeer at Christians.
Of course, this is correct.
Then again Ronstadt and her brethen on the Hollywood Left are losers precisely in that they've ticked off the good people of this country one time too many. And Americans are taking a stand against this bigotry and are striving to render it beyond the pale.
Unfortunately, this is NOT correct, or Bush would be hammering the Left in the polls, and F9-11 would not be able to sway anybody, nor would it be able to garner $100 million in box office receipts.
Recent polls indicate that Bush is slipping even more, and that the country is harkening to the siren song of the elitist scions of the Left.
We may not even be able to retain the ultra-slim majority we have in Congress.
In fact, when you count the RINOs that more consistently vote with the Commiecrats than they do with the Republicans, Conservatives are STILL a minority in the Senate.
We'll survive.......they've been trying to wipe us out for 2000 years now.
We'll be around long after our adversaries have turned to dust.
"It's a real conflict for me when I go to a concert and find out somebody in the audience is a Republican or fundamental Christian. It can cloud my enjoyment."
Condemned by her own bigoted words. Thanks, Linda, for the ammo. It will come in handy during the "second civil war".
The only killing they favor is against defenseless unborn babies who can't defend themselves. Even with that, they hire "professionals" to do it for them.
Or it might read:
Do you mean did I believe it when he showed the prince on the balcony with the money and the escalators and the flights and the FBI and the colonel found dead in the study?
No doubt it would. I think she's still trying to get her arms around the notion that Afganistan war a war-for-pipeline when everyone keeps telling her, the pipeline was never built.
That's a little long for a poster motto.
Yeah . . maybe. I thought little tilted images of escalators and people shaking hands, people toasting each other, airplane landing, a piece of pipe, sort all stuck around the photo and at the bottom - Col. Mustard lying on the carpet and a big equals sign = BOOOSH! No . . just no? okay
"I've thought about a "second civil war." I don't think there would be any fighting."
Certainly nothing physical. However, the results of a liberal victory would be disastrous.
I believe there is hope, but victory will be achieved ONLY by them joining our side.
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