Donald Trump and Right Wing Evangelical Masculinity - Religion & Politics

In the end, many right wing evangelicals did not vote for Trump despite their beliefs, but because of them.

Many right wing evangelicals long ago replaced the suffering servant of Christ with an image that more closely resembles Donald Trump than many would care to admit.

They’ve traded a faith that privileges humility and elevates the least of these for one that derides gentleness as the province of wusses.

Having replaced the Jesus of the gospels with an idol of machismo, it’s no wonder many right wing evangelicals speak of Trump himself in terms of  "saving" them or the country

In the end, many right wing evangelicals did not vote for Trump despite their beliefs, but because of them.

It is not difficult to imagine how evangelicals, steeped in literature claiming that men were created in the image of a warrior God, might be receptive to sentiments like those expressed by the late Jerry Falwell, in his 2004 sermon “God is Pro-War.”

In fact, surveys demonstrate that traditionalist evangelicals are more likely than other Americans to approve of U.S. engagement in a preemptive war, support military action against terrorism, and condone the use of torture.

This brand of militant masculinity also helps explain the lack of outrage on the part of many evangelicals when it comes to Trump’s character issues.  Trump’s testosterone-fueled masculinity, which aligns remarkably well with that long championed by evangelicals. What makes a strong leader? A virile (white) man. And what of his vulgarity? Infidelity? Bombast? Even sexual assault? Well, boys will be boys.

The full article is available here

Corporate Media Paved Way for Trump’s Muslim Ban - Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting

While it’s important to lay primary blame for the Muslim travel ban at the feet of Trump, years of Islamophobic coverage in corporate media—right-wing, centrist and “liberal”—laid the propaganda groundwork to get us here.

Attention has rightly been paid to the Islamophobia industry—a loose consortium of professional far-right trolls such as Pam Geller, Frank Gaffney, Steve Emerson, Breitbart, Infowars, etc. 

And while these forces certainly were major factor in creating the Trump-friendly Muslim-fearing climate, it’s important not to lose sight of at least three other media phenomena that also had a major role:

1) The presentation of “terrorism” as a unique, existential threat, arbitrarily defined as applying almost exclusively to Muslim violence:  As FAIR has shown time and again (5/1/11, 4/15/14, 6/22/15, 6/14/16) over the years, media unjustifiably reserve the word “terrorism”—and the corollary breathless coverage it entails—overwhelmingly for political violence leveled by Muslims.

2) New Atheist bigots:  New Atheists, such as Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins, routinely provide faux-liberal cover to the most vulgar aspects of anti-Muslim sentiment. Dawkins tweets things like “All the world’s Muslims have fewer Nobel Prizes than Trinity College, Cambridge,” and had a much-mocked weeks-long feud with a 14-year-old Muslim kid over a clock he built for school, often times devolving into embarrassing conspiracy-mongering.

Sam Harris has turned anti-Muslim sophistry into a high art, focusing heavily on the alleged "pernicious influence" of Muslim immigrants and the dangers they pose.

3) Disproportionate news coverage of the ISIS spectacle:  Americans’ perception of terrorism is, for the most part, not informed by actual terrorist activity, but rather what we call “meta-terror,” or the fear caused by the coverage of terrorism, unconnected from any actual threat.

The full article is available here

The "Liberal's Are Ruining Universities" Canard - Tucker Fitzgerald

Universities aren't bereft of anti-intellectual conservatives because of a vast liberal conspiracy. 

There's a strong strain of anti-intellectualism in American Evangelical Christianity.  Through their allegiance with pro-big business corporate interests, they've worked actively to undermine scientific thinking.

From those corners, an often-repeated talking point is, "liberals and political correctness are ruining universities" or that "conservative students and professors are persecuted at the university level."

But that canard doesn't take into account that being anti-evolution, anti-climate change, anti-intellectual, and anti-factual aren't values that line up with most universities.  Universities aren't bereft of anti-intellectual conservatives because of a vast liberal conspiracy.  Rather, it's that people committed to anti-intellectual views aren't a good fit in an environment dedicated to being open-minded, inquiring, and growing intellectually.

An inherently regressive worldview of anti-intellectualism is different than unpopular ideas getting a hearing, differing opinions being debated, and sincere disagreements between people of differing philosophies that can be a part of on-going dialogue and clarification - all things that the academic tradition have cherished and nurtured for millennia. In other words, the level of agreement that is sought isn't that of homogeneous opinions but rather of agreeing to be intellectually honest and rigorous.

I have no interest in universities being populated by people who think just like me.  No one is.  But I do have an interest in them being populated with people who are willing to think.

The full article is available here