Who Are the Bad Guys Now?

I've mentioned before on this blog, and those who know me are already aware of my very conservative upbringing—in fact, ultra conservative would not at all be an over statement. The conservatives of my youth were people who committed themselves to always doing what they believed was right, no matter what it cost them. They were fiscally conservative. They practiced being kind to the less fortunate and helping others. For the most part these were generous people of little means. They spent a good bit of time and energy trying to get others to join their cause. They lived their faith more emotionally than intellectually.

Times have changed, really changed.

Now, according to a recent survey by the Pew Foundation, the fundamentalist conservatives overwhelming support torturing other human beings. The conservative movement controlled this nation under the Bush administration and spent the nation into complete bankruptcy. The ultra conservative power base practiced excess and greed at the outrageous expense of others and have brought the world to the brink of financial collapse. They have been the masters of fear.

This church movement has become fat, arrogant, and hateful, only caring about themselves. For all of their ballyhooing about the redefinition of words, they themselves have committed the worst atrocity of all: they have completely redefined evil to be good and good to be evil. They lived short-sightedly, for today, for themselves. They care more about words than they care about people. They care more about themselves, their power, their financial empires than they care about their words. They really don't seem to care so much any more if others join their case or not, unless they have means, as long as they can force others to live their values regardless of whether they believe them or not. Honesty and integrity no longer seem to matter to them, just power and influence over others and having lots of nice things.

Let me be clear: I want nothing to do with this new brand of conservatism. They are the bad guys.