Jerry and Me
My contempt for Jerry Falwell pales compared to that I feel for his ideological contemporary Ronald Reagan, but I do have a couple of personal recollections–one professional, the other personal.
My very first major controversy over a cartoon took place in 1980, when the Vandalia (Ohio) Chronicle published my send-up of the then-nascent Moral Majority. (You only have to consider the group’s name to understand the level of arrogance and hatred–we’re the majority, so the rest of y’all sit down and shut up–that motivated its leader and followers.)
When the paper’s publisher, who belonged to the Moral Majority himself, saw the cartoon, he hit the roof and demanded that the editor publish an apology. Rather than capitulate, she quit. I was shocked, but she shrugged. “No editor would give into censorship,” she explained. How editors have changed!
Then, last year, I appeared in a split-screen broadcast with the Reverend (who was in Lynchburg, Virginia) during a political debate on Fox or MSNBC, I forget which. Anyway, I was unfailingly polite (I always am, until and unless the other party insults me), sticking only to the issues at hand. Falwell, on the other hand, launched straight into a personal, ad hominem, attack worthy of Mr. Attack Dog, Sean Hannity, himself.
I have to admit it: This oh-so-jaded pundit was surprised. The dude’s a preacher, for God’s sake. Doesn’t he at least have to pretend to act like a civilized human being? Evidently not.
As far as his political legacy goes, Falwell’s was obviously a poisonous one, channeling and giving voice to people who, frankly, aren’t kind or intelligent enough to deserve one. (The uniformed and/or stupid shouldn’t be taken seriously, or vote. You don’t see me talking about sports because, well, I don’t know enough about sports to have anything worth saying in public.)
Falwell was a mean, bitter, very small man, and the world is better off without him.
27 Comments.
I'm guessing that in that second-to-last paragraph you meant to write "uninformed," not "uniformed."
Not that it matters, since your detractors already believe you hate the troops and want them to die anyway.
As for Falwell, his death is quite clearly an act of terrorism committed by God Himself, who, I can only conclude, must be some kind of crazy gay abortionist ACLU member or something. In retaliation, I suggest we bomb Iran immediately.
Amen to that. Hope he has to share a cell with Reagan in the hottest corner of hell.
I try to never speak ill of the recently dead, but in this case I will. I grew up in the "Church of Christ" which believed at the time that piano's were not a cool thing to use at church. I know, it is sort of silly. That said, before 1983 or so, it was fine for me to be a part of a church that none of my peers were part of… then came Falwell. That asshole somehow managed to make it okay to attack people for their religious affilliation in a way that had gone out of fashion in the 50's. So, Jerry… I hope you enjoy the big surprise you have coming to you if Jesus, God, heaven and hell really exist. Thanks again Ted.
" … a mean, bitter, very small man, and the world is better off without him."
I thought that might be a self-description by Ted.
Your sentiment is echoed widely. I'm surprised by the…eh…smallness of most of the responses I've read. Falwell had his shtick, I suppose. Being a right-wing atheist (*) I never paid any attention to him–when a guy worships tooth fairies by any other name, why pay any notice?
Well, he's dead, so let's look at some of his "controversial statements":
http://www.religioustolerance.org/falwell.htm
I glanced through those. Not impressed. Nothing worth quoting. Maybe there are worse ones I'm not aware of, but the guy seems like your standard politically-charged bible-beater. Again, looking from the point of view of a rightist, Christians are so laughably impotent in this country, at all levels of power, I'm rather ashamed that the (seemingly more intelligent) athiests are oblivious of the fact.
But anyway: Smallness. "Oh, I hope that Jerry Falwell is roasting in hell, right next to Reagan", or whatever. From the first great atheistic philosopher:
_We may come to look upon the death of our enemies and adversaries, even long after it has occurred, with just as much regret as we feel for that of our friends, viz., when we miss them as witnesses of our brilliant success._
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/s/schopenhauer/arthur/religion/chapter5.html
(*) A more dangerous breed than any Christian, if you're wondering.
I might say the same for you, TR.
Hi!
Thank you for expressing EXACTLY what I feel. I never had the questionable 'joy' in having to 'speak' to/with him but I am so glad the jerk is dead.
Of course, I firmly believe God choked down her martini and laughed because the Devil gets to fire up the ovens now.
My friends and I are planning a big party and are going to write a song about him for the metal band we're in (just amateurs). You're invited, Ted!!
One less bigoted idiot. It's nice to come across good news for a change.
Not to worry. Falwell will be back in three days.
And while we're waiting, what about a joke to cheer us up:
"A Pagan in Hell"
— author unknown
A good, clean living Pagan dies and goes to Heaven. St. Peter meets him at the Pearly Gates.
"You can't come in here", says Peter.
The Pagan asks why.
"You're a Pagan… sorry. But Hell isn't so bad. Your friends are there, and they say it's cool."
The Pagan is depressed but goes anyway, because he was, well, a Pagan.
So he goes to Hell and is greeted by a beautiful green field with people picnicking and having a great time.
A man in a white suit comes over to him and presents himself as Satan, and the Devil tells him of all the delights in what appears to be a 5-star resort.
"Wow!" thinks the Pagan. "Hell ain't so bad! I'm happy to be here."
Suddenly, the sky gets black and fire spews from the ground. A screaming, flaming man falls from the sky and is swallowed by a crack in the earth.
After he disappears, everything returns to normal.
"What the heck was that?!" the Pagan asks Satan.
Satan replies, "That was a Christian. They wouldn't have Hell any other way."
If Mr. Falwell had been a man of peace and character, his death would not attract such vitriol. As usual, the apologists and lockstep loyalists of evil leaders take no prisoners when they seek to extend the lie that their massah was a good man. If Falwell were a good man, it would be reflected in the remarks. All we see in Falwell's favor are attacks against the legitimately angry people who are calling Falwell exactly what he was: a hateful buffoon with a talent for fund-raising. Falwell's loyalists don't like being in the minority. They DO NOT LIKE IT AT ALL, and they will be very mean to anyone exposing their near total ignorance. ad hominem? You betcha! That was Falwell's 'strength.'
The Moral Majority was neither. Good riddance to Falwell, a petty hatemonger and vicious turd.
Speaking as a practicing Christian, let me say that Jerry Foul-Well never spoke for me.
When I read of "Wolves in Sheep's Clothing" and "false prophets" in my Bible, I immediately think of Falwell and Pat Robertson.
To me, they are nothing more than modern-day Pharicees.
I have to admit, I balk at echoing what you say in the last sentence, since I believe Falwell's smallness speaks for itself. He gave voice to people I disagree with, and for what I believe to be very base motives, but he did speak for them nonetheless. I personally think he gave christianity a bad name, but so do many who claim to act in His name. I disagree that they should never have had a voice, however repugnant their view. I look back at Falwell's career, and at least I can say I got a good issue of Penthouse out of the deal somewhere.
to the "right-wing atheist"–did you miss the Falwell quote where he blames 9/11 on "pagans, abortionists,gays, lesbians and the ACLU" ?
blatantly trying to use the still-smoking wreckage of the WTC (that was 9/13/2001, in case you were unaware) to smear political detractors in a way that only drooling morons would go for–that doesn't qualify for f-ed up religious intolerance?!
I guess you're not that dangerous, maybe just dangerously stupid.
and to the other anonymous folk–if Ted really has such a widely divisive effect on America as Falwell had, then he deserves to be spoken ill of when he dies.
The only difference between Falwell and Osama Bin Laden is their choice of headwear:
Bin Laden wears a turban, Falwell wore a rug.
good riddance indeed.
To paraphrase Clarence Darrow, while I have never killed anyone, I have, on occasion, read an obituary to GREAT satisfaction.
Speaking of buffoons…
If you really expect to find a balanced discussion or balanced comments on Ted Rall's website, you're not totally in touch with reality. Do you really think all the posts about Reverend Falwell would be so vitriolic if you were on, say, a mainstream media's site? The truth has always been unpopular and uncomfortable. That makes it no less the truth.
"Falwell was a mean, bitter, very small man, and the world is better off without him."
Damn, Ted, enough with the dick jokes already.
Falwell shouldn't be buried. His body should be thrown into a lake of pigshit at an industrial farm. I understand some of those lakes occasionally catch fire, so he should feel right at home.
Jerry Falwell, 1933-2007
AND GOOD FØKKING RIDDANCE TO HIM!
This is the guy who could've inspired "The Handmaid's tale". I lack the adjectives to describe him properly.
And the difference between Osama and Jerry was to Osama's benefit; He would've let the rest of the world alone if we just left the Muslim world to his designs. Jerry wanted ALL of it.
Falwell's meanness comes from using religion to set back social progress in this country.
Whereas you find sincerely spiritual people in this country trying to make a difference in their communities, this man used it as a cover for people's hatred and scapegoating.
Unfortunately, Falwell isn't in Hell, since Hell doesn't exist. He is, however, rotting in the ground with his mouth shut forever and soon to be filled with maggots and worms. So, while he isn't in Hell, he's in a place that makes me smile all the same!
Jello Biafra eloquently expressed his feelings about Falwell and other hypocrites in "Moral Majority" (way back in 1981, and it still applies today):
God must be dead if you're alive!
God must be dead if you're alive!
Complete lyrics here:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/deadkennedys/moralmajority.html
So what do you suppose was the scene at the Pearly Gates, when Reverend Falwell, was greeted by The Most Reverend James Brown?
You might take a look at yourself in the mirror when you make a statement like the next to the last paragraph of your commentary. Then ask yourself: who is doing the talking here? And: is this how I want to be remembered after I am gone?
To contrast the acerbic beliefs of Jerry Falwell, it might be worth taking a look at an excerpt from Robert G. Ingersoll's essay "The Gods" (1872):
<< Strange! that no one has ever been persecuted by the church for believing God bad, while hundreds of millions have been destroyed for thinking him good. The orthodox church never will forgive the Universalist for saying "God is love." It has always been considered as one of the very highest evidences of true and undefiled religion to insist that all men, women and children deserve eternal damnation. It has always been heresy, to say, "God will at last save all"
We are asked to justify these frightful passages, these infamous laws of war, because the Bible is the word of God. As a matter of fact, there never was, and there never can be, an argument even tending to prove the inspiration of any book whatever. In the absence of positive evidence, analogy and experience, argument is simply impossible, and at the very best, can amount only to a useless agitation of the air. The instant we admit that a book is too sacred to be doubted, or even reasoned about, we are mental serfs. It is infinitely absurd to suppose that a god would [a]ddress a communication to intelligent beings, and yet make it a crime, to be punished in eternal flames, for them to use their intelligence for the purpose of understanding his communication. If we have the right to use our reason, we certainly have the right to act in accordance with it, and no god can have the right to punish us for such action.
The doctrine that future happiness depends upon belief is monstrous. It is the infamy of infamies. The notion that faith in Christ is to be rewarded by an eternity of bliss, while a dependence upon reason, observation and experience merits everlasting pain, is too absurd for refutation, and can be relieved only by that unhappy mixture of insanity and ignorance, called "faith." What man, who ever thinks, can believe that blood can appease God? And yet, our entire system of religion is based upon that [belief]. The Jews pacified Jehovah with the blood of animals, and according to the Christian system, the blood of Jesus softened the heart of God a little, and rendered possible the salvation of a fortunate few. It is hard to conceive how the human mind can give assent to such terrible ideas, or how any sane man can read the Bible and still believe in the doctrine of inspiration. >>
http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/robert_ingersoll/gods.html
Rall, you're a creep. Isn't it a great feeling to know that Larry Flynt and Jesse Jackson both have more class than you? Not, of course, that it's difficult in your case.