Bill O'Reilly is no stranger to being in a fight. He is, after all, not afraid to speak his mind, and his opinions often rub a lot of people the wrong way. Most people accept his opinions for what they are- the opinions of one man, albeit one with a forum.
Now O'Reilly finds himself being vilified by the Religious Right, that bastion of reasoned, compassionate political discussion (not...). To say that this whole episode is silly doesn't begin to do it justice.
In the past two weeks, O'Reilly has come under attack from the right, from the same ideologues who helped make the Fox News Channel personality one of the most popular figures on cable television.
Earlier this month on ``The O'Reilly Factor,'' he had a riveting confrontation with Bible-toting Stephen Bennett, a Connecticut minister who speaks out against the adoption of children by gays and lesbians.
After O'Reilly called Bennett a ``religious fanatic,'' two conservative groups, Concerned Women for America and the American Family Association, urged its members to protest.
``I got 100 e-mails telling me I'm going to hell,'' O'Reilly said. ``That's a little personal.''
Last week, The Wall Street Journal--normally friendly ``Factor'' territory--published a column by its chief editorial writer, William McGurn, who called O'Reilly ``unhinged'' for his behavior toward the writer as a guest. His headline: ``The Blowhard Zone.''
So many battles, so little time. It's not as if he's ignoring other ends of the spectrum, either. The rapper Ludacris and his fans are mad because an O'Reilly segment led Pepsi to drop the musician as a spokesman. O'Reilly's fight with Hollywood personalities over disbursement of Sept. 11 charity funds continues.
Whether calculated or not, the dispute with conservative groups may be as shrewd as a politician who adroitly positions himself in the center just before an election.
When Bennett came on the show, he tried to appeal to O'Reilly's Irish Catholicism by reading Bible quotations against homosexuals.
O'Reilly would have none of it. He couldn't understand why Bennett would object to a troubled child in foster care for six years being adopted by a loving gay couple. Bennett couldn't understand why O'Reilly was advocating for gay rights.
No one likes having their ox gored, particularly the humorless, joyless, Religious Right. These folks have made a career out of taking themselves and their beliefs WAY too seriously. I have no problem with what they believe- this IS, after all, still a (relatively) free country, one that was founded by religious rebels. What I object to is the attitude that everyone is entitled/expected to believe as they do, and if they do not, well, then they're heathens. What incredible arrogance.
Demonizing those who do not believe as you do is no way to influence people. Whatever happened to respecting our differences? Diversity of opinion seems to be a concept lost on the Religious Right, where marching in lockstep is not only a virtue, it seems to be a requirement. If that is what religion entails, count me out....
