George BUSH wasn't the only guy who walked away from the last election believing he had a mandate.
So along with the carols, fruitcakes and other signs of the season, we're all being treated to a preview of what a faith-based, value-conscious society might look like. It isn't pretty, but certain aspects of it are all too familiar.
Thursday, for example, the Parents Television Council and the National Religious Broadcasters released a study of prime-time television, which they said found that shows produced by Hollywood have "virtually no respect for religion."
That's hardly surprising, since Hollywood, by and large, has no respect for women, families, minorities, intelligence or anything else, except ratings and the increasing number of awards it seems to give itself each year.
More interesting -- and revealing -- was the reason for this disrespect, according to L. Brent Bozell, president of the parents' group. "Is it because Hollywood is Jewish and taking care of its own?" he rhetorically asked during a conference call with reporters. "No, I don't think that. In the general public and in Hollywood, there is an understanding that respect is owed to Jews. It's as simple as that. That same respect ought to be paid to other faiths as well."
In other words, Bozell doesn't want to say it too clearly, but the Jews control Hollywood. Or as Bozell, a Catholic, subsequently told The Times' Lynn Smith, that's what "many would say."
Really?
"Many" is debatable, but, as Eric Boehlert pointed out in a piece for the online magazine Salon this week, quite a number of right-wing controversialists emerged from the recent electoral campaign so intoxicated by success that they've decided to carry the culture war into this Christmas season. What's fascinating is how frequently their crusade takes the same nasty turn as Bozell's.
Earlier this month, for instance, Fox news personality Bill O'Reilly told his radio audience that the "secularists" would like to "cancel Christmas.... The small minority that is trying to impose its will on the majority is so vicious, so dishonest and has to be dealt with."
And who might that small minority be?
Well, when a listener called in, identified himself as Jewish and raised questions about religious celebrations in public schools, O'Reilly replied that "overwhelmingly, America is Christian. And the holiday is a federal holiday honoring the philosopher Jesus. So you don't want to hear about it? Impossible. And that is an affront to the majority." Later in the exchange, he told the caller, "Come on, if you are really offended, you gotta go to Israel then."
