And you thought Fahrenheit 9/11 was scary!
Have you ever heard of Patrick Henry College? Chances are you haven't. It's a very small, right wing, liberal arts college in Virginia. It opened only four years ago (in 2000) and has only about 240 students (who according to this this article are all white.)
What's kind of strange about this school is that it has extremely close ties to the White House. According to an Economist article, which I can't link here because it's subscription only, there are annual Christmas cards from the Bushes. John Ashcroft's wife is on the Board of Directors.
And according to the same NZHerald I linked article above about 7 of the 100 interns currently employed in the White House are the PHC. Pretty remarkable when you consider their incredibly small campus size. There are about 16 million college students in the US today. PCH represents less than .00002% of that. And yet they represent 7% of White House interns. PCH students have also been placed in the offices of several Congressman and Senators and in Paul Bremer's CPA in Iraq. At least one is also working on the Bush/Cheney reelection campaign. They have been placed in the offices of four senators and eleven congressmen. They have also worked on at least thirteen election campaigns. (A full list of internships here). (Where I come from working on an election campaign isn't called an internship, it's called volunteering. But whatever.) Every single one of the few dozen politicians they have been associated with are Republican. That's a helluva lot more than a coincidence.
Lest you think this is just your average right-wing elitism, think again. This university has some pretty far-out views on religion. They have a statement of faith to which "each Trustee, officer, faculty member and student of the College, as well as such other employees and agents of the College as may be specified by resolution of the Board of Trustees, shall fully and enthusiastically subscribe."
The statement of faith states that Mary was a virgin, all 66 books of the Bible are the literal word of God and that Man is by nature sinful.
Last but not least, my personal favourite: "Satan exists as a personal, malevolent being who acts as tempter and accuser, for whom Hell, the place of eternal punishment, was prepared, where all who die outside of Christ shall be confined in conscious torment for eternity." Got that? Everyone who hasn't embraced Christ burns forever!
They also have a Statement of the Biblical worldview which states among other things that "Husbands are the head of their wives just as Christ is the head of the church."
On government they have this to say: "God himself has ordained government and commands that everyone must submit to government; moreover, there is no authority except that which God has established. (Romans 13: 1-5) Consequently, he who rebels against lawful authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment upon themselves." In case you're wondering how this fits in with U.S current actions there's a long bit about how "some governments are not legitimate; some authorities are not lawful. [...] Nevertheless, there is a proper way to rectify this situation."
On creationism: "Creation. Any biology, Bible or other courses at PHC dealing with creation will teach creation from the understanding of Scripture that God's creative work, as described in Genesis 1:1-31, was completed in six twenty-four hour days. "
On sex:"Any sexual conduct outside the parameters of the faithful marriage of a man and a woman is sin. [...] Pornography, because it degrades God's image-bearers and incites sinful lust, is always evil and merits no legal protection."
On government: "[M]en and women have the inalienable right to own and manage their own property, subject to government regulation only in the unusual situation where the rights of others are endangered. Government systems such as communism and socialism, which give the government primary control over property, are a violation of God's creation order." (Wonder if socialism includes Canada?)
I don't know about you, but personally I find this freaky. The US is breeding a bunch of young, extreme right students, and through their contacts with the current administration they are given advantages in terms of positions in the current government. I strongly believe people are entitled to their own religious beliefs and freedoms. However, these type of far right stuff does not represent the average American (According to this poll only 36% of Americans go to church even once a month or more and 53% believe Jews, Christians and Moslems worship the same God), yet it's being mainstreamed in their government. It seems to me that by their close ties with this school, the current US administration is fostering a lack of religious tolerance and is violating the separation of Church and state. The founders of the United States thought religious freedom was important enough to be enshrined in the First Amendment. It's frightening that the current administration of the US seems to be moving in the opposite direction.
Also interesting is how little coverage there is of this in the US media. All the articles I found were from UK or New Zealand. Americans, turn off Entertainment Tonight and check out what's happening in your own country!
Comments
Stuff like this is frightening; the Bush years have definitely seen an increase in the power and influence of far-right Christian groups. But I take issue with your last remark; many Americans are only too aware that their media has their own agenda (one mainly of profit, rather than politics). Telling Americans to turn off Entertainment Tonight ignores the fact that this country is ideologically split, with at least half the population feeling that Bush and what he stands for are the wrong direction for the U.S. The last few years have motivated an incredible surge in liberal activism, as evidenced by the anti-war protests and the growth of such advocacy organizations as Move On and Americans Coming Together. If Americans aren't paying attention to this specific story, it's more due to media selectivity than public apathy. And if this story has escaped notice, many Americans (hopefully a majority, by November) have found so much else to be outraged about, this story is just another drop in an unfortunately full bucket (a worrisome one, you're right, but just another small part of a movement of which many liberals are painfully aware). Anyway, this is a long-winded way of saying 'Don't fall for the stereotype that all Americans are apathetic couch potatoes'; more people share your frustration with what's going on than you know.
Posted by: Tony | July 8, 2004 01:43 PM
I take your point and did not mean to imply that Americans were all passive couch potatoes. Lots of Americans, including some blogs I read, are very interested to find out what's really going on. And yes, the media is largely at fault for their selective coverage. But then again, the media is ratings driven. If enough Americans refused to watch stations with unbalanced coverage, or demanded that more opposing views were shown, it would happen. And polls still show a high level of ignorance - as of February 50% of Americans believe there are WMDs in Iraq and 20% believe they were actually found. Fifty percent believe the US tried to expose threats of WMDs in an accurate way and only 4 in 10 believe that "the government deliberately exaggerated the reports ... in order to increase the support for the war." Statistics are improving, but that's still a whole lot of ignorance. (See poll: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=442)
Posted by: Hilary | July 8, 2004 03:38 PM
First of all, it is Muslim, Not Moslem. Secondly, three sources at least are usually recommended to write an article. I have worked for both the Canadian and US governments and know very well how the newspaper will twist the facts to serve their agenda. Just so you know... EVERYONE who asks gets a card from Bush or any president. You can even get a Birthday card. I am sure Paul Martin would send you one too if you wanted it.
I am sad people form such strong opinions based on opinions and statistics?? The statistics are usually conducted during the day when most educated people are at work. AND WHEN did a statistic on opinions become facts to call people ignorant?
Anyway, I really just wanted to find some pictures of Newfoundland when I came across this site. I enjoyed that part of the site. I hope that you will find it in your heart to really research things before you make such harsh comments about Americans, Christians or anyone. Take Care!
Posted by: Stephanie | July 8, 2004 11:33 PM
First of all - Moslem is an alternate spelling a Muslim. I prefer it because phonetically it sounds more like the way the word is actually pronounced in countries like Bangladesh and Indonesia - places where I have lived. Second of all I do use more than 3 sources, the Economist article, the Harris poll and the New Zealand Herald article, the school's website, not to mention all the other things I looked at while Googling including PCH student blogs and websites of the various candidates.
Third of all, if you'd looked at my website you'd have seen I filed this under 'Opinion' not under 'Articles.' This isn't a news source, it's a personal blog that comments on things in the news. If I want to call people ignorant, that's my prerogative. Frankly I think 1/5 of the population not knowing a key fact about a military invasion of a sovereign country is ignorance. But that's my opinion, not some objective truth. My website serves a very different purpose than cnn.com and I never said it was fair and balanced.
Finally this isn't harsh about Christians or Americans in general, it's harsh about the TIES that the Bush administration has and the obvious favouritism given to a particular sector of the population. I like Americans. I wouldn't have lived there for three years if I didn't. That's why I'm so scared for them.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures and thanks for stopping by.
Posted by: hilary | July 9, 2004 09:42 AM
as someone who could been classified as both american and christian, i can say that i am not offended at all by your opinion and, unfortunately, i find it to be quite accurate. i guess that the current state of affairs have gotten to the point where bush just sits and asks himself, who would jesus bomb?...i recommend researcing where the faith-based money has been going. some of the places and projects are quite surprising (such as creationist information at the grand canyon)...i miss you hilary...are you moving west?
Posted by: samantha | July 10, 2004 02:06 AM
I was offended by your opinion because it is not fully accurate. I will apologize though because you are entitled to your opinion.
I do work for the government through contracts but I work along with Muslims, Atheists, Mormons, Hindus, ect... I am a minority as a Christian. It is very difficult but we do have to work in a nonbiased environment for professional reasons.
Where I got upset is that the opinion was based on news. I know people who have worked for papers and news media including CNN(Most do not like Bush) and realize that these people are not who I thought they were. They tend to be biased and educated only on story telling. It is just like some people who went into medicine not to help people but to make money.
The sources I like tend to be people(educators, family members, doctors, salesmen, taxi drivers, classmates, coworkers) from Iran, Iraq, Russia, Pakistan, Turkey, Ghana, Argentina, Chile, India, Nigeria, France, Italy, U.K., Canadian and US soldiers who have served in either Iraq or Bosnia, ect... I meet them on airplanes, long taxi rides, school, work, and even at church. I read religious books from all aspects such as the Koran. BTW Thank you correcting me on the Moslem thing.
As well, I try to understand my own faith as a Christian by reading the Bible and practicing what it says(and no, I did not go to that school. I mostly went to schools in Canada).
And yes as a Christian, I would love for Bush and the US government to find a more peaceful solution. I would also love to have the courage as my friends have had to go to the Middle East to help as missionaries armed only with medicines and a love of all people. Many of the soldiers I have met as well have not killed Iraqis but worked with them to rebuild their country and made friends.
Unfortunately, I read very few of those articles.
I apologize again but it does scare me when people's views are based on the news. That is where terrorists gather some of their ammo against Americans and use it to justify their violence against innocent people.
Posted by: Stephanie | July 10, 2004 02:48 PM
I think what hilary's pointing out is the people with views that do not mesh with much of the rest of the world's (and do not seek to try to understand them) are being groomed for key positions that will determine foreign policy for the most powerful government in the world. When those people are indoctrinated to think that their form of government is righteous, and any other form isn't that seems a little, well, culturally biased, which is ridiculous in my opinion (and it is opinion, but it's well informed).
Also, if you're really reading the bible, particularly the New Testamant, you'll find that a dogmatic religious view, based entirely on canonical texts, is exactly the kind of uncritical spiritual worship against which Christ was rebelling (and he was a rebel, criticizing both Roman and Jewish authority).
As for reporters being biased, well yeah . . . everyone's biased, that's part of being alive. I don't agree with CNN any more than you do, but I have a feeling it's for very different reasons (ie they're not critical enough of government). I think what we can learn from Hilary's opinion piece is to be critical of government--we need to keep asking questions, because let's face it, they don't always have everyone's best interests in mind.
Posted by: Matt | July 10, 2004 08:39 PM