Interestingly enough, some of my F-listers were very surprised about all the negativity people were writing about Falwell. Turns out that they were almost all younger - in the 22-30 age group. They simply weren't around during his heyday. To them, he's that wierd old coot who said Tinky Winky was gay.
I had almost forgotten his existence until after 9/11, when he made the infamous remarks about the attacks being the wrath of God or some such BS. (Actually, that's a pretty clear sign that he was an opportunist, wasn't it? He saw people suffering and immediately thought, "Hey, a chance to push my agenda!") I forget; was the Tinky-Winky thing before or after 9/11?
Dave, interestingly your LJ was the first on my flist to comment. Now I'll add my $0.02.
It is interesting you say"...and I doubt that Jerry Falwell actively desired all of the negative developments that have happened since 1980...". IMO, Falwell knew completely that by diverting the nation's attention away from industrial policy issues and others, and onto the so-called Social Agenda (public prayer in schools, counter the "Gay Agenda", focusing on the choice movement), that many of the things that have happened would. Because many who supported Falwell, did not want open discussion on those other issues.
Do you think he was smart enough and diabolical enough to know all that? I have my doubts. I think he was just motivated by personal greed and depravity.
That doesn't mean that he didn't have a great part in what has happened, but I just am not sure he was smart enough to know that focusing on the "Social Agenda" would pay off like it did. I mean, his Teletubbie comment was not the comment of an evil genius.
That's an interesting question: Was there real collusion between Falwell and the corporate (oil, defense industry, etc.) folks, or was it just congruence of interests? Looking at the financial details of the Moral Majority might be enlightening... all I found from some casual googling was that in the early nineties Liberty University was bailed out by an obscure Christian foundation that had ties to the Unification Church. Sun Myung Moon and Falwell might have been pretty far apart doctrinally, but politically I would think they had much in common.
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I join in your wishing Falwell found his hell. If anyone deserves it, he did.
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It is interesting you say"...and I doubt that Jerry Falwell actively desired all of the negative developments that have happened since 1980...". IMO, Falwell knew completely that by diverting the nation's attention away from industrial policy issues and others, and onto the so-called Social Agenda (public prayer in schools, counter the "Gay Agenda", focusing on the choice movement), that many of the things that have happened would. Because many who supported Falwell, did not want open discussion on those other issues.
Allan Rosewarne http://tv.groups.yahoo.com/buffy_fans_chicago
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That doesn't mean that he didn't have a great part in what has happened, but I just am not sure he was smart enough to know that focusing on the "Social Agenda" would pay off like it did. I mean, his Teletubbie comment was not the comment of an evil genius.
But I could be way wrong.
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