Interesting Television

I've spent more time sitting on my ass watching TV in the last 36 hours than I have in a LOOOONG time. Although I've seen some interesting movies (I'll write more about those some other time), Liz and I caught a really interesting program about President Bush and his personal religious beliefs on PBS, called The Jesus Factor. It offered a good (and mostly unbiased) view of his personal religious journey, from being "born again" as a way of dealing with his alcoholism and familial problems, to a change in religious rhetoric following 9-11 (possibly the strongest part of the program).

For those expecting me to take the "secular humanist vile evil liberal" tack, I ain't gonna do it; I know from experience that being "born again" really can help people struggling with addiction, many evangelicals aren't rabid homophobes, and most of them don't act like Ann Coulter after she sits on a cactus. It has been my experience that most evangelical Christians really do believe they are doing something good, and that their faith leads them to try to do good things.

That being said, it also makes them far easier to manipulate than us rational skeptics.

The program, while it never once mentioned Dick Cheney or the Karl Rovebot Mk. II, offered an insightful glimpse into how a well-meaning former alcoholic might be very easily influenced by those after power, wealth, or both.