Liberals taking over Natchitoches? Have you been to Natchitoches recently? It's rockin'!

If the anti-religious, anti-conservative musings of Richard Taylor and Bill Shaw represent the prevailing philosophy of Natchitoches Parish, Alexandria is on the verge of being toppled as Central Louisiana's capital of liberalism. I love this fundamentalist device: If you write anything that criticizes (or even analyzes) their worldview, you're suddenly anti-religious. It's as if this writer myopically believes her religion is the only religion in the world.

Also, this is a really weak argument: IF Richard Taylor and Bill Shaw REPRESENT a "prevailing" PHILOSOPHY, then Alexandria is on the VERGE of being toppled?? What?? And if they don't represent the prevailing philosophy, then your entire letter is for naught.

Shaw attacked a conservative who expressed an opinion in these pages concerning the release of the new movie "The Da Vinci Code." He decried another writer who praised a conservative columnist, stating that what one means when one says "that another has 'common sense' is that the other holds the same opinions and world view as the speaker." Decried? Attacked? And look: You're saying the same thing that Mr. Shaw was decrying. Your concept of common sense is also tied into your worldview. Shaw's naïve version of an America where the absolute freedom of expression and the unbridled exchange of ideas flourish indicates that the status quo in the public square makes "sense" to him because it represents his own world view. There is no equality in Hollywood. The individual consumer is not driving the market place. Despite the fact that "The Passion of the Christ" has been seen by more people than all of the liberal, preachy films nominated for the Academy Award for best picture combined, there will be no glut of pro-religious movies next year. No matter that "The Chronicles of Narnia" will out-perform the R-rated barrage of movies dumped onto the American consumer; there will be no rush to produce wholesome, family-friendly films. Now, we move onto the Hollywood argument, and you defeat yourself here. You're telling us that the individual consumer doesn't "drive" the market place. AND THEN you're reminding us that two of the most successful movies in the past three years are Christian-themed. Thanks. I suppose that these major studio, world-wide releases that have collectively grossed BILLIONS of dollars represent the "good" part of Hollywood... and have nothing to do with its acknowledgment of the profitability of Christian stories. Same thing with those LifeWay stores. And the Trinity Broadcasting Network. They're GOOD capitalists who play by the EXACT same rules in the EXACT same markets the bad capitalists play in.

Like an unruly tyrant, Hollywood dictates what America is allowed to choose for entertainment. Movie producers have the right to produce films that represent their world view if they desire, but, by the same token, movie theater owners should have the right to show the films they choose as well. They should not be obligated to demonstrate what some would consider "neutrality" when the producers are certainly not responding to the desires of the American people. There is nothing wrong with conservatives expressing their ideas, just as liberals like Mr. Shaw are allowed to do, in an attempt to sway public opinion.

Conservatives control the Supreme Court, the Presidency, and the Congress. Conservatives own major news networks and entertainment companies. And yet you somehow believe that conservatives don't have the opportunity to express their opinion. WHAT? WHAT PLANET DO YOU LIVE ON? Instead of attacking specific Christians, Richard Taylor went right to the source, calling the divine writings of the Bible "barbaric theology." Atheists use the same tactic, pointing to the dark moments in history when men destroyed one another in the name of religion. Is this a fair assessment of Mr. Taylor's argument? These anti-Bible "experts" never give the statistics of how many murders never took place because of the moral foundation, given to men through religious belief, which prevents us from acting on our hatred, anger and wicked desires. Western Civilization is built upon the holy Bible, which states "Thou shall not kill." What sort of liberal brew are they drinking in Natchitoches these days? Let's hear from some conservatives over there, if there are any left. Statistics on how many murders NEVER took place? Whhhaaaa??? Are you kidding me? How could that possibly be quantifiable? They may be drinking a liberal brew, ma'am, but you're the one who seems completely drunk.

Eddie Thompson, Jena

This entry was posted by Blogger, on Friday, April 14, 2006.