I read a fascinating piece in The Nation online yesterday that touched on some of Falwell's over-looked early years when "questions of the day" for many cultural conservatives were ones concerning race and not abortion or gay marriage.
The writer, Max Blumenthal, notes that Falwell, a "rabid segregationist," railed against Brown Versus Board of Education and was hostile towards the civil rights movement (in fact, if memory serves me correct, as he did with the civil right leadership, Falwell branded the ANC and anti-apartheid movement as "communist" in sympathies if not inclination).
Up through the 70s, opposition to Roe v. Wade came largely from Catholic circles and Falwell was a latecomer to this issue, his energies mostly directed elsewhere. Blumenthal writes:
"For Falwell and his allies, the true impetus for political action came when the Supreme Court ruled in Green v. Connally to revoke the tax-exempt status of racially discriminatory private schools in 1971. Their resentment was compounded in 1975, when the Internal Revenue Service attempted to revoke the tax-exempt status of Bob Jones University, which forbade interracial dating."
There is something opportunistic about how Falwell responded in part by gloaming onto the abortion issue as a way to further mobilize social conservatives.
I find it fascinating how this history has been largely overlooked by much of the MSM (mainstream media).
And speaking of MSM, here is an interview with Falwell's formerly closet ghostwriter. It is no surprise that coming out as a gay man resulted in the end of his career with the Moral Majority founder. What I do find somewhat surprising is the affection he still harbors for his former boss, despite abhorring much of what he stands for.
You can listen to the interview in Real Player (wish the site had alternative audio formats!) here.
rate
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 6
Isn't it ironic that so many professed Christians end up being exposed for the most abhorrent actions? I heard a piece on Fresh Air with Terry Gross yesterday. She was interviewing a writer at the Boston Globe who follows the scandal of the fed prosecutor firings. He said that he visited Regent Univ. as part of his research and one class he was in was analyzing a court ruling that overturned a ban on interracial marriages. They were doing this in an attempt to find loopholes in it - and for the purpose of trying to figure out how is could not be used to fight for gay marriage. And they started this very class, as they do every class, with a 10-minute prayer devotion.
These people disgust me.
What's done is done, though. Intelligent people knew what he was. I think it is a tad demeaning, though, to offer crass and base comments with the passing of another human being, regardless of his faults. This is not say the type of comments I see here are indicative of the base comments I have heard and seen elsewhere. Just letting you know, they ARE out there.
Regards,
Doyle I <~~~~~
Regards,
Doyle I <~~~~~