Christian conservatives will have no trouble voting for a Mormon, so long as the candidate states that being gay is an abomination, supports Israel with absolutely no reservations, and considers military spending to be more important that reducing human suffering. Conservatives don’t care which “god” a candidate believes in, so long as it’s the same “god” that leads them to divide society, promote intolerance, and judge other people with impunity. And based on this that criteria, an arena full of Liberty University students is the PERFECT place to start. There is hope, however: Such thinking, and such conservative intolerance is slowly but surely becoming the political equivalent of a dot-matrix printer.

It’s amazing that, with all the letters, writings, and back-and-forth debate, the real issue is totally missing! And it’s the essential reason that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict never gains any traction towards improvement: Each side is so polarized and ideological that an honest, open discussion is impossible to achieve. Muslim groups (and liberal “justice” groups) HAVE, in fact, been virtually silent regarding human rights’ abuses perpetuated by Arab dictators. And Israeli defenders have refused to acknowledge that legitimate claims of oppression, violence and religious supremacy drive much of Israel’s current policy; not all criticism of Israeli policies are based on “hate towards Jews” or the “discrimination towards the only Jewish nation.” The sad part is that the real victims are all but ignored so that student groups and professors can display faux-outrage and feel important. What is all this doing to curb settlers from taking more land in the West Bank (under the claim of religious right)? How is this stopping the execution of gay Iranians for simply being themselves? That’s the point: This academic and meaningless “outrage” is accomplishing nothing of any value. And then we wonder why every peace plan fails?