These comments were written in 2005. In some areas, my comments are somewhat dated. The continually aggressive efforts of the evangelical fundamentalists in their quest for political power in the United States has not changed during these intervening years. It has only intensified. The Republican Party as it was once constituted has vanished to be replaced by litmus tests of religious purity. While it can be honestly suggested that the Democratic Party is overburdened by political correctness, the current Republican Party is literally hamstrung by religious correctness. In the process, the vast majority of Americans are being victimized by these extremist perversions. We now witness the destruction of the middle class in this country. Possibly we need look no further than this competition between political extremes to see the causes. The Republicans look for foreign scapegoats ranging from Mexicans to Chinese to Muslims to blame for the current American difficulties. The real blame lies with us for allowing this political swamp to develop. It is a safe bet that neither of these political extremes produces the happiness and security most of us desire.
