I would like to point out, though, that quite a few residents were not "simpleminded" enough to swallow Barton's mythology "hook, line and sinker." They simply were not involved in the matter, thought they had no choice in the matter, or felt they were being tolerant of someone else's religious beliefs and that the whole thing was harmless. Thinking it was harmless was their mistake, but a lot of people make mistakes. . . .
Have you spent much time in Haskell County, other than observing the shenanigans on the court house lawn? Many, if not most of the residents of Haskell County, are too busy for this nonsense. This is a desperately poor county, and many are simply trying to keep their lives scotch-taped together in spite of unemployment, underemployment, food insecurity, no health insurance, drug problems, cuts to schools, and so on. Haskell County has many failings. . . . But it is also full of kind, loving, hardworking, generous and yes, very intelligent people. Not simple minded people. I would say it is wrong for you to characterize the folks of Haskell County as the "poor residents of Haskell County." This was the doing of a handful of people -- some of them good, some not so good, some bull-headed, some arrogant, some simply ignorant of the consequences of their choices, but not all simple-minded.
I responded in a couple e-mails to clarify that I did not use the word "simpleminded" to describe the people of Haskell County and did not mean to leave that impression. In speaking of the "poor residents of Haskell County," I intended to convey the thought that I feel that the people of Haskell County have been victimized. I feel for them and I fear they may not fully realize what forces led to their victimization. In another e-mail to this respondent I spoke about those forces:
I did not mean to paint everyone in Haskell County with the same broad brush. I have several friends in Stigler and know that they did not support the monument on the courthouse lawn, but were overwhelmed by the popular sentiment in support of it.
I doubt that the civic culture in Haskell County differs very much from that in Noble, Moore, Yukon, or Mustang. In such places the most trusted source for news is the "Fair and Balanced" reporting they see on Fox News -- which promotes a Christian Nationalist agenda. Watching religious programming dominated by TV evangelists pushing a Christian Nationalist and/or Christian Reconstructionist agenda, consumes a lot of the time that many retirees spend within their homes. Religious radio, dominated by radio evangelists and talk-show hosts pushing a Christian Nationalist and/or Christian Reconstructionist agenda, fills a lot of the time for many Christians when they are in their automobiles.
It is difficult to find alternative voices and perspectives on local radio, television or on the editorial pages of the newspaper in Oklahoma City. I doubt that it is any easier in Haskell County.
What I meant to communicate, albeit poorly, is that the culture in Oklahoma and throughout the South has been misleading Americans about our nation's history and constitution. The people in Haskell Country were encouraged by their religious culture and by bad legal advice (the Alliance Defense Fund) to step into the frontlines of a culture war being waged by Christian Nationalists and Christian Reconstructionists. The people of Haskell County are now casualties of that war.
Meanwhile, the Alliance Defense Fund and the TV Evangelists and radio personalities who make a living working to undermine the First Amendment are sending out appeals for money and profiting handsomely from the losses of the people in Haskell County.
I wonder how many people in Haskell County realize how they have been used by James Dobson, David Barton, Pat Robertson, Tony Perkins, Jerry Falwell, Jr and others? I suspect most of them are mad at the courts more than they are at the Alliance Defense Fund and the TV preachers who misled them.
Someone from Haskell County needs to take the Alliance Defense Fund to task -- openly and with much publicity -- for giving your county commissioners a lot of bad legal advice. Some people from Haskell County need to read the legal transcripts themselves, face the facts, and admit that they were deceived by the voices speaking for religion that they trusted.
Until that happens, more good-hearted, well-intentioned people in other counties will make similar mistakes and find themselves sacrificed like the people in Haskell County.
Please don't misunderstand my intentions. I am not opposed to religion. I am a Baptist minister very much interested in proclaiming and sharing my faith. I am just opposed to doing it in ways that are impersonal, arrogant, demeaning and coercive toward those who need to hear and respond to the message of the gospel the most.
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