Bigots

This can be found at the Gainesville Times, posted by Roger Godberd.

"A bigot is a person who is intolerant of opinions, lifestyles or identities differing from his or her own, and bigotry is the corresponding attitude or mindset. Bigot is often used as a pejorative term to describe a person who is obstinately devoted to prejudices, especially when these views are either challenged, or proven to be false or not universally applicable or acceptable.

The origin of the word bigot and bigoterie in English dates back to at least 1598, via Middle French, and started with the sense of "religious hypocrite", especially a woman."

That has been cut and pasted from one of those Wikipedia type things on the internet. Not the best source of information. But, it's fast and easy. I didn't choose a dictionary first but a dictionary would distill those two paragraphs down to something like, "a person who is utterly intolerant of any differing creed, belief, or opinion."

For example, in the Gainesville Times Letters to the Editor a woman writes that Barack Obama is so liberal. He is so liberal that even after praying on it, she could not vote for him. So, she voted in a Christian manner ["a conservative and Christian direction."]. She's not absolutely a bigot. Barack is a Christian, isn't he?

But, Barack Obama wasn't campaigning for senior pastor at a local church. So how does the respectable lady know her Christian direction is truly Christian? Well, it's not Obama's Christian direction. That's not my judgment. It's hers.

The President of the United States doesn't run a more just version of the medieval inquisition. The oath of office ins't a promise to hunt down non-Christians and purge them from government. Nor, does our way of government compel Christian practices upon citizens or government employees. Our government is not about sin!

If government were about "sin," we all might be wearing orange jump suits, wearing slippers, and living at GITMO.

And, who would be left to guard us except the "religious hypocrites?"