The Mensa candidates that make up the constituency of the Westboro Baptist Church are going to picket at Elizabeth Edwards funeral – yet indicate they are going to do it at “a respectful distance.”
Now, I’m thinking that distance would be reasonably measured in light-years, but apparently not if you think God has hired you as a sub-contractor to be peevish and vindictive for His sake.
I guess this makes sense if your entire body of religious teaching makes the golden rule as irrelevant as a bath house glory hole, but this is more of a tragedy than my rather irreverent analogy belies.
The plethora of religious texts circulating during the realm of human existence have a pretty basic premise: don’t be an asshole. In other words, treat others the way that you would want to be treated. Let God do the heavy lifting of Judgment; it just makes sense.
See, most religions describe God as omnipotent, omniscient, and the final arbiter on the virtue of all things. With this in mind, you can pretty much assume that if there is any condemning to be done, well, He’s got that under control.
It’s hard to imagine a deity requiring the assistance of some mid-western yahoos – especially those whose irrational profundity on the topic of human sexuality seems to suggest that “the yahoo doth protest too much” (if you get my meaning) – as being particularly suited to evaluating the virtue of others.
It is sad that the Edwards family will be subjected to the hideous spectacle of the cretinous Westboro Baptists, but it’s simply an ironic tribute. Elizabeth Edwards was human and likewise flawed, but thousands will celebrate her life on Saturday because of her virtues, not her failings. Our good friends from Westboro should take note of this.
Elizabeth Edward’s courage and advocacy provided many with comfort and inspiration which are simply manifestations of the divine. I wish her family comfort and her spirit a heavenly flight. Sail on Elizabeth!
But my final thought is to the horribly misguided flock of the Westboro Baptist Church: may my own passing inspire such a hideous acknowledgement as you are affording our sister Elizabeth. It would please me.
