Nonstop on cable news. Not just on cable news. We are hearing the very same thing from elected officials including some republican elected officials. We are hearing it from the leaders of federal Law Enforcement agencies and of the intelligence agencies. We are hearing it from the pentagon. Just this week the new Secretary Of Defense ordered the entire u. S. Military to, quote, stand down while investigators cleanse the ranks of political extremists. And of course we are hearing it from the Business Establishment from wall street from the Tech Monopolies from the massive multinational corporations that increasingly control the contours of american life. All of them are now on the hunt for political extremists. And at one level that does not sound bad. Because no sane person is for political extremism, especially violent extremism. We are against it. Were for moderation. We are for incremental change. We are for the consent of the governed. We said that every day for four years and we m
We are hearing the same thing from some republican elected officials, we are hearing it from the pentagon. Just this week the new Secretary Of Defense order the entire u. S. Military to stand down while investigators cleanse the ranks of political instigators, we are hearing it from the Business Establishment from wall street,r from the massive multinational corporations that increasingly control the all of them now on The Hunt For Political N extremists. O we are for moderation and incremental change, we are for the consent of the governed, we dont like extremists either, we attack them regularly. Its not enough to be against something, you have to be more precise than that. What is it youre against . In order to root out a problem, you have to know what it is. You need a sense of what youre looking for, a clear sight picture. You have to define the terms. Heres the remarkable thing weabout this public conversation were having. No one is doing that. Have you noticed . None of these ne
Second, how did fundamentalists relate to mainstream culture . And third, why has fundamentalism been so much more influential in the United States than in any other society in the western world. Im curious fundamentalism, fundamentalists, are these terms that you hear today . Do you know people who call themselves fundamentalists and use this label . I see some nodding. Any examples . Yes. Trying to describe alternate groups that can do terrorist attacks. Its a term that you hear more often in islam. What about here with American Christian groups . From up north, many people we would call fundamentalist christians. I dont think its often at least in my experience, its not often used by the fundamentalists themselves. Youve heard it more of a pejorative term. Thats interesting. That lines up with my own experience. There are exceptions. I have certainly met some proud independent baptists who claim that term fundamentalist, but generally it seemed to be used as an insult. Its not a lab