Paul Wachter, an AOL News contributor, wrote a piece questioning CNN for firing a correspondent for saying nice things about a terrorist supporting Ayatollah. I’ve got to show the whole thing because it’s just too priceless. Wachter engages in some pretty crazy moral relativism here.
CNN has fired a 20-year veteran of the network, Middle East correspondent Octavia Nasr, for her comments on Twitter (since deleted) praising Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah. Nasr wrote: “Sad to hear of the passing of Sayyed Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah.. One of Hezbollah’s giants I respect a lot.”
Fadlallah left a complex legacy. He was staunchly anti-Zionist, a defender of suicide bombings and approved of the suicide attacks on American barracks in Beirut during the United States’ ill-fated intervention in Lebanon during the country’s civil war. But he also championed women’s rights under Islam and spoke out against honor killings.
An argument can be made that CNN has overreacted here, but if Nasr must go, is it too much to ask that the network at least be consistent going forward? Should it, for instance, also fire anyone who speaks highly of the pope, who covered up the clerical rape of young boys and whose anti-contraception proselytization has contributed to the deaths of millions from AIDS? Or anyone at the network who had a kind word for Jerry Fallwell, who said the United States was getting its just deserts with the 9/11 attacks and that the anti-Christ was among us, disguised as a Jewish man?
Never mind that there’s no way anyone with half a brain and any sense of ethics could describe the Pope as “covering up” rape or contributing to the death of millions from AIDS. This is obviously stupid moral relativism implementing logic that goes something like this: Fadlallah was a religious leader and the Pope is one so they’re pretty much the same because all religion is evil, right?
If this were simply the viewpoint of one hack columnist it wouldn’t be a big deal but I believe this “all organized religion is evil” outlook is pervasive in the media, with atheists, and the ever growing “I’m not religious I’m spiritual” set.
July 9, 2010 at 5:29 am
Consistency in the media would be nice but the media is out for blood where the Catholic Church is concerned. The MSM is so biased, anti-Catholic, anti-religious and against Traditional values that it is quite disturbing. Yes, it is stupid relativism. Unfortunately the MSM consistently reaches new lows with regards to moral relativism.
July 9, 2010 at 8:37 am
During the Marcos regime, the opposition from the left and the right approached the late Cardinal Sin and said they will unite to rebuild the country under his leadership. Cardinal Sin refused and explained that he did not want to become another Ayatollah khomeni.
Similarly, the Pope is not leading a country anywhere. There is no Catholic state as such. So, the media is wrong.
July 9, 2010 at 6:29 pm
I can't really say I'm disgusted, because at this point I'm just dulled and desensitized by this tripe. It doesn't disgust me anymore, which is probably a bad thing.
July 9, 2010 at 10:41 pm
If you say or print something often enough people will believe it. I have no doubt that most non-Catholics and many people who call themselves Catholic believe the AIDS thingy.
July 11, 2010 at 3:07 pm
Anyone who believes "anti-contraception proselytization has contributed to the deaths of millions from AIDS" is ignorant of the facts.