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We live in a society of extremes.
On one side there is the far right. These are the people who want to enforce their rigid morality on everybody, replace the Constitution with the Bible and bomb anybody who is even remotely a threat. On the other side is the far left. These are the people who want to enforce their doctrine of political correctness, socialize anything that seems remotely greedy and control the economy to a level that stifles free enterprise. Anybody who doesn't believe in these rigid ideals is shrugged off or considered soft.
Fortunately, the vast majority of Americans don't adhere to these rigid standards. Whether it involves politics or religion, most people are in the middle. But these aren't the people who get the attention. And even if they do, their accomplishments are never acknowledged because in this entertainment driven society, you can't get your voice out there unless it's radical and loud.
For example, who comes to mind when we think of the Christian Right? Many will cite Pat Robertson or the late Jerry Falwell. They're both famous for preaching radical messages of Christianity. Those messages are often filled with intolerance, hate and bigotry. And it's not just Christianity. When people think of Islam, names such as Osama Bin Laden come to mind. And he's made it abundantly clear what kind of world he wants to create.
But the fact is that these people represent only a fraction of what most Christians or Muslims believe. Before I became a non-believer, I went to church regularly and I never heard my priest talk about homosexuality, abortion or evolution. Most of his sermons involved telling stories about Jesus or characters of the Old Testament and finding ways to relate those stories to modern life. It was hardly extreme; hence, it doesn't garner national attention.
Pat Roberson and Osama Bin Laden are the minority, but the message the media conveys doesn't reflect that. They would have you believe that those who don't believe in these radical messages aren't true followers when the reality is they are just pushing their own agenda.
Religion isn't the only medium. Politics suffers the same conflict when it comes to the extremes. When we think of the right, we cite Ann Coulter or Sean Hannity, and when we think of the left, we cite Michael Moore or Rosie O'Donnell. While their ideas do garner attention, they are not nearly as representative of the people as the media perceives. Most people don't completely associate themselves with every idea of one side. Those that do are ignored.
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Last time i checked, "don't" is a contraction of "do" and "not," and therefore requires an apostrophe.
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