It's difficult to find someone who hasn't heard about the Rev. Fred Phelps and his followers, people who hold what many refer to as controversial beliefs, and, instead of just Sunday morning sermons, share them with screams, shouts and signs at funerals, in interviews on TV, and on a website.
Writers, journalists and politicians banded together, especially politicos who know it's an election year and the public and their opponents eagerly wait for any response, and quoting the First Amendment, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
As a writer and journalist, I appreciate this right. However, Phelps leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth and a burning in the callous on my writing hand, as the media quickly turns him into a household name.
As an obituary writer at a newspaper, I've seen and heard grief. I've heard the sobs, I've seen the hollow, pale faces of recent widows and those who have lost a parent, sibling or friend. I've heard and seen the numbness, the spaciness and confusion in their words and movements. The emptiness radiates from them like heat from fresh tears.
After the loss of a dear friend, I learned that each person close to me has a physical place in my being, like pieces to a jigsaw puzzle. When they die, that place becomes hollow, empty. It is never filled but, over time, I learn to deal with that hole. I know it's there, I can feel it like a phantom limb, I am a puzzle missing pieces I have lost forever. I'm reminded when I recall a moment with the person, the look of their hair, their ordinary actions, like a smile or certain phrase, when I go to their home and, after a pause, remember they're not going to turn the corner and welcome me.
With this knowledge, I can not understand how the First Amendment allows people to protest at a funeral. Yes, they can hold views, whether I or anyone thinks them brilliant or ignorant. But to protest with signs -- “God Hates America” or “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” -- at a time grieving family and friends gather to say goodbye to a human being ... I can not understand how that should be protected. Is that what America is about -- the ability to spread hate as a right at one of the most precious and difficult moments in a human's life?
The home of the free, the brave, and the hateful? What about groups the government labels hate groups? Can they move to America and hate freely? Should they be allowed to interrupt other people's lives?
I studied religion in college, especially the Bible. It says to love God and your neighbor -- the highest commandments.
When I think of hate, I don't think of God. You can read the Bible or any religious book and argue a number of points and interpretations. What is it about religion that makes people, including Westboro, ready to judge, to point fingers, to ridicule ... ?
Think of life at its simplest. I don't mean your job or your family, whether you have money or not, or whatever fills your day. Think about life and the core of being. Where do we come from? When did life start and how? What happens when we die, where do we go or do we go anywhere? Do you know -- do you know for certain, without a doubt? How can you be sure about anything?
People either spend their time certain about their answers to these questions, and in turn treat others with hostility and disregard, or they fill their lives with distractions so they don't have to think about these questions, because, honestly, these questions are frightening.
How does the Rev. Fred Phelps know God and what He wants? Wouldn't that make him a prophet?
Instead of the media using this to shove Westboro into celebrity, use this as a teaching tool and a discussion question. What do you believe?
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