By Any Other Name

by Dan Jacoby

... that which we call a rose,
By any other name, would smell as sweet.

- William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene 2

Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose

- Gertrude Stein, "Sacred Emily"

When Shakespeare wrote his famous words, he probably had no idea just how important names would become. But then, back in the late 16th century, there were no such things as think tanks and political action committees. (Or at least, not by those names.) Gertrude Stein, on the other hand, understood how important names are. Her point was that it does matter what we call something.

Today's example of Shakespeare's question, "What's in a name?" is entitled "Fundamentalism". Those whom we call fundamentalists, and who identify themselves by that name, are all capable of hideous evil. It doesn't matter whether they are Muslim, Christian, or any other variation - self-described fundamentalism, by its very nature, requires fanatical excesses. It requires that people disregard even the very basis for their stated fundamentalism in the pursuit of their true name. That true name, the name by which they are correctly identified, is "Fanaticism".

This disregard for fundamentals in the pursuit of fanaticism has a new face today. The face is that of Pat Robertson, who called for the assassination of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. By any interpretation of the book of Exodus, this would be a direct violation of what is usually considered the sixth commandment. But when the rubber hits the road, Mr. Robertson has less regard for the fundamentals of Christianity than the fanaticism of whatever crusade he thinks he is pursuing.

And that is the problem with fanaticism disguised as fundamentalism. It is this problem that allows George W. Bush, while claiming to be Christian and to value human life so highly, to execute more people - take more human lives &endash;- than any governor in American history. It is this problem that allows him to kill blithely tens of thousands of innocent people in the pursuit of some amorphous "higher goal".

George W. Bush and his fellow extreme right-wing Republicans decry what they call Muslim fundamentalism abroad, while embracing what they call Christian fundamentalism at home. But fanaticism is fanaticism is fanaticism is fanaticism. Regardless of which flag the term flies under, it is still fanaticism.

Thanks to advanced weaponry, right-wing, American, Christian fanatics are capable of killing far more innocent people than all the Muslim fanatics combined. Furthermore, Christian fanatics like George W. Bush and Pat Robertson have shown a willingness to kill that is equal to their Muslim counterparts. As long as fanatics, Christian, Muslim, or any other type, have power, there can be no hope for peace.

 

Copyright 2005, Dan Jacoby

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