Welcome to Talk To Action
Bruce Wilson printable version print page     Bookmark and Share
Sun Feb 12, 2006 at 12:26:55 PM EST
If you are new to this website, welcome. What is this place ?

You have arrived here, most likely, out of your concern about the "religious right", the Christian right, Christian nationalism, encroaching theocracy....

You are concerned, you want to know more. You want to know what you can do.

Well then, first you have to overcome the temptation to simply look away, to push the problem to the back of your mind. Talk To Action can help you with that : Talk To Action can help you continue to pay attention.

If you sign up for a free account on this site, you can opt to receive daily, weekly, or monthly summaries of the stories that appear on this website. Many of the themes and issues covered by Talk To Action contributors have never before been written on and discussed in a sustained way or with the intensity and unflinching attention you will find here.

Talk To Action is an online publication, and a forum for discussion, that is focused with unparalleled intensity on the rise of the Christian right as a social and political force - and on what those who are opposed to that movement can do to counter it.

Image hosted by Photobucket.com
Frederick Clarkson and I founded the site. Fred has been researching on writing on the Christian right for many years. For decades, in fact. I have not, but nonetheless I occasionally stumble over aspects of the Christian right that are novel to Fred even though his journalism and research are a landmark in the field and his contributions widely cited. The reason is simple :

There is an endless amount to know. "The Christian right" is a vast field of knowledge - it includes a teeming profusion of groups, theological beliefs, social and political organizations, marketing, media, educational, and financial empires that amount to an entire parallel reality that has been constructed apart from mainstream American culture and that now seeks to displace the mainstream and dominate our nation. An entire ecology, a parallel America has sprung up and gained strength over the past several decades while mainstream America was not paying attention.

Now people are beginning to pay attention. That is good.

Talk To Action features an unprecedented collection of writers and activists who have been paying very close attention : some for decades, some for far less time. But all are now in the front lines - as writers, thinkers and activists who are working to counter the aims of Christian nationalism, its push towards theocracy. Frederick Clarkson, author of "Eternal Hostility: The Struggle Between Theocracy and Democracy" and numerous articles on the Christian right, has reseached and written on the emergence of the Christian nationalist movement for over twenty years, and his was one of the earliest researchers to focus on the emergent Christian right movement. Kevin Phillips new book American Theocracy" draws heavily Clarkson's groundbreaking early writing on Christian Reconstructionism. Talk To Action writers have authored many books and innumerable articles on the Christian Right. Some have founded organizations to work against Christian nationalism. Some have created communities where awareness and solidarity among those concerned about the Christian right can grow, where knowledge can be gathered and shared. All are organizers and activists. Many speak publicly on the subject on television, radio, and to live audiences. One regularly tours the country, speaking to groups, with his astonishing wall sized painting depicting major leaders and thinkers of the Christian right movement.

Our site guidelines and Introduction to Talk To Action will tell you some more about the goals of this website and community, but I'd like to hit a different note:

Talk To Action amounts to a quiet revolution, a slow earthquake of dawning consciousness. Let me explain : never before have the writers, researchers and activists who have paid closest attention to the Christian right movement had a dedicated forum of their own, a publication which showcases their deep knowledge of the subject. What is "Dominionism" or "Christian Reconstructionism" ? Some of the writers you can read on this site have done groundbreaking research that has shaped the very definition of those terms. Never have they had an interactive forum on which to share that knowledge with others. Never before has there been any ongoing public forum - anywhere - with such an unwavering focus.

And where is the action ?  Well, this site is - in itself - a powerful type of action. Mainstream awareness of the Christian right's advance has largely been clouded in denial, avoidance and fear. Talk To Action dispels that haze, to shine an unwavering light on a subject which makes many acutely uncomfortable. But for those who tolerate or even celebrate diversity and who believe in religious liberty and  Democratic pluralism, the way forward will be built not on avoidance or ignorance but on the knowledge and awareness which must preceed effective action.

Alright, I've said enough. But, I'll say one thing more : It is hard, very hard indeed to come to grips with the Christian right - what it is, what its goals are.

Even the most veteran of Talk To Action contributors have gone through the psychological process of accomodation that you may be going through now. It's not easy. In fact, it can be quite painful. But in the long run, avoidance is far, far more painful..... if people had starting paying attention in large numbers to some of the writers showcased here on Talk To Action we'd be living in a very different - and happier - political landscape and world now.

Well, as they say, denial is not just a river in Egypt. In the long run denial isn't viable, nor are anger, bargaining, or depression although you may go through all of those stages on the road to acceptance of what the goal of leaders of the Christian right really are: an American Christian theocracy based on a legalistic, fundamentalist, bigoted, draconian, and punitive interpretation of Christianity that - at its most extreme - holds great hostility to the entire Enlightenment and seeks to roll back not decades but actually centuries of social change. Do you think my description there is extreme ? If you read Talk To Action regularly you may come to feel my words there were mild. If you can reach that point, well, my guess would be that you will have reached acceptance.

Of course, acceptance does not mean passivity - quite the opposite. One must accept the existence of a problem, and pay close attention to it, to be able to effectively engage with the problem and work effectively towards a solution.

To work effectively on a solution, you'll need knowledge - a roadmap. So, you'll want to read Talk To Action. You'll even want to sign up for a user account here. It's free and it allows you to comment and post on the site. As I mentioned, you can also get Talk To Action stories sent to your email box or via an RSS feed ( if you don't know what that is don't worry about it ).

Welcome. I hope you'll come back soon.

Oh - one more thing : what was that picture ? Well, look below - there's a larger version. It's an astounding painting on leaders of the Christian right by artist Joel Pelletier. Joel's been travelling around the US with the painting giving talks on the Christian right movement. Here's his website. You can buy a poster of his painting there.

Best, Bruce Wilson




Display:

WWW Talk To Action


Cognitive Dissonance & Dominionism Denial
There is new research on why people are averse to hearing or learning about the views of ideological opponents. Based on evaluation of five......
By Frederick Clarkson (374 comments)
Will the Air Force Do Anything To Rein In Its Dynamic Duo of Gay-Bashing, Misogynistic Bloggers?
"I always get nervous when I see female pastors/chaplains. Here is why everyone should as well: "First, women are not called to be pastors,......
By Chris Rodda (195 comments)
The Legacy of Big Oil
The media is ablaze with the upcoming publication of David Grann's book, Killers of the Flower Moon. The shocking non fiction account of the......
By wilkyjr (110 comments)
Gimme That Old Time Dominionism Denial
Over the years, I have written a great deal here and in other venues about the explicitly theocratic movement called dominionism -- which has......
By Frederick Clarkson (101 comments)
History Advisor to Members of Congress Completely Twists Jefferson's Words to Support Muslim Ban
Pseudo-historian David Barton, best known for his misquoting of our country's founders to promote the notion that America was founded as a Christian nation,......
By Chris Rodda (113 comments)
"Christian Fighter Pilot" Calls First Lesbian Air Force Academy Commandant a Liar
In a new post on his "Christian Fighter Pilot" blog titled "BGen Kristin Goodwin and the USAFA Honor Code," Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan......
By Chris Rodda (144 comments)
Catholic Right Leader Unapologetic about Call for 'Death to Liberal Professors' -- UPDATED
Today, Donald Trump appointed C-FAM Executive Vice President Lisa Correnti to the US Delegation To UN Commission On Status Of Women. (C-FAM is a......
By Frederick Clarkson (126 comments)
Controlling Information
     Yesterday I listened to Russ Limbaugh.  Rush advised listeners it would be best that they not listen to CNN,MSNBC, ABC, CBS and......
By wilkyjr (118 comments)
Is Bannon Fifth-Columning the Pope?
In December 2016 I wrote about how White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who likes to flash his Catholic credentials when it comes to......
By Frank Cocozzelli (250 comments)
Ross Douthat's Hackery on the Seemingly Incongruous Alliance of Bannon & Burke
Conservative Catholic writer Ross Douthat has dissembled again. This time, in a February 15, 2017 New York Times op-ed titled The Trump Era's Catholic......
By Frank Cocozzelli (64 comments)
`So-Called Patriots' Attack The Rule Of Law
Every so often, right-wing commentator Pat Buchanan lurches out of the far-right fever swamp where he has resided for the past 50 years to......
By Rob Boston (161 comments)
Bad Faith from Focus on the Family
Here is one from the archives, Feb 12, 2011, that serves as a reminder of how deeply disingenuous people can be. Appeals to seek......
By Frederick Clarkson (176 comments)
The Legacy of George Wallace
"One need not accept any of those views to agree that they had appealed to real concerns of real people, not to mindless, unreasoning......
By wilkyjr (70 comments)
Betsy DeVos's Mudsill View of Public Education
My Talk to Action colleague Rachel Tabachnick has been doing yeoman's work in explaining Betsy DeVos's long-term strategy for decimating universal public education. If......
By Frank Cocozzelli (80 comments)
Prince and DeVos Families at Intersection of Radical Free Market Privatizers and Religious Right
This post from 2011 surfaces important information about President-Elect Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. -- FC Erik Prince, Brother of Betsy......
By Rachel Tabachnick (218 comments)

Respect for Others? or Political Correctness?
The term "political correctness" as used by Conservatives and Republicans has often puzzled me: what exactly do they mean by it? After reading Chip Berlin's piece here-- http://www.talk2action.org/story/2016/7/21/04356/9417 I thought about what he explained......
MTOLincoln (253 comments)
Fear
What I'm feeling now is fear.  I swear that it seems my nightmares are coming true with this new "president".  I'm also frustrated because so many people are not connecting all the dots! I've......
ArchaeoBob (107 comments)
"America - love it or LEAVE!"
I've been hearing that and similar sentiments fairly frequently in the last few days - far FAR more often than ever before.  Hearing about "consequences for burning the flag (actions) from Trump is chilling!......
ArchaeoBob (211 comments)
"Faked!" Meme
Keep your eyes and ears open for a possible move to try to discredit the people openly opposing Trump and the bigots, especially people who have experienced terrorism from the "Right"  (Christian Terrorism is......
ArchaeoBob (165 comments)
More aggressive proselytizing
My wife told me today of an experience she had this last week, where she was proselytized by a McDonald's employee while in the store. ......
ArchaeoBob (163 comments)
See if you recognize names on this list
This comes from the local newspaper, which was conservative before and took a hard right turn after it was sold. Hint: Sarah Palin's name is on it!  (It's also connected to Trump.) ......
ArchaeoBob (169 comments)
Unions: A Labor Day Discussion
This is a revision of an article which I posted on my personal board and also on Dailykos. I had an interesting discussion on a discussion board concerning Unions. I tried to piece it......
Xulon (156 comments)
Extremely obnoxious protesters at WitchsFest NYC: connected to NAR?
In July of this year, some extremely loud, obnoxious Christian-identified protesters showed up at WitchsFest, an annual Pagan street fair here in NYC.  Here's an account of the protest by Pagan writer Heather Greene......
Diane Vera (130 comments)
Capitalism and the Attack on the Imago Dei
I joined this site today, having been linked here by Crooksandliars' Blog Roundup. I thought I'd put up something I put up previously on my Wordpress blog and also at the DailyKos. As will......
Xulon (329 comments)
History of attitudes towards poverty and the churches.
Jesus is said to have stated that "The Poor will always be with you" and some Christians have used that to refuse to try to help the poor, because "they will always be with......
ArchaeoBob (148 comments)
Alternate economy medical treatment
Dogemperor wrote several times about the alternate economy structure that dominionists have built.  Well, it's actually made the news.  Pretty good article, although it doesn't get into how bad people could be (have been)......
ArchaeoBob (90 comments)
Evidence violence is more common than believed
Think I've been making things up about experiencing Christian Terrorism or exaggerating, or that it was an isolated incident?  I suggest you read this article (linked below in body), which is about our great......
ArchaeoBob (214 comments)

More Diaries...




All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective companies. Comments, posts, stories, and all other content are owned by the authors. Everything else © 2005 Talk to Action, LLC.