Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Supplements to the 'Lake of Fire' Screening

I have made two supplements to the Lake of Fire screening available online.

The first is an audio file of guest commentaries from various individuals including Winona State University faculty and pro-abortion and anti-abortion activists. You can find a downloadable mp3 file here.

Second, I have published an essay on Lake of Fire at Winona360, explaining why I showed Lake of Fire, why I think it is an important film, and what can be learned from it. Here is an excerpt:
Before screening Lake of Fire at Winona State I introduced the film to the audience and read a short excerpt from The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements by Eric Hoffer. He writes, “The true believer is everywhere on the march, and both by converting and antagonizing he is shaping the world in his own image.” This quote could well play as an epigraph to Lake of Fire as it encapsulates the underlying theme of the film. It also answers one of the main criticisms of the film: that it focuses on the extremists, particularly on the anti-abortion side of the debate.

It may be true that most people who hold opinions about abortion one way or the other (which accounts for the majority of Americans) are not violent nor do they approve of violence toward those who hold opposing viewpoints. But the loudest voices have been those who have declared the abortion debate a holy war and their battle cries drown out the rational or moderate voices. In that respect, the extremists are setting the tone. Because the moderate voices cannot get a word in, they are like a television program that no one watches or a blog that no one reads. This source may have the best material or the most accurate information but if no one receives it, then it may as well not exist at all. Perception is reality and the extremists, by dominating the discussion, are in the process of reshaping reality, for themselves and for the rest of us, to fit this holy war perspective.
Also, related to the subject of Lake of Fire, check out Rachel Maddow's interview with Stephen Singular, author of The Wichita Divide, a new book about the murder of abortion provider George Tiller:

Part 1:


Part 2

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