Well, Amos, when people get locked in long circular arguments they sometimes inadvertently slide into some rather extreme rhetoric, don't they? And they do it when they get sarcastic or satirical too. Wouldn't you say that tends to happen even to the best of us at times? People like...say...you or me?

Akenaton ain't a perfect human being, but he's no reactionary redneck.

Remember that old phrase in the Bible warning people not to judge the speck in the other guy's eye whilst ignoring the log in their own eye? ;-) It's not that I'm quoting the Bible for authority...I'm not...but it's still a useful thing for any of us to think about from time to time.

I think that if people here were more interested in understanding where someone else is coming from and why, and less inclined to stereotype one another in some way, then they'd get a lot farther and not get so ticked off at each other.

Are we "Spear chuckers"? "Honkys"? "Tree-huggers"? "Rednecks"? "Homophobes"? "Sexists?" "Anti-semites?" "Bleeding Heart Liberals"? Etc...

No. We are none of those simple-minded, one-dimensional negative stereotypes that those pejorative words convey. We are all complex and multifaceted human beings, all of us quite unique, and we will agree and disagree about a great variety of things for a great many unique reasons.

If those reasons were better understood, the snap negative judgements we make on others would not be so easily made.

One other quote I like from the Bible: "Blessed are the Peacemakers"