Go to Jeri's link (at Snopes.com). Ben Stein's original essay was about celebrity worship. The first 5 paragraphs in WysiwyG!'s post are approximately Ben Stein's (there are some changes introduced), without his intro. I agree with kendall's comment on the logic.

As it happens, I liked Stein's essay this morning: Let Us Pledge Not to Give In to Hate.

~ Becky in Tucson