Be a leader, not a Lemming, Bob!

Joe Murray

Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an English lyrical poet, critic ,and philosopher, fully understood the nature of man. In one of his many quips and gabs at the nature of humanity, Coleridge opined, quite correctly, that he had “seen gross intolerance shown in the support of tolerance.” A radical statement that has, once again, washed up on the banks of the River Thames.

To many of the salon savvy Europeans, and their smitten American stepchildren, Bob Geldof is a James Dean on steroids. Geldof is a kingfish in a pond that is home to many of the Rolling Stone elite. Posh, indifferent, and a self purported social reformer, Geldof made his name as a front man for the 1970’s band “The Boomtown Rats,” and further solidified his career by dabbing in the world of film production and acting.

Geldof, though, is no Brad Pitt (and that is a good thing for many of his faithful). To many of his legions, Geldof is a god of non-conformity; a golden calf of rebellion. Geldof, like his U2 counterparts, has sought to transform his “music” into a vehicle that is capable of spreading his social, or as some would claim, socialist gospel to all those who will listen. Music, according to Geldof, is not an end, but a means, and keeping with the traditions of our pop-politicians, Geldof never misses an opportunity to advance his cause. Hence, Geldof has rightly laid claim to his post in a post-western society that exalts humanism as its only tenet.

With the G-8 Summit taking place this July in Gleneagles, Scotland, this self appointed Robin Hood has chosen to take up the plight of the poor, thus the birth of “Live 8,” a modern revival of “Live-Aid.” With Madonna, Elton John, Paul McCartney, and scores of other’s serving as Geldof’s modern band of merry-men, Live 8 seeks to turn the world’s attention to the plight of the poor. The plight, of course, is caused by the opportunistic policies espoused by those money-grubbing capitalists participating in the G-8 Summit, particularly George W. Bush. In other words, Live 8 stands to be an orgy of the world’s liberals that, coincidently, provides a decent soundtrack.

All, however, is not well in Sherwood Forrest, as there the scent of mutiny in the air. This Robin Hood of the left ruffled the feathers of Sir Elton, as well as some of his other cheerleaders, when he recently extended an invitation to Pope Benedict XVI to attend the Live 8 concert. Treason was at hand, ideals had been compromised, and Geldof was charged with turning his back on the struggle to remove Christianity from the public sphere.

At the time this piece was written, Pope Benedict had not yet given a response to Geldof’s invitation. That, however, did not stop our friends on the left from voicing their concern over Geldof’s action. Sir Elton John, royalty among the pop-politicians, quickly voiced his opinion by stating, “when you take into consideration their [the Catholic Church’s] views on contraception, and how this affects the spread of AIDS… it adds to the general poverty of the region, doesn’t it?”

While Sir Elton was still pondering his sequenced-laden thoughts, Keith Porteous, executive director of the National Secular Society, was a tad more blunt. Porteous lambasted Geldof and charged, “inviting the Pope to Live 8 would be a slap in the face for all those currently working to stem the spread of AIDS in Africa.”

Porteous continued his condemnation by stating, “AIDS is destroying lives, communities and ultimately will destroy whole nations for generations to come unless greater efforts are made to check it… to invite the Pope, who has supported this inhumane policy, to an event aimed at combating poverty through protest, verges on obscenity.” Porteous ended his indictment with a demand that the “invitation must be withdrawn immediately.” To Porteous, the Robin Hood of the left had just entered into a forbidden covenant with the Sheriff of Nottingham.

Tolerance is a funny thing. Live 8 is admittedly a concert that is geared to raising awareness of the world’s poor, thus should it come as a shock that Pope Benedict XVI, the man who heads the billion strong Roman Catholic Church, receives an invitation? Is it not the Catholic Church that labors in the gutters of Calcutta, the jungles of the Amazon, and the badlands of Africa, all in the name of social justice? Should it shock our conscience that a Church that has given rise to Mother Theresa might be included in an event to highlight the afflictions of poverty?

But to those who rally around Geldof, the battle is not just against poverty, it is about a culture war that seeks to undermine, and eventually remove, the Judeo-Christian moral code from the public sphere. To extend an invitation to the Vicar of Christ to an event that is supposed to espouse the power of man absent a divine right is completely incompatible with the worldview of the post-modern elite.

Benedict XVI stands for abstinence before marriage, marriage between a man and a woman, and for the plight of the unborn. In the eyes of Geldof’s subjects, the Pope stands for all that is archaic. Thus, to invite this backward thinking man to a forward thinking event stands to jeopardize the work of the secularist forefathers who had labored endlessly to remove the Church from the marketplace of ideas.

Geldof, however, appears to understand that in the fight against poverty the Catholic Church is a worthy ally to have in his corner. The Church has a strong history of emphasizing social justice and has long been a champion of the world’s poor. Geldof, a man driven by the utopian ideal of ending poverty, is willing to tolerate his difference with the Church in order that the two can work together to end poverty. Hence, to Geldof this event could very well be about poverty and not politics.

Geldof is now faced with a dilemma that has burdened many a leader of “revolutionary” movements. Do you stay true to the faithful by remaining intolerant to those who fail to support all of your goals or do you extend a hand to those around you in order to build a collation that can expand the validity of your cause?

If Geldof sticks to his guns and keeps open the invitation to the Vatican, such an act of political treason could very well result in a sentence to the cultural guillotine, but it will also result in heightened awareness of the plight of the poor. They say a man’s character is identified by the choices he makes. Let’s see if Geldof is a man of principle or a puppet of politics.

------------------------

Joe Murray (jrm@waidelaw.com) is a civil rights attorney practicing in Tupelo, Mississippi. Murray is a former Staff Attorney for the American Family Association and has also served as National Director of Correspondence for Patrick J. Buchanan’s 2000 Presidential bid. Murray has been a guest on numerous radio and television talk shows, including the O’Reilly Factor.