The media saturation coverage of the political campaigns for the past year had so dulled my interest in politics that it was a strange serendipity that I happened to pick up at the library a book by Republican pollster Kevin Phillips: American Theocracy: the period and politics of radical religions, oil, and borrowed money. At least it was a relief from the steady diet of murder, mayhem, sex, and antics of the rock & roll stars in rehab; rappers spouting obscenities; and movie queens and athletes confessing their drug problems not only in the tabloids but also the mainstream media. Even with 250 digital cable channels, I sometimes find it difficult to find a program worth watching so it was interesting to read a serious discussion of issues that affect all of us.

Mr. Phillips traces the influence of the radical right in the 1980’s and 1990’s and their political agenda not only to dominate the airwaves with talk radio but also to highjack the Republican Party. His review of the Middle East and how Great Britain and the United States propped up dictators in collusion with the major oil companies so that they served as de facto ambassadors was very revealing of how we got ourselves into a mess even before the invasion of Iraq. Deficit financing has weakened not only federal government programs but also the lack of personal savings and imbalance of trade has made the United States a second-class debtor nation.

After such a heavy dose of pessimism, it was a real treat to attend a very emotionally uplifting film showing at Duke three weeks ago. The documentary For the Bible Tells Me So tells the story of five families coming to terms with their religion and the revelation that they were the parents of a gay or lesbian child. If it can’t change hearts and minds, I don’t know what will. The web site www.forthebibletellsmeso.org not only tells about the film itself but also lists the screening schedule around the nation. It will be available on DVD later this month.

Perhaps it was because I had seen the other film first in a very enthusiastic audience of students who filled the Griffin Film Theater that I was not as receptive to another film on the same subject: Anyone and Everyone which focuses on the ethnicity of families coming to terms with their gay or lesbian children. Because it includes so many different stories it dilutes the emotional impact of the individual stories and in some ways reinforces the cultural bias of different societies.

The book and the films all note how in some circumstances the Bible has been used as a weapon to vilify others who don’t think the same way and how religion can become a crutch and a barrier if it is not filled with love and tolerance. The radicals of Protestantism and Islam are not so different in their methods of preaching hatred of anyone who doesn’t fit a rigid social pattern and using political and economic means to subjugate minorities, including women and GLBT persons. Agape is neither passivity nor acceptance of evil, but it does focus on reaching out to help save people rather than to destroy them.