Fundamentalism

[poliphilo]

Religious fundamentalism thrives in deserts. The Middle East (obviously) and (less obviously) rural Texas- where George W Bush grew up.

I've just been reading an article about W's home town of Midland. Nothing there but grit and oil and everyone believes in the Rapture.

Why? Well I guess that kind of landscape isn't conducive to the kind of romantic nature worship that has softened European Christianity. The bushes (no word-play intended) either grow spikes or they burn. No leaves, no flowers, no green pastures for the sheep to lie down beside.

A simple landscape gives birth to a simple faith.

A violent landscape gives birth to a violent faith.

Jihad, crusade, apocalypse. In a place where life struggles against the environment it's easier to believe, and even love, a doctrine of the imminent End of the World.

Comments

[beentothemoon.livejournal.com]

...and we all ride horses to work, lasso or shoot our food (dependant on the particular form of varmint Maw and Paw want for supper), have trained armadillos and dig for oil in our backyard. On weekends we handle serpents.

That's a beautiful entry, as usual, but I feel that I have to defend my state.

First of all, he's from Connecticut, which to it's great misfortune isn't even IN Texas. Secondly Midland isn't a small town, it's a twin-city, with Odessa being it's sister...between the two of them there's a quarter million people. Thirdly, he spent nearly as much time in Houston which is semi-tropical as he did in West Texas, which is semi-arid.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

No disrespect intended, but some people do dig for oil in the back yard, don't they? I saw a film about a small town in Texas- and there were all these little houses with pumps - or whatever they're called- out back. How does that work exactly- do the oil companies rent the land from the householders or do the householders sell the oil to the companies or what?

Of course I'm aware that Texas is a huge state- several times bigger than this poky little island- and that Midland is not necessarily typical.