Movie Review: Jesus Camp

Whenever I go out to eat sushi, I have to spend a fair amount of time explaining to the wait staff about two things.

1. no sesame seeds (allergy)
2. which fish is permitted for me to eat and which isn't

I rarely have a problem, but it usually takes a long time and a series of back and forths.

Back in May, I went out to Seattle and Tjada suggested "I Love Sushi."

When the waitress appeared, I began my usual explanations.

"You're kosher, right? Don't worry. I am Jewish."

And she (Elizabeth) took care of EVERYTHING.

Plus, she was a great conversationalist.

So, last week when I was in town, I said to Tjada, "we have to go back there."

I walked in and found Elizabeth. She remembered me and after convincing her to stay (she was about to get off her shift), she once again helped simplify the ordering process.

During the meal, the conversation turned to politics and Elizabeth (who is pretty liberal) challenged me on my views, namely that radical Islam is the single greatest threat we face as a country.

Well, she didn't really challenged me, but she warned me that "you need to watch out who you are in bed with. The religious right is out to convert all of the Jews."

"That may be true," I answered, "but they aren't going to blow us up."

She recommended the movie Jesus Camp to me, which centers around an Evangelical summer camp that trains young children to spread the Christian message of God.

On the one hand, I was supposed to be frightened. I wasn't clear what the agenda of the producers was, but clearly, I was suppose to think, "wow, these folks are raising zealots and they are going to try and convert me and everyone else. Plus, they don't want a separation of Church and State."

On the other hand, I did admire them. The raw emotion that the kids had in terms of love of God was inspirational. Their value, in terms of "family values," that is, certainly are in the right place. Seeing a 9 year old cry out of love of God is pretty powerful, no matter where you stand on the spectrum.

I guess one realization I had was that, given the 30 million Evangelicals and their firm "Right to Life" beliefs, that my guy, Rudy, will either 1. never make it through the primaries or 2. suffer from the Religious Right staying home in November lest they vote for a Pro-Choice candidate.

I had originally said, "would you rather get 50% of what you want [Rudy] or 0% of what you want [Hilary]" since I think that Rudy is the only one who can pull the moderates, but now I understand that it's not that way. Losing the Pro-Life (anti-Abortion) issue is so complete that it outweighs everything. Pretty powerful.

Elizabeth thought I would see the determination of the Religious Right (and I do) and, in many respects, (MANY), I disagree with them.

I guess the question is: are your enemies enemies your friend?

Definitely worth the watch.

And what's more, you know where to go for sushi in Seattle!

BTW, Elizabeth is now an FOJ :-)