Backlash Against Anti-Muslim Bigotry Continues

To the Editor,

The backlash against anti-Muslim bigotry continues. People like Steve Earle and Russ Wiles are helping the progressive cause when they lump all Muslims together,. Most people are not that shallow. Do you remember when Kim Davis used her perverse and despicable version of Christianity to support her anti-gay bigotry (Leviticus and Romans I)? The public debate that ensued after her refusal to issue marriage licenses helped support for marriage equality to soar to its highest levels yet. The  wretch got crushed. When the Supreme Court ruled for marriage equality last June, support was at 53%. By May, it stood at 61%. Game over. The same dynamic has transpired since Herr Trumpf and his army of reprobates degenerates began their shady anti-Muslim crusade of hate. As I have always said, the biggest enemy the right wing has is its own mouth.  (Keep screaming, Steve!) With all the inflammatory anti-Muslim rhetoric spewed from the extremists combined with actual attacks in the last year, one would think that the attitudes towards Muslims and Islam would have worsened. Exactly the opposite has happened because most people are intellectually mature enough not to demonize a group because of the actions of a few crazies.  After all, most Christians aren't nutters like Demakowski, McCoole, or Ewing. 

So here is my "Christmas in July" gift for Steve Earle and Russ Wiles. A new Brookings Institution survey released this week has shown American attitudes towards Muslims and Islam to be progressively improving. According to the report, "respondents who expressed favorable views went from 53 percent in November 2015, to 58 percent in May 2016, to 62 percent in June 2016. At the same time, favorable views of Islam went from 37 percent, to 42 percent, to 44 percent over the same period—still under half, but with marked improvement over a period of seven months." It is clear that Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, and progressive voices are winning this debate and will continue to. 

James Veverka

Tilton