The Hatred of God

America has lost many of our troops in the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many have died due to suicide bombers or roadside bombs. Their deaths are not something to be praised just as the innocent people that went to work in the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001. There should be reverent respect laid at the markers of those who have died.

Fred Phelps and his family doesn't see it that way. Phelps is a pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas and his behavior is reminiscent of the hatred that caused the terror attack of 9/11.

If you study the Phelps clan, you can see a pattern reminiscent of Jim Jones or David Koresh where people blindly follow a single patriarchal lunatic. His congregation is made up mostly of his own family, 13 children, 54 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. Phelps congregation is an uber religious right wing group of under 100 people that take a family's private tragedy and spew hate filled venom for their own amusement and their obsession with getting publicity. Two of Phelps sons, two of his daughters and even his sister have turned away from him for what they see as teachings outside of the Bible, among other things.

Phelps claims to be a Primitive Pastor, one who believes in the old ways which includes beating your wife if she does not obey and smacking your kids if they annoy you. He was a licensed attorney before getting hit with misconduct charges and ethics violations that eventually ended in him being disbarred. There is no other Baptist church in the country that wants to be affiliated with his group and no recognition for this group of hate mongers within the Baptist Church.

The so called church group's rhetoric is filled with the lunatic notion that this country and everything about it will crumble and go to hell because of it's tolerance for homosexuals and that events like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina were actually "God's " punishment because of it. That might be believable in a twisted realm if it were not for the fact that the Phelps group behaves the same by protesting Jewish synagogues, other Christian services, African American events as well as the funerals of all soldiers whether gay or not.

According to the U.S. Constitution, explained at us constitution.net, "The Constitution does protect the freedom of speech of every citizen, and even of non-citizens - but only from restriction by the Congress (and, by virtue of the 14th Amendment, by state legislatures, too). There are plenty of other places where you could speak but where speech can and is suppressed. For example, freedom of speech can be and often is restricted in a work place, for example: employers can restrict your right to speak in the work place about politics, about religion, about legal issues, even about Desperate Housewives. The same restrictions that apply to the government do not apply to private persons, employers, or establishments."

Many Americans love to shout out that it is a free country and that they can do or say whatever they want. That is not truly accurate. Yes, Americans are protected by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution but there are limits to what we can say and do without consequence. The freedoms we do enjoy in America is afforded to use by those who have fought, bled and died for our freedoms and their funerals should be held in higher regard than the American flag, which, by law, you can not desecrate without legal ramifications.

The latest fallen soldier disrespected by Phelps and his ilk was Army Sgt. Jessie Davila. A suicide bomber in Iraq took Davila's life on Feb. 20 and he was buried in Dodge City, Kansas, on Sat., March 6.

The Phelps clan showed up in Dodge City to interrupt the funeral service without any compunctions about how the grieving family would react.

Thankfully, the Phelps revolting behavior has created a phenomenon that does their best to stand in the way of the funeral disruptions...they are the Patriot Guard Riders and they are a huge source of frustration for the Phelps family.

400 motorcycles thundered down Kansas highways to converge on the cemetery in Dodge City and they stood between the funeral service and the Phelps family, far enough away that the funeral was not disrupted. These people deserve tons of respect and appreciation because they are protecting those who have fallen and their families from the insidious hatred of fringe elements who hide behind the Constitution and religion in order to hurt, harass and otherwise disrespect those who secure the freedoms they enjoy and abuse.

Fred Phelps was sued by the father of a fallen Marine in 2007 for $5 million . Albert Snyder of York, PA. successfully sued Phelps' church in a Maryland Federal Court arguing that Phelps' protest at the funeral was an invasion of privacy and that it caused him and his family great emotional distress. Last fall an appeals court reversed the ruling, claiming that Phelps' first amendment rights granted him the right to protest. This was wrong in the eyes of many because the funeral was a private family matter.

The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear arguments over whether the Phelps family has, indeed, exercised their right to Freedom of Speech or whether they have hidden behind that freedom in order to harass and intimidate the families of those left behind. If they decide to reverse the decision of the appeals court, they could reinstate the $5 million judgment against Phelps.