Conservative activists were prepared to see Phil Robertson as a victim of religious persecution because they've been primed for years with the "religious liberty" narrative being pushed by Religious Right leaders and their conservative Catholic allies. They portray criticism as persecution. They equate being on the losing side of policy debates with being under the heel of oppression. And when courts and legislatures struggle with the challenge of balancing religious liberty with other constitutional values like equality under the law, they see only black-and-white battles between good and evil.
Their rhetoric cheapens and distorts the meaning of terms like tyranny. Anti-religious persecution is a violent, heartbreaking reality for Christians in many parts of the world. But not for the privileged and powerful figures in the United States who wrap themselves in the mantle of martyrdom.
- See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/what-persecution-looks#sthash.vScIOsLH.dpuf---SPSmith
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