1 Boring Old Man

And on the Eighth Day, Dr. Dobson Created Himself
By Eileen Welsome

Which is worse – evil, or those who set out to stomp out evil? I think I know the answer. It’s "yes." This article in the Denver 5280 Magazine about James Dobson and Focus on the Family in nearby Colorado Springs is a thoughtful biography of the man and his mega-organization.

Dobson was raised in a strict fundamentalist environment by an autocratic Nazarene Minister and his wife. He marched to the front of the church at three years old as his father preached the "call." When he defiantly announced as a teenager that he was going to a forbidden dance, his family abruptly moved to another state. He ultimately became a Psychologist. But half his life ago, James Dobson wrote Dare to Discipline, a book that gave parents the permission to spank their children – and he was off and running, becoming the clear leader of the Religious Right in America.

This is a fascinating article – one that deserves to be read, not summarized. The author makes it clear that Dobson’s life has been a battle to deal with his difficult and repressive childhood, a war that he has ultimatly lost. He was raised with the belief that man is basically evil, and that strong forces are needed to overcome the evil within. He grew up in an environment where those strong forces were definitely applied. My guess is that his foray into developmental psychology was an attempt to find an alternative way to look at the world of childhood, but he couldn’t lick it – so he joined it. He preaches a moderated version of his father’s doctrine, but it "quacks like a duck." So he’s going to stamp out the evils of feminism, homosexuality, pornography,  pedophilia, serial killers, abortionism. He goes to the source of the evil – interviewing Ted Bundy, going to Porno shops, etc.

It’s hard to argue with him that what’s behind a lot of the sickness of the world is "bad raising," a failed family environment. But it’s real easy to argue with his solution – the family he grew up in and can’t seem to be able to get over. I would bet from the stories related in this article that James Dobson has interpreted his own aggression as the "evil within." I think it’s a remnant of the frustration he felt growing up in such a stiffling environment – an environment he’s trying to recreate in the rest of our homes in an attenuated form.

Of course it’s okay to spank kids – when they need spanking. But many of his ideas are bizarre, like fathers should take showers with their sons [to prevent homosexuality]. James Dobson has taken his own struggles and turned them into a religion. I expect he sees himself as a reformer, advocating a modified version of the harsh and crazy circumstances of his own childhood. But the truth is that what he advocates is a similar manipulative parental environment that appeals to many people – "How do I get my kid to turn out like I want them to turn out?" That’s not what parents are for. He’s right that parents need to help children develop internal restraints, an adequate moral compass, a true sense of their place in the world. But the kind of molded outcome he advocates is first, what’s wrong with him, and second, impossible to achieve. He actually reminds me of Osama Bin Laden. They grew up in crazy households, and are out to conquer evil by methods that are examples of the problem rather than solutions.

As I read the article, I thought I understood something that has eluded me. There’s nothing "Christian" about the modern Christianity. Jesus was a rebel, rebelling against the autocratic rules of the Torah and the Rabbis. He taught looking at one’s own issues first. He taught love of everyone. This modern stuff is Old Testament directives – the very thing Jesus preached against. So this outlandish Religious Right business isn’t about Christ, it’s a regression to the Xenophobia of the ancient Jews. For that matter, modern Islam is in the same boat. Mohamed wanted to unite the warring Arab factions – one God, not one per tribe. But Bin Laden and many other Moslems are ignoring the bigger message of human unity. "My God is number one" – the very thing Mohamed wanted to reform.

So which is worse  – evil, or those who set out to stomp out evil? I think I know the answer. It’s "yes."