With the USA’s administration’s current predilection for fundamentalist christian values, it’s not difficult to see the USA becoming as Iran, although obviously of a slightly different, perhaps more bitter, flavour.

What sort of elements make up a modern-day theocracy?

• A ruling party made up of rich politicians overly influenced by religious zealots - check
• Access to legal representation for some (alleged) crimes is restricted - check
• Religious law overtakes common-sense (or even natural) law - check
• Capital punishment is still in place - check
• Those of alternate faiths (or none) are persecuted - check
• Women, and their rights, are marginalised - check
• Homosexuals, and their rights, are marginalised (at best) - check
• ‘Unfamily’ attitudes are severely frowned up - check
• Knowledge and science take a back burner to dogma - check
• Intellectuals are treated as second-class citizens - check
• Those who disagree with the ruling class are treated as traitors - check
• Human rights are abused on a daily basis - check

I don’t think I’ll bother taking a look at Iran - it’s pretty much the same sort of stuff.

This article was originally posted at In Defence of Reality.

This entry was posted Monday, June 12th, 2006 at 8:35 am and is filed under government, Iran, opinion, theocracy, USA. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.