Crackpots as portents of the future

Malcolm Gladwell, in his book The Tipping Point, argues we should keep on aye on what society usually dismisses as its crackpots as one way to predict future trends. He presents several case studies in which folks on the fringes were the forerunners of societal or fashion fads. So with that in mind…

It seems that some legislators in Missouri have offered a bill that would name Christianity the state's official "majority" religion. The resolution would recognize "a Christian god;" it would not protect minority religions, but "protect the majority's right to express their religious beliefs." Under the bill only Christianity receives what the resolution calls "justified recognition."

The other day on his radio show Bill O’Reilly warned a caller who was critical that the security people at Fox News, which produces his show, has his phone number and that if he ever tried to call in again, the security people at Fox would be contacting the caller’s local police authorities who would pay him a visit.

Oh well, I can hear folks rationalizing, these are just crackpots… Those Missouri legislators don’t represent the mainstream of Christianity; Bill O’Reilly doesn’t represent the mainstream of America. Perhaps… Or perhaps the fact that these actually had the insolence to say what they did should scare us more than a little. What if they are indeed harbingers of things to come?

Again, I think back to the bumper sticker: “If your not outraged, you’re not paying attention.”