EXTREMISMO RELIGIOSO EN EE UU

Después del caso de Terri Shiavo, Paul Krugman se pregunta en The New York Times qué diablos está pasando con la religión en EE UU. El extremismo religioso es tan fuerte que se echa de menos una respuesta por parte del Partido Demócrata, pero también de la sociedad civil, las universidades y las comunidades de científicos.

Los últimos acontecimientos han hecho saltar la voz de alarma en EE UU. George Greer, el juez del caso Schiavo, necesita guardaespaldas armados para proteger su vida. La educación se ve asediada por los "valores" extremistas religiosos y el 31% de los profesores siente presión cuando habla de teorías evolucionistas o la creación del mundo. En el sector de la medicina, muchos médicos se han negado a proporcionar la píldora del día después porque iba en contra de sus creencias religiosas.

Krugman llama a la sociedad para frenar este extremismo antes de que la vida de los políticos corra peligro:

The Schiavo case is, indeed, a chance to highlight what's going on in America.

One thing that's going on is a climate of fear for those who try to enforce laws that religious extremists oppose [...].

Another thing that's going on is the rise of politicians willing to violate the spirit of the law, if not yet the letter, to cater to the religious right [...].

And the future seems all too likely to bring more intimidation in the name of God and more political intervention that undermines the rule of law [...].

What we need - and we aren't seeing - is a firm stand by moderates against religious extremism. Some people ask, with justification, Where are the Democrats? But an even better question is, Where are the doctors fiercely defending their professional integrity? I think the American Medical Association disapproves of politicians who second-guess medical diagnoses based on video images - but the association's statement on the Schiavo case is so timid that it's hard to be sure [...].

America isn't yet a place where liberal politicians, and even conservatives who aren't sufficiently hard-line, fear assassination. But unless moderates take a stand against the growing power of domestic extremists, it can happen here.