What’s In a Pejorative?

Dan Gilgoff has written a couple of posts in response to the recent article in which Religious Right leaders complained that everyone kept calling them the Religious Right, explaining that use of the term is acceptable because it is “descriptive” and that “journalists … shouldn’t abandon [such labels] just because they don’t serve the political purposes of Christian Right leaders.”

A good point, but maybe we should just leave it up to the Religious Right to determine an objective, even handed name … how about something like “Pro-Family Americans?”  That’s already what they are calling themselves according to this alert from the Family Research Council that just showed up in my RSS Reader:  

And not only does President Obama plan to “exclude” them; he and “the Left” have something known as “The Agenda” that will silence them entirely and the only thing that can stop it is, of course, donations to FRC:  

President Barack Obama has unveiled his massive plan to silence the moral voices of America and reshape our country. He calls it “The Agenda.”

Please stand with me now and send an immediate donation to help Family Research Council fight back.

Obama says we are divisive-because we object to immoral and dangerous behavior.

He implies that we are not patriotic-because we won’t compromise our values to suit the radical advocates of the homosexual agenda.

We must be silenced, the Left says, and “The Agenda” lays out their plans to do that.

    * Hate crimes laws that could lead to penalties for Christians who publicly criticize homosexual behavior

    * Employment laws forcing businesses, even churches, to hire homosexuals (and indoctrinate employees)

    * Abolish the federal Defense of Marriage Act and other laws against counterfeit marriage

Yet most Americans disagree with the President’s extremist views. Most want to:

    * Preserve the biblical definition of marriage

    * Be free to voice their concerns and Christian values

    * Protect schoolchildren from indoctrination that promotes dangerous sexual behavior

If we work together-we can stop “The Agenda.”

Dozens of new congressional Democrats in Congress now represent moderate and conservative districts. They-and most Republicans-are open to our concerns.

Your prayerful support enables FRC policy experts to educate citizens and these members of Congress who can stop this disastrous plan.

So please send your most generous gift immediately. The radical homosexual activists have a champion in the White House, and they are demanding action.

Thank you for standing for faith, family and freedom. It is an honor to serve alongside you in this critical hour for our nation.

As far as I know, progressive advocates for equality generally don’t refer to work as part of an “agenda” being pushed by “the Left” in order to “indoctrinate” Americans to accept the “immoral and dangerous behavior” of “radical homosexual activists.” 

For a group that was just complaining that the phrase “Religious Right” was too pejorative, there certainly seem to be an awful lot of pejorative terms in this alert.