Apparently many of the Neoconservatives take their lead from a long-dead philosopher named Leo Strauss, regarding whom a recent
article in
Free Inquiry magazine states,
There is a certain irony in the fact that the chief guru of the neoconservatives is a thinker who regarded religion merely as a political tool intended for the masses but not for the superior few.
Strauss's pervasive influence in the American Right probably explains why Neocons can with straight faces associate themselves with christians who believe in the increasingly absurd delusions about a supernatural rapture and apocalypse promoted by the
Left Behind novels, as long as these christians vote Republican and enable the Neocons to pursue their harsh policies. (By contrast, UFO cultists who believe in mass alien abductions and the like are ridiculed.)
So, yes, it's refreshing for a rising public figure like Ron Reagan, Jr., to come out and say not only that he doesn't love Jesus, but that he wants embryonic stem cell research as well. I can imagine that the Neocons wish they could pull Ron aside and admonish him for trying to break the superstitious spell they have perpetuated over the American people.
