Whenever someone tells me that liberalism is a mental disorder I get slightly uncomfortable, but occasionally it’s hard not to think that when a guy like Bill Maher demonstrates that moral relativism has done something incredibly weird to his mind. The HBO host turned into a giddy schoolgirl when atheist guest Sam Harris called Islam the “mother lode of bad ideas,” but on Friday night he labeled the late Navy SEAL war hero Chris Kyle as a “psychopath patriot” for calling al Qaeda-inspired Sunni terrorists, those who use children as suicide bombers, and future-members of the Islamic State group (the men currently chopping off heads in Iraq and Syria) “savages.”
Mediaite reported Mr. Maher’s opinion on “American Sniper” and Chris Kyle Jan. 23:
Hurt Locker made $17 million because it was a little ambiguous and thoughtful. And this one is just ‘American hero. He’s a psychopath patriot and we love him.’ You know, I read some of the quotes from the real Chris Kyle. He said: “I hate the damn savages.” Talking about the Iraqis: “And I’ve been fighting and I always will. I love killing bad guys. Even with the pain, I loved what I was doing. Maybe war isn’t really fun, but I certainly was enjoying it.’ I don’t know. Eisenhower once said, “I hate wars. Only a soldier who has lived it, can.” I just don’t see this guy in the same league as Eisenhower. I’m sorry. And, if you’re a Christian — I now this is a Christian country — ‘I hate the damn savages,’ […] it doesn’t seem like a Christian thing to say. […] The idea that Americans cannot see an ambiguity — that someone has to be pure hero or pure traitor — is ridiculous.”
It wouldn’t be an installment of HBO Real Time without taking a cheap shot at Christians, would it? In October, however, Bill Maher was loving every minute of atheist Sam Harris’ conclusion that Islam is the “mother lode of bad ideas.”
CNN reported Oct. 16:
Ben Affleck’s appearance on Bill Maher’s “Real Time” on Friday turned into a somewhat heated discussion when Maher and author Sam Harris voiced their opinions on Islam.
“Gone Girl” star Affleck took umbrage at the pair’s contention that Islam is, in Harris’ words, a “mother lode of bad ideas” and that liberals are squeamish about criticizing Islam for stances on women and LGBT issues because people “have been sold this meme of Islamophobia, where every criticism gets confused with bigotry toward Muslims as people.”
Bill Maher’s rants on Islam are prolific — and many of them do not contain the kind of “ambiguous and thoughtful” commentary he praises The Hurt Locker for. Most of them are not very ambiguous at all, and yet he bashes a guy who was deployed to Iraq four times for calling Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s henchmen and like-minded Iraqis “savages.” Telling.
In Bill Maher’s world, American snipers must be held to the General Eisenhower standard for articulating their world view or be deemed a “psychopath patriot.” If you’re a Christian, then you must utter each word and phrase with the tact and grace of a saint — even if you watched your buddy’s face get blown off while deployed to a war zone. If you’re an atheist, then you can make blanket statements about how Islam is inherently bad, and it’s considered nuanced. Is that a sign of a mental disorder on Bill Maher’s part, or are viewers just watching what happens when a man gets lost inside the maze of moral relativism he’s created in his own mind? It’s a tough question.
On Friday’s episode or “Real Time,” comedian Bill Burr tried to tell Mr. Maher that it isn’t right to “sum up a man by one quote taken out of context.” The host was having none of it, because doing that has served his bank account quite well for many years now. One might say that twisting a man’s words to further a political agenda is not a “Christian” thing to do, but since Bill Maher is an atheist — and right and wrong is simply dictated by whatever he decides on a moment-to-moment basis — then it’s no big deal.
Keep finding ways to slime veterans who served their country to the best of their ability, Bill Maher. Most Americans are willing to cut an Iraq War veteran with four tours under his belt some slack for not describing the experience as if he were a five-star general (yes, that’s right — five-star) who would go on to become the 34th President of the United States. With every petty insult hurled at Chris Kyle by men like Michael Moore and Seth Rogen, modern liberalism’s true colors are revealed. For that, I thank them.
Related: ‘American Sniper’: Clint Eastwood does Chris Kyle’s memory proud
Related: ‘American Sniper’ success prompts Michael Moore to take pot shots at deceased hero Chris Kyle