Standards…

Friday night, ABC had a special about the life of Billy Graham, Pastor to the Presidents. He was around for Dwight D. Eisenhower’s death, Kennedy’s, Johnson’s, and Nixon’s presidencies, Reagan’s Cold War stand-off with Gorbachev and that wall, George Bush’s Gulf War, the Clinton nonsense, and much of the current Bush White House. So he was around for a long time…and ABC was doing a special documenting the role he played with each presidency. The only reason I really watched this thing was because the Clinton’s were interviewed, and as usual, they always have some interesting things to say. Others, like Nancy Reagan, also were quite interesting: when Mrs. Reagan asked the Rev. Graham whether “Ronnie” would be there when she dies, he said, “Yes, he would be.” The interviewer asked if she believes it to be so, and she said, “Yes…Billy said so!” That was quite interesting. From the Islamic perspective, we are taught to believe in what God tells us, and for us to give the reasoning “Allah said so, that’s why we do/believe xyz…” is not uncommon…and rarely an acceptable explanation.

The part though, that was quite odd, was when Mrs. Clinton described how she invited the Reverend to the White House for a meeting with her when William Jefferson Clinton first was elected. Upon receiving the invitation, the Reverend stated his condition: he does not meet with women alone, and of course Mrs. Clinton, champion of the rights of Afghani women, respectfully accepted his decision. Taliban-esque, anyone? That didn’t raise any eyebrows, no calls for the women of America to be liberated from such heinous ideology? Interesting, indeed. There are standards, and then there are double-standards!