Monotheism and its Discontents: An Analysis
             Gore Vidal's essay "Monotheism and its Discontents" brings about a topic I feel strongly about, and yet have never thoroughly thought about. I've always believed that our government has allowed too many religions to interfere with the ruling of our country. Some people, mostly members of the religious-right, believe that the government doesn't relent enough to the whims of the church. I suggest these people buy a ticket to England and take up permanent residence. Unfortunately, while reading Vidal's essay, some holes were found in his thinking, although he compensates by bringing about some original ideas, along with some intriguing thoughts. It's also easy to lose track of his point behind the heavy mask of sarcasm.
             He begins by discussing the 1992 Presidential elections, and how the two underdogs, Jerry Brown and Pat Buchanan, may have had an answer to ease some of the nation's woes. Jerry Brown was governor of California from 1974 to 1982. In 1989 he became chairman of the state Democratic Party and quit in 1991, due to the growing power of money in politics. He now holds the office of Mayor of Oakland. Pat Buchanan, on the other hand, is a strong supporter of religion and government mixing. Buchanan's views on prayer seem as if they'd get in the way of running our country effectively. He believes that the power of prayer is strong. I've noticed that the more people believe in praying, the less they believe in doing. I sincerely doubt you can merely pray the national debt away.
             After mentioning his intentions of covering Brown and Buchanan, Vidal then leads us into his maze of semantics. He brings up words like "radical," "Liberal," and "isolationist." This tangent he brings us to is weak, and filled with unsupported opinions, although they are opinions I share with him. He even go...