Gore Vidal

I just read The Decline and Fall of the American Empire by Gore Vidal. His reputation peaked my interest so I decided to see what he's about. He certainly seems like a bright guy and I had to reluctantly agree with a lot he said. I did have a couple of issues with him though. First, his view of the cold war. I'm sure that the threat from the Soviets was exaggerated, but Vidal would have you believe that the Russians wanted nothing but to be our friends but we, being blinded by anti communism, insisted on war. I could be wrong, but this is how I interpreted him.

Secondly, his view on religion. I know many on here are anti-religious, but Vidal takes it to another level. "The great unmentionable evil at the center of our culture is monotheism.....Let us dwell upon the evils they have wrought. The hatred of blacks comes straight from their bad book. As descendants of Ham, blacks are forever accursed, while Saint Paul tells the slaves to obey their masters. Racism is in the marrow of the bone of the true believer...So we must live-presumably forever-with a highly enervating race war, set in train by the one God and his many hatreds."

Wow. That is harsh indeed. Do any of you guys really agree with that??