If anything can be learned from the circus that surrounded the tragic ordeal of Terri Schiavo — well, aside from the need for all to decide what they want or not want done if found in a similar situation — is that language can get in the way of reasoned debate and turn dialogue into hatred.

Look at Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas. Thursday, after Schiavo died, he called the judges who consistently ruled in favor of Schiavo's husband, Michael, "arrogant, unaccountable and out-of-control."

Somehow, the one who seems arrogant here is DeLay for believing that he, and no one else, knows best. He needs to be held accountable for his out-of-control behavior by threatening the judicial system: "The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior, but not today."

DeLay is not alone in his arrogance; it cuts across the religious right and conservative Republicans who used Terri Schiavo's plight to push their social-conservative agenda, which is to reshape this nation into their image.

Rick Scarborough, acting chairman of the Judeo-Christian Council for Constitutional Restoration, said, "The Schiavo case demonstrates the mortal danger of giving judges the unbridled power of life and death."

The council will convene its first conference shortly with the theme "Confronting the Judicial War on Faith." According to a news release, among the topics to be considered at the conference will be "the right of Americans to publicly acknowledge God."

Funny, there didn't seem to be any restraint on publicly acknowledging God among those keeping vigil outside the hospice where Schiavo died. That's how language gets twisting. What the religious right wants is to implant its beliefs into law and turn this nation into its own private theocracy.

Another group weighing in on the Schiavo case is Life Decisions International, which bills itself as "dedicated to challenging the Culture of Death." "Death" is a bad word, so the more people those on the right can associate with the word "death," the more people they can vilify. Isn't it strange that the ones who would consider themselves as the Culture of Life spend their entire lives working to their ultimate reward, death and rising to heaven.

Then there is the Rev. Rob Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council, who said of Schiavo's death: "This is a new terrifying threshold of public sin and must be dealt with swiftly." Religions do like to have their followers believe they are always sinful and need atonement. Perhaps Schenck should consider that such a blanket condemnation of society is, in itself, a sin.

You are immoral. You sin. You worship death. Judges are arrogant and need to be reined in. None of these observations have any relevance or logical underpinnings because you are these things and judges are bad because the religions right and conservative Republicans lost. To to avenge themselves, they will punish everyone else.

I wonder, who really is pretending to play God here?