In my view, Republicans have managed to do something both sinister and genius at the same time: convince Christian's that a vote for them is a vote against our nation's downward spiral away from God. They'll point to the School Prayer Decision, a decision in such-and–such a community to disallow the nativity scene or the Ten Commandments in front of the courthouse. They'll say all this is evidence that the "secular progressives" (the current term for "liberal") are trying to take power and turn our Christian Nation away from God, and something must be done.
Listen to Glen Beck. Watch O'Rielly and his "Culture Wars". Listen to the rhetoric that comes out of the mouths of Sarah Palin and Newt Gengrich. They have attacked the current Ground Zero Mosque issue like a pack of dolphins to a school of tuna, eager to show concerned Americans how "Christian" they are in an election year. (And in my opinion, they are ignoring the Constitution and common decency in the process.) They mercilessly attacked the President for fulfilling his oath and defending the Constitution.
Think about it. If you study Republican talking points as a whole, the message they are trying to sell is that government is both the cause of and solution to our nation's apparent wickedness.
The Republicans have one thing right. Wickedness (sin) in our nation is a problem. But the lie they are selling my fellow Christians is that they (Republicans) can change it. Obviously, Sin has been a problem since Eve ate the Apple. Yes, our nation is digressing on moral ground in a lot of areas (recreational sex, pornography, abortion etc.) but we are progressing in others (racism, civil rights).
I am not saying Christians shouldn't be concerned with society's moral downfall. I am saying your vote at the ballot box can do nothing about it. The only way for Christians to make a difference morally in our society is the same way we've always done it. First, see what "wickedness" is in your life and correct it. Then do what God is asking you to do by helping teach others to do the same in Christ Jesus. Of couse, that is a lot harder than attending a Tea Party rally and blaming the Democrats for our nation's moral downfall.
When it comes to your responsibility at the ballot box, of course you should vote based on your faith. I hope you don't think I am saying otherwise. Just think about what the parties stand for on all the issues instead of buying everything the Republicans are selling you, hook line and sinker.
Crime: Republicans want to lock criminals up and throw away the key. Democrats want to make a more concerted effort to rehabilitate criminals and bring them back into society. Christ is for forgiveness. Heck, Christ is Forgiveness.
Welfare: Republicans want to drastically cut welfare in efforts to get the recipients of such programs back to work. Democrats want to provide a safety net for the most vulnerable among us. Christ was for taking care of the poor. He told us taking care of the poor was like taking care of Him.
Abortion: Republicans want to make abortion illegal. Done. Problem solved. Democrats are actually making steps to reduce the number of abortions by trying to help troubled pregnant women with government services, so they might be able to afford to keep the child and teaching students about the importance of contraception.
Immigration: Some Republicans want to repeal the 14th amendment's clause that says anyone born in the United States is a citizen so that illegal immigrates can't come here and drop their "anchor babies" or worse, so terrorists can't come here and drop their "terror babies." Democrats think that is the stupidest thing they've ever heard. Christ said "Let the little children come to me…"
Global Warming/ Environment: Republicans won't even acknowledge Global Warming as a real concern. Most of the time, they are not in favor of making environmentally conscious decisions if it means cutting profits. Democrats think environmental issues such as Global Warming are a major concern and are aggressively trying to acknowledge and fix the problem. God commanded us to take care of the earth.
Health Care: Democrats are at least trying to fix our nation's health care system and are attempting to provide for those who cannot afford adequate coverage. Republicans refuse to admit there is a major problem and are using health care reform as a wedge issue instead of coming to the table with solutions. Christ healed all who asked.
Look, I am not suggesting Democrats are correct in all their views. I am not saying Republicans don't have any valid ideas. All of these issues require very complex solutions. In no way, do I adhere to any particular Party line. I am just suggesting that I don't believe Christ would want us to follow one party so blindly.
Just remember, Republicans do this for only one reason: We are stupid enough to fall for it.
Well Courtney, first off, I would like to say it was a pleasure reading your blog. I followed a link that you posted on a TYT clip on YouTube.
ReplyDeleteIt is pleasant to find a Christian, especially a born again Evangelical (known, maybe unfairly, for having very hard right view points), that has such "radical leftist" view points about Christ and Christianity. While I am not a Christian by any measure (I follow no religion, but am not exactly an Atheist, so let's just use Rationalist, for the sake of labelling), I do hold very similar views of Christ and Christianity that you seem to from your posts here.
I think that while I may not believe in God as you do, Christianity, as laid out in the Bible, is a very good thing, and I truly applaud you for finding this path to God. However, I believe that too many people have perverted the word of Jesus and the word of God to suit their own agendas, and far too many people have blindly followed these charlatans. But people like you give me faith (in the non-ironic sense) that there are actually people in this world who do truly read, analyze and absorb what is written in the book that they claim to base their entire belief system on, instead of just letting someone force feed them twisted tidbits.
To quote Mohandas Gandhi; "I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ."
Sorry for my rant about what I see as the major issue with modern Christianity. It is, again, refreshing to find someone who is not a blind sheep, unquestioningly eating up whatever is fed to you.
I know that we will, and do disagree on issues (as not being religious, I do not share your beliefs on gays), at least I have the sense that you are willing to engage in intellectual discourse and actually listen and think, which far too many people have forgotten how to do.
Anyways, sorry for the longish rant, and keep up the good work.
Wow.. Thanks for the remarks. I am glad to see what I am doing is having somewhat of a difference.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I would disagree with you characterizing me as a "radical leftest." I like to think I am more of an "outspoken centrist."
The biggest reason I don't consider myself a Leftest is the Leftest idea that the best way to pay for all these ideas and programs they have is to raise the tax on the uber-rich. In Kennedy's day, the tax rate on the top brackets was upwards of 70%. That is way too much. Now it is closer to 50%, and that still may be too high. If I made a million dollars, I would probably pitch a fit if I had to write the government a $500k check. Presumably, that would be money that I worked very hard for. Of course, I must admit, that would be a great problem to have. And, I am not defending those who make their millions in questionable, unethical ways. Those people need to pay every cent we can pry from them.
One thing I think most people forget is that there are two spectrum to look at; social and economical. You seem to lean heavily to the left on the social scale, while, as you say, you have a center to center-right bent on the economics. Which is awesome.
ReplyDeletePersonally; I am a socialist. However, I believe in little to know income taxes. What I do believe in is high, 25%+ VATs (value added taxes). So, you get every cent you earn, however, if you want to buy something that you don't *need*, you pay.
However, there is good arguments to have the taxes back as high as they were in the 1950-70's (today in the US it's actually about 25% for top income bracket, not 50%, just fyi), is that it forced the top executives to reinvest in the companies, spending on R&D and jobs, rather than pocketing it, and, a lot of the time, taking that money out of the country. And if you look at it, that time period was when the US was the economic power house of the world, and envied by most western countries. But, you're right, I would have a hard time justifying taxes up to 91%, that's a little ridiculous.
I looked it up. The top bracket is 35% for over $380,000. I thought it was higher than that. I stand corrected.
ReplyDeleteSo far, my blog has been about social issues. I just haven't commented on economic issues, mainly because I am not that educated on them. I will say the idea of having programs you can't pay for is, of course, crazy.
I call it "Thoughts From The Christian Left" because, since most Christians today seem to be getting more and more polarized towards the right, the "Christian left" is, in actuality, the center.
Wouldn't a VAT tax system increase the price of the non-essentials, thus reducing their sales, thus slowing the growth of our economy, thus making the situation much worse? I get that we would theoretically have more money because our paychecks would be bigger (as there would be no income tax) but wouldn't just cause massive inflation and shrink the purchasing power of the dollar?
But, like I said, I am no economist, so maybe there's something I'm missing.
Yeah, I don't want to get into economics much either. Just a note on the high VAT; you are correct, that it would make non-essentials more expensive, however, when combined with lower income taxes it actually has a positive effect on the economy.
ReplyDeleteI like to look at the Scandinavian countries for inspiration, because, end of the day, they live longer, better lives on average than we do in North America, and they have lower income taxes than we do, with a VAT in the 25% neighbourhood, fully funded post secondary education, public health care that covers over 80% of all medical costs, including pharmacare, dental care, etc., and it costs them less per capita and is a smaller percentage of their GDPs than the US or Canada (I have a few theories as to why).
Either way, we can leave the economic discussion. As I said before, on social issues, you are a definite lefty, and thus your title is most suitable.
Perhaps so. It is fruitless to compare our country to other countries because we spend a higher precentage of our GNP on the military than other countries (if I'm not mistaken).
ReplyDeleteThat is very true. The US spends more on military than all other NATO countries combined, by far. But I wasn't looking at comparing, just saying that, in my mind, the way these countries go about things is much closer to the ideal.
ReplyDelete