Tuesday, July 11, 2006

The 10 Greatest Sins of the Right

I am mostly a conservative. I suppose you'd call me a neo-con. But I have some strong disagreements with the right, and here are a few of them:

1. Conservatives manage to court Hispanic voters, but neglect African-Americans.

2. They cede groups of people, like the young, the old, the Blacks, the hip, Hollywood, and the Universities.

3. They are too religious.

4. They worry too much about pornography.

5. They are too much in our private lives. Get out of the abortion debate.

6. They are ignorant of science, as in stem cell research.

7. They defend the indefensible, like tobacco companies.

8. They defend their crooked buddies, as in Ken Lay.

9. They want to seem like nice guys. They don’t know how to take the gloves off.

10. They spend at least as much money as the Left.

2 comments:

Henry Martin said...

What you are is a libertarian. As I have scrolled down you page (going "back in time") I have seen that you are for the particular "social evils" by which we on the right define ourselves. There is a definite "spin" in your so-called proscience stand when it comes to religion and life matters.

It is curious that being "too religious" is a "sin" in your book. I think that the thought of morality, as defined by the Bible (our true standard for TRUTH), somehow scares you. Pornography is a real problem, and so is abortion. To avoid them is the real "sin" of anyone in politics.

If you want us to "put down our Bibles and pick up the science book" when it comes to truth, then you are definitely putting a "spin" on the Truth.

Science is looking at the facts: And it is a FACT that a unique human LIFE beigins at conception (= fertilization). To favor destroying that life, either for convenience (abortion) or advantage (embryonic stem cell research) is to deny truth and to apply spin.

Rock said...

Henry,

Thank you for your comment. I went to your site and like it.

This is an important communication for me, so important, Henry, that I am going to make it my next post. I will leave your name out of it, but forgive me for going public with this.

I’m not a libertarian, as I believe in government intervention, and even “big government,” with such things as the environment, food and drug safety, defense, and support for science. I am libertarian, as you say, on some issues. I don’t want the government in my personal business. I want them out of my bedroom and morals.

What you are is a right-wing, conservative, fundamentalist Christian. What I don’t like about fundamentalists, of any religion, and about most organized religions, is their intolerance. I don’t like people having the gall to think they have a direct pipeline to God and that I don’t. I don’t respect anyone who is not open to God speaking to them now, right now, and instead relying on what people a long time ago said about God speaking to them.

I also do not like fundamentalists because of their moral certainty. They consider their values as “facts.” As you say, it is a “fact” to you that a unique human life begins at conception. I know that even the Catholic church has a long-standing debate about the moment when the human soul enters the body. Some say it’s at conception; others say it’s at birth; and still others say it happens somewhere in-between.

The fundamentalist Muslim “knows” that Allah wants him to blow up women and children; the fundamentalist Jew is certain that Yahweh has set aside Ha Aretz for the Jews; and the fundamentalist Christian has been told by God that anyone who doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ is going to hell. Fundamentalism has caused jihads, the blowing up of mosques, the Inquisition, and 9/11.

If you are religious, I respect you very much, as long as you respect me. I know that you are trying to listen to God, trying to live a good life, and struggling to be decent to your fellow human beings. These are all good. I stop respecting you when you believe God is talking to you and not me, that you are better than me because of your beliefs, or that God is telling you to hurt me.

Religion has been a force for great good in the world, and great evil. The evil, in my opinion, always comes from the fundamentalists. The good comes from people struggling to know the truth, straining to know what God wants, in humility. My advice for you is: yes, listen to what is written in the Bible, heed the teachings of your church, but don’t turn a deaf ear to what is happening at this moment. God is talking to you now. Do you hear Him? Is He speaking just to you? Or is He talking to me too?

Thanks again, Henry, for your comment, and God bless you.

Rock