...and if they rise far enough, will throw the election to Obama.
Look, people, the Nation is not ready for a "conservative values" debate. The Nation is ready to see if and how government can improve the economy, while at the same time reducing it's own costs to future generation. This is the ONE message the Right must hammer home if it wants to wrest leadership from the Left, not the ONE message about their ONE God, and all the religious doctrine which goes with that message.
Do we need more God in our lives? Maybe. Is our need so important that we should drop everything and elect those who would put that job first? No, No, No, a thousand times no.
The evangelicals have always been with the Right (yes, yes, I know that there are a few on the Left, too), and their influence has waxed and waned over the years, mostly in regard to various pecadillos of politicians. As if those right-wing evangelicals don't have the occasional pecadillo THEMSELVES, hmmm? More than occasional, hmmm?
The (D)onk wrecking crew has had their merry way with the US economy for 4+ years, and they simply have to be retired in order to save our economy. If they are retired, and if the economy CAN be saved, and WHEN it IS saved, THEN we might talk about righteousness and it's place in our society.
Until then, Praise the Lord, AND pass the ammunition.
Scott, in reference to your Point #1, if you are NOT using the "Thinking" part of your brain to make important decisions such as who to vote for, then you have answered your own question in your Point #4. If your "guiding principles" do not mesh with your "thinking principles", then, my friend, you have been hornswoggled by whoever wrote your "guiding principles". You are, by definition, a cult victim.
It's perfectly possible to have your thinking principles mesh with your guiding principles. You just have to pick a different flavor of religion to hang your hat on, that's all. I followed my father's example and refused to impose religious education on my children. One of the three of them (the fourth can't make those choices, unfortunately) picked evangelical Christianity, and the other two a less stringent flavor of Christianity.
Choices, Scott, choices. As to MY flavor of religion, yes, I do, in fact, believe that Good Works are necessary to get into heaven. I'm probably some sort of Protestant in that belief, but I've never bothered to try to qualify which flavor of Protestantism I would call myself. When I HAD to make a choice, for my military dogtags, I just put "Protestant" and it was good enough for the military. Most of the Chaplains and most of the services in the military were one-size-fits-all Protestant anyway. Yes, I DID go to Services, and yes, I think it did me some good to go to them.
Posted by: Rivrdog | March 23, 2011 at 09:33
1. So, basically I should use the "thinking" part of my brain and set aside my guiding principles and values to support a candidate who is fiscally conservative, yet socially liberal? In a nutshell, no. Been there, done that. Has nothing to do with "religious dogma" at all. But if being a "Thinker" means that I should compromise my value system just to get someone voted out of office, I'll pass. As will millions of other like minded indidviduals.
2. Executing Criminals = abortion? Really? No difference? One is defenseless, the other a criminal who has committed a violent crime and knew prior to the committing of the crime what the punishment will be...c'mon..
3. Doing Good works has never been a prerequisite of reaching Heaven in most Religions.
4. Could it possibly be that a lack of guiding principles, lack of a clear vision, and following the dogma of the "Thinkers" is what got us into this mess?
Posted by: scottw | March 23, 2011 at 04:42
Oh, I dunno, Scott. I've always believed that the power of THOUGHT is at least equal to the power of ANY religion's dogma, and superior to most of it. I can think of few REAL thinkers without a moral compass. Every one you might care to name will be found not to be a THINKER, but merely an extra-cunning animal. Animals, of course, do not THINK.
Abortion should always be un-necessary for the THINKING couple (yes, the MAN also gets an abortion, since it was his co-equal decision to make the baby). I am anti-abortion to the degree that thinking people ALL are: it's un-necessary and therefore wasteful, and waste of ANYTHING is stupid. Is waste of human life MORE stupid? That's debatable. You would probably have to be religious, or possess an adherence to religious dogma to decide that waste of HUMAN life is more stupid than any other waste. If you DO decide that, then you can also never kill another human without the sure knowledge that you have committed just as great a sin as an abortionist. The trouble is, most members of the Righteous Right bear down on abortion as the most horrible of horrors, but think nothing of executions of criminals, deaths in deliberate war or even traffic deaths (most of which are preventable, and therefor, not "accidents").
Moral Compass? Man does good works not because of a love of Good, but because it's the most efficient way to conduct life. I've been told I have done Good Works, yet I don't follow any religious dogma. I have good friends who profess to be religious, and I respect them for the way they live, I just don't choose to follow their religion.
Do I believe in a super-being (God)? MAYBE. I can't prove there isn't one, and you can't prove to me that there is one. That's a null set, in my book. Yes, I occasionally attribute good fortune to a benevolent God. I have a 50% chance of being right about that, don't I? I occasionally beseech that un-named God to provide some otherwise-unobtainable relief for some reason. I have an unknown chance of that happening, don't I? If it happens, I can either thank that un-named God or not, that is MY choice.
It's all about thought, Scott, not religion.
Posted by: Rivrdog | March 22, 2011 at 16:53
Well, we have to have some type of moral compass do we not? I believe a society, such as ours, dies from within. But I have seen this coming for years....I mean what would or can anyone expect from a society that allows the killing of the unborn to go on unpunished. I am a Christian, but I also allow for all Faiths under my roof. Always have, always will....But in terms of politics, or what type of leader or candidate I will back, I have not in the past, not in the present, nor will I in the future vote for any candidate who is pro choice.....It is not the only requirement, but a deal stopper for me. Just my 2 cents...
Posted by: scottw | March 22, 2011 at 04:01