Frasch Ideas—Examine, Inquire, Explore

Some Political Thoughts

• Posted by Theresa on November 6th, 2006 filed in My Musings

Normally I don’t “do” politics, at least I don’t discuss them. I do vote and try to make right decisions, but I usually feel like I don’t have enough knowledge to debate politics. Especially with my friends who are such strong Bush supporters that they can rattle off sound bites like nobody’s business. It really annoys me but I usually don’t say anything because I don’t know what to say. I just keep to myself and vote the way I want to, the way I think will do the most good.

But here are some political thoughts I have run across recently that I thought were interesting and/or thought provoking. I have given credit where credit is due.

That last point is what matters most. This election, nowhere should it be about the individual politicians. Sad as it is, the party is all that matters. If you elect representatives who are in the same party as the President, you are electing a blank check for him to continue the disastrous path he’s put us on. If you elect the opposite party, you are electing somebody who might, just might, stand up to the President and say, woah, slow down, we’re on a bandwagon that’s rolling out of control.

Rob Knop http://brahms.phy.vanderbilt.edu/~rknop/blog/?p=115

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It is worth noting, therefore, that we have elected a president who seems to imagine that whenever he closes his eyes in the Oval Office-wondering whether to go to war or not to go to war, for instance-his intuitions have been vetted by the Creator of the universe. Speaking to a small group of supporters in 1999, Bush reportedly said, “I believe God wants me to be president.” Believing that God has delivered you unto the presidency really seems to entail the belief that you cannot make any catastrophic mistakes while in office. One question we might want to collectively ponder in the future: do we really want to hand the tiller of civilization to a person who thinks this way?

Sam Harris http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15566391/site/newsweek/

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With midterm elections around the corner, I have been getting flooded with campaign material for local candidates for school board, various judgeships, and other local offices. One thing these materials have in common is that they all flaunt the Christian credentials of the person running for office.

From reading these materials, I learned that one for school board candidate has an MBA from a local Baptist college, is “conservative on discipline issues,” and is a member of the largest Baptist church in town. A candidate for circuit court judge attended this same Baptist college and is a member of another Baptist church in the community.

This is a transparent strategy to convince voters that they should vote for someone because he or she is one of them, a believer. I’m much more interested to learn where candidates stand on relevant issues and the scope of their professional experience. Since the school board candidates do not provide any information about their stance on evolution or prayer in school, it is hard to know who deserves my vote. I have to conclude that their need to flaunt their religious beliefs is a bad sign. Thus, I plan to reward the few candidates who do not do this with my support.

These midterm elections are important for America. I am convinced that the Democrats are the lesser of two evils and would very much like to see them retake Congress. I’ve never been a single-issue voter, but it generally seems that Democrats are more interested in preserving church-state separation. This is important to me, even if it is not the only issue on which I compare candidates.

vjack http://atheistrevolution.blogspot.com/2006/11/vote-for-me-im-christian.html

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Dawkins looks forward to the day when the first US politician is honest about being an atheist. “Highly intelligent people are mostly atheists,” he says. “Not a single member of either house of Congress admits to being an atheist. It just doesn’t add up. Either they’re stupid, or they’re lying. And have they got a motive for lying? Of course they’ve got a motive! Everybody knows that an atheist can’t get elected.”

Richard Dawkins

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Almost every person who declares as an atheist has had to undergo a painful transformation, examining all the propaganda and social pressure to remain religious. This usually means that the atheist is a) capable of critical thinking, b) independent, c) less intimidated by ordinary fears and most importantly, d) refusing to be hypocritical. Perfect traits for what this country needs in its politicians.

Eve - Vashon, WA

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