Friday, July 02, 2004
Idiotic W News for the Day...
Bush Seeks to Mobilize Religious Conservatives:
"In a move sharply criticized both by religious leaders and civil libertarians, the Bush-Cheney campaign has issued a guide listing about two-dozen 'duties' and a series of deadlines for organizing support among conservative church congregations."
AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Martie and I are making contingency plans to move to New Zeland. Anyone else wanna come?! Hey, maybe Ben can come to our housewarmings!!!!!!!
I also think it's time to start revoking non-profit status for some churches. If they are going to start acting as political entities, they need to start being treated like them. That means taxation and government regulation!
posted by Kimber
at 10:23 AM ::
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Thursday, July 01, 2004
The Reagan-Bush Legacy
I am probably the last person on the internet to get this article, but my good friend Shirley sent it to me and I just HAD to share it. It's so cool, so angry and so true. LOLOL
He was a madman by Colin Shea
Enjoy all. :oD
posted by Kimber
at 2:54 PM ::
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Tuesday, June 29, 2004
Love it or leave it
A valid statement in and of itself. It's the philosophy behind so many of the freedoms we hold dear today. If you don't like what the music says, turn off the radio. If you don't like what the movie says, change the channel. If you don't like what the church says, leave. If you don't like what the email says, delete it. You are free to do this so that the ones who want to have their say can do so.
Let's examine that for a minute. Someone writes a book about beating his wife and sleeping with all 4 of his daughters at the same time. Disgusting to most people. I sure as hell wouldn't buy it. But according to the First Amendment, he has every right to write this book and if he can find a publisher to buy it, he can sell it. And as much as people scream for censorship of things they consider indecent i.e. pornography, the right to publish/distribute these things will never be completely abridged because the minute it is, someone will go after something they find offensive but other people don't. The Slippery Slope argument. A valid point of view and in the aforementioned instances I wholeheartedly agree. You can't and shouldn't change or censor something someone writes or creates or their religion and you shouldn't force exposure to it on someone who doesn't want to be so exposed.
BUTLet's look at it from a different perspective.
America: Love it or Leave it.
(America is a democratic/capitalistic society but for the purposes of this ramble I will focus on the democratic part. And most of my initial commments will be framed in the "Ideal Scenario" rather than how things have actually been done.)
A government of the people, by the people, for the people. When the constitution was drafted, it was created as a living document. In other words, it wasn't intended to be a staid, inflexible, unchanging set of rules carved in stone and never to be questioned. There was written into the process the ability to amend it when situations within the nation called for it.
We, the people, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and out posterity do ordain and establish this constitutuion for the united states of america.(Thanks Schoolhouse Rock :oD )
The people elect the person they feel will be most likely to represent their best interest in the governing body (congress). They trust that person to represent them to the best of their ability. Making sure that no laws are passed that will be detrimental to their interests while establishing other laws that will be beneficial. And the theory is that with congresspeople from every state working for the best interests of the people they represent and the whole body of congress working for the best interest of the country at large everything will work out fine for everyone.
I will stop the euphoric picture here because we all know this ain't how it works. For hundreds of reasons including people not voting, special interest money, greedy, corrupt politicians, a crippling two party system.... You get the idea.
So, what about the minority american. And I'm not just talking about racial minorities. I also include ideological minorities, particularly, because I am in one. How do we get represented in a democracy? Unfortunately, we don't it would seem. Those of us who feel that something is wrong but are in the minority aren't brought to the table to be helped into the process, to be negotiated with and compromised with. We are told "Tough shit, you don't like it, leave. You don't think like everyone else you're not worthy to be an american, just pack up your crystals and incense and get your peace-mongerin' ass the hell out." Well, I was born here, where am I supposed to go? I am an american by birthright. Some of my ancestors were here before the europeans realized the earth isn't flat!
There's a cute term that some politicians are using for folks like me.
Disinfranchised Somehow the fact that I now have an official label doesn't make me feel much better because I still have no voice. And the current administration is just enabling this process of disinfranchising the minorities. We can stand on the mountaintop and scream at the top of our lungs and we are written off as insignificant, unimportant, irrelevant. But as society in america grows, there are more and more minorities, each with their own agendas. Native Americans and African Americans have always been the most vocal and with the most obvious claims. There is no denying that the united states government broke treaties, stole lands and committed genocide against the tribes of North America. It's well documented in the government's own records. And you can't argue that Africans were kidnapped from their homelands, brought here against their will and forced into slavery. Again, it's in the government's own records. Now if
THESE groups, who have irrefutable PROOF of their greivances against the government can't get a word in edgewise, let alone redress, how are a bunch of tree-huggers, pagans, pacifists or animal lovers going to fare?
They don't have a snowball's chance in the firey furnace. Trust me. I can't tell you how many times I have entered a conversation with "But if we could change this..." and been cut off with "This is america, love it or leave it." We don't have a voice. We don't have a choice. We are the minority and when the majority that rules are the "I got mine and I wanna keep it" "I'm in charge so I can tell you how to live" types we are screwed.
I mentioned Schoolhouse Rock earlier and I must say that now, 30 odd years later, as I watch them with my kids I feel robbed. I used to be proud to be an american because america stood for something. We were the Great American Melting Pot. Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breath free, the wretched refuse from your teaming shores, I lift my lamp beside the golden door. (9th grade chorus lol) We rooted for the little guy and the underdog, we were the small towns where everyone knew everyone else and their business, you checked on the old folks and went to town picnics. Even in the big cities, the neighborhoods were like small towns. You are only as strong as your weakest link, so you worked hard to strengthen all the links. Now you cut the weak links out and chuck em. America was about making the best country possible. Taking care of all americans lifting everyone up. It's not about that anymore. It's about finding the ones you like and getting rid of the rest. Calling them unamerican, unpatriotic because they don't fit your view of what an american OUGHT to be so you don't feel so bad about cutting them out of the process.
I'm not proud to be an american anymore. I don't like america right now. It's cold-hearted and mean and nasty and greedy. It's self-centered, self-important and self-riteous. But I'm not going to leave it. It's my home. I was born here. Raised here. I love america. I know it can be better than this because I've seen it. And I will die here. God and Godess willing it will be a better place when that happens.
I will keep trying until it does.
posted by Kimber
at 1:47 PM ::
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Monday, June 28, 2004
Politics and religion
These are the two topics we were always taught that you don't talk about at social gatherings. They are the two subjects that always get people worked up and emotional. But an interesting question came up in my Pagan Egroup over the weekend that I have pondered on and off over the years but never very seriously. "Can you talk about politics without religion or visa versa?" My knee jerk reaction is "Of course you can". I am a firm believer in the separation of church and state. I think it protects one from the other and is neccessary to prevent human beings from using one or the other or both to opress others.
But realistically speaking, the purpose of both is to provide rules and codes for people to live by and under which society is expected to function. So how does one function in the same airspace as the other one without clashing. Obviously it doesn't in practice. But in their purest forms, one as secular and one as spiritual, how can they both function in harmony. This could be an entire dissertation as I sit here and think about it. And the only spanner in the works is human beings. I could go off for days about what a huge genetic mistake I think human beings are but I will save that for later.
When I first started on my spiritual search for my path to deity, I hit a lot of bumps in the road. Being raised fundamentalist, I had to get over the concept that there's only one right path. If this is right then everything else is wrong and how do you choose the right path and what happens if you choose wrong? You know, that whole thing. I had hours and hours of arguements with my then more eclectic, less christian husband over "Objective Right". There has to be something that is Objectively Right in the universe or everything is just chaos. Everything has to be black or white. Right or wrong. For us or against us. And I can see where that is a very comfortable place to be if you think you know what the Right is. And it makes it very easy to make rules. That's why the fundamentalists get such a kick out of being politicians. Because they think they know what's right and are just dying to make rules to fit that.
Which brings me back to my question of how can politics and religion exist in a separate but equal state. And the answer is, unfortunately, that they can't while the human element is involved. Most human beings (fundamentalists in particular) are incapable of separating the two in their own minds. Fundamentalists think that their holy books are the direct dication of the word of god and as such should be the rule and law of the land because god is the Supreme Being. So when having a discussion about the legality of abortion or gay marriage with a fundamentalist politician, you won't be having a rational, secular discussion about the political and societal ramifications of these issues. They will inevitably be coming from the perspective of what their holy book says rather than what is best for society as a whole. They will argue that the two are one and the same which is the crux of the problem. No two denominations of christianity interpret the bible the same. Otherwise there wouldn't be more than one denomination. The same can be said for muslim and the koran. And this again, brings us back to the concept of Objective Right. They will all staunchly affirm that their interpretation is the right one, all the others are misguided or evil and going to hell or wherever muslims go if they have been bad. Which brings us back to the very reason why, as long as the human element is involved, politics and religion can't and shouldn't coexist.
There should be a separation of the two in everyone's minds. Politics should be completely secular, only taking into account the public's physical and societal welfare. Schools should teach good citizenship and how to get along with the rest of the world as a society. They should encourage kids to learn about other members of their scholastic society, their culture, customs, languages, etc. Religion should be completely spiritual, caring for the individual's metaphysical and community welfare. Churches should increase their community involvement
with their own funding to assist people in their spiritual lives as needed. Families should instill values in their children that perpetuate their own and if that includes religion, great.
And if there comes a meeting between a pagan and a christian or a muslim and a christian and they just can't get along, they should just go their separate ways and leave each other alone. Stay within their own community where their mutual value system supports them. And they can live according to their own values without forcing it on others. Jehovahs Witnesses can't have blood transfusions because it's against their religion. No one argues that. It does no harm to society or anyone elses spirituality. This can get tough, especially when children are involved. Christian Scientists have been bashed forever for letting their children die without medical attention. Personally I find it sad. But it doesn't harm society as a whole and they aren't forcing anyone else to do it so it isn't harming anyone elses spirituality. And if we are all going to live together on this planet and let each other follow our chosen paths, this is what is going to be required. No one ever said life was going to be easy. And if you think it's tough to get a whole family who grew up with each other all the way through Thanksgiving dinner without bloodshed, just increase that exponentially to relate to getting the whole planet through this life in one piece.
So. The result of my remunerations has to be that no, you can't have a conversation about politics without religion or visa versa. And you shouldn't talk about either of them at Thanksgiving dinner.
posted by Kimber
at 10:04 AM ::
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