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Politics — Preferences — Home last changed 29 May 2008 |
i try to live my life by a few guiding principles, and this influences my perspectives on most other things... notably including politics. i have opinions on several issues which i think are pressing American society at present. these include —and are not limited to— civil rights, illegal immigration, separation of church and state, terrorism, and tobacco companies.
if you think America is on the right track in these areas, you're probably not going to agree with anything i'm going to say here.
there are several issues that fall under the heading of civil rights, including gay rights, gender inequality, and racism.
in short, leave everybody alone.
we've lost sight of the golden rule here. do unto others as you would have them do unto you. you don't want homosexuals to assault you and harass your relatives and friends, so leave them alone and let them live their lives.
the Bible speaks against gay–bashing: let he who is without sin cast the first stone. it doesn't say he who hasn't sinned as big or bad... it says he who is without sin. any sin at all. have you ever felt compelled to ask forgiveness for anything? if so, you're under a divine injunction that compels you to refrain from saying or doing anything against anyone.
in several sections of scripture, God specifically claims the right of judgment. by calling someone a sinner, you're taking the mantle of Judge away from God thus implying that you think your opinion is better than His. since this has got to be a sin, you're screwed. furthermore, it's a logical paradox since God could not have created something more intelligent or perfect than Himself. so if you believe the Bible to be the definitive reference for how you should live your life, you are in favor of leaving homosexuals alone. you just may not have known it until now.
with all of this in mind, the only logical course of thought for everyone is to leave everyone else alone. let people marry freely. let people adopt children if they wish. if you have faith in any higher power, you know that it will all be sorted out to everyone's satisfaction in the end. if you don't believe in a higher power or an ultimate destiny for humanity, then i don't see you having any moral objection to homosexuality in the first place so it's a nonissue for you.
very tidy solution, wouldn't you say?
this is just as stupid as racism. the whole concept of women being inferior —or superior— to men is just dumb. unfortunately, in this case, there is Biblical support for it. guess what... the Bible is wrong.
you raise your daughter to be a productive member of society. you want the best for her. and that's good. but somehow it's not enough; somehow your desires aren't the most important ones; somehow she doesn't get the life you want for her.
when she's five years old, you don't teach her that her own goals and desires will always be subject to the whims of the men around her. when she's ten years old, you don't tell her that she should diet and exercise so that her body will be more desireable to men. when she's fifteen years old, you don't teach her that her primary goal in life is to marry a man and provide him with healthy children. when she's eighteen years old, you don't send her into the world with the knowledge that she has the same education that her brother has but she'll never earn as much money as he will.
but she acquires this other knowledge anyway. you don't know how, and you don't always like it, but it's what shapes her from childhood to womanhood. and when she calls you in the middle of the night, crying that life isn't fair and being a woman is a burden instead of a blessing... you have no way of comforting her, because you know she's uncovered the truth.
life isn't fair. being a woman is a burden. being a man is sometimes a burden too, but men certainly have it better than women. because that's how we made our society.
and we know we're right, because the Bible says woman was created as a helper to man..? bullshit. the Bible was written by men; there's your explanation for why man was created first and woman from his rib, and why God and Jesus and the disciples are all male. the Bible was written by men, and every culture that reads it has developed gender discrimination. coincidence or conspiracy? hmm... doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out.
note that there is a world of difference between immigration and illegal immigration. that awkward word illegal is very important. i have no problem with cultural melting pots; my problem is with the economic diarrhea that results from people who aren't paying into the system being allowed to mooch off of it just because we're too nice to require them to either become citizens or shove off.
we do not have to be guilt–tripped into providing jobs, money, or social services for people who are not willing to become citizens of this country. they wouldn't do it for us, and turnaround is fair play. i sympathize with folks who wish to escape oppressive regimes, but where is the logic in giving jobs and low–cost housing to migrant workers (who then send US currency to their native countries without ever paying taxes on it) when our streets are choked with Americans who have nowhere else to go and no means of supporting themselves? how can we justify giving "free" (paid for by increasing taxes on US citizens) medical care to anyone who can get into our country while our own children are dying of malnourishment and neglect? so sorry folks; America must deal effectively with its own problems before we can give succor to the rest of the world.
in spite of my flawless logic, i agree that we cannot simply let a foreign national die in the lobby of a US hospital based on his inability to present proof of citizenship. i suggest that we should help him, but rather than defraying the cost by increasing the taxes and insurance premiums of US citizens we instead charge his government for his care. naturally, the foreign government will not pay... that's why the man came to the US in the first place. his government's debt to the US would begin to climb, and when it becomes clear that the US will not ever be fully compensated we will cut off all trade and loan arrangements with that nation. any "understandings" we might have about citizens of that country crossing the border (in either direction) would end. oh, and that thing about children born on US soil automatically becoming US citizens is bogus. if the parents don't put out any effort to become citizens, the child doesn't get automatic citizenship. after all, a friend who will not pay his debts is no friend at all.
the US is unable to provide food, clothing, shelter, education, and asylum to the rest of the world while caring for its own citizens... and on US soil, US citizens must always be priority #1.
it's hard to even know what to say about racism. i find the whole topic flabbergasting. there is no logic, no morality, no justification for racism. i can't comprehend the depravity that went into its origins, and i don't understand why we still cling to those hideous remnants of the past.
slavery was brought to the West long ago, by European explorers who discovered primitive tribal cultures in Africa. the tribes were slaughtered and subjugated and brought to colonies around the world, where they were sold as animals. they were beaten, butchered, and terrorized by their owners. they were treated, at best, as something less than human.
slavery was ended long ago, by an American President named Lincoln, who decided that the United States should finally join the rest of the world in condemning the practice of slavery. we went to war with ourselves over it, and freedom won. it seems that some folks missed the memo.
the war should never have been necessary, because the issue should never have come up. so some people have different pigments in their skin. a little bit of high school science explains why... there is no great proclamation by God that says dark–skinned people are less human than light–skinned people.
my first choice of action to combat racism would be making "terminal stupidity" a capital offense. you should have the right, in America, to believe whatever you want to believe. however, you should not have the right to deprive anyone else of life, liberty, or the pursuit of happiness; by doing so you declare yourself unfit for society and subject yourself to incarceration or death. so if you think a certain ethnicity of people are animals, and you act on it in any way, you forfeit your rights.
it makes no more sense to despise a person with dark skin than to hate a person with dark hair, or a tall person, or a skinny person. we're all just as human —and inhuman— as everybody else. get over it, or be euthanized.
according to the history books, America was founded with several ideals in mind and one of them was religious freedom. freedom implies choice. you're free to attend (or not attend) the church or churches of your choice. the Constitution of the United States does not once mention God.
the common belief seems to be that the Founding Fathers intended us to be free to pick among Christian religions— something like you can follow any faith you like, as long as you believe in God and Jesus Christ. but if you look at the official documents, you'll find they were deliberately vague. you can follow any faith you like, or none at all.
you may believe you have the God–given responsibility to harangue everyone who doesn't go to church every Sunday... but if you think it's supported by the laws of the United States, you're unequivocally wrong. you can wage a war to change the law if you want, but Americans resist things which defy the Constitution, and in this case you'll be one of those things.
this being the case, there is no basis for God being mentioned in the pledge of allegiance; the pledge is a political statement, not a religious one. there is no support for prayer in schools, or at football games. there is no reason why there must be any mention of God in any context outside of church. failing to mention God at every opportunity does not endanger the salvation of any Christian, and has the benefit of allowing non–Christians to live in peace.
you are free to believe whatever you like and you are also free to share those beliefs with anyone who is willing to listen. you are not, however, free to mandate that anyone else adopt your beliefs. you do not have the right to require children to recite religious propaganda. and you do not have the right to discriminate against anyone in any way based on their religion or lack thereof. if you don't like it, please feel free to pack your bags and move to a theocracy. we will not miss you.
terrorism is a much smaller threat than the White House makes it out to be. here's where i'm coming from.
first of all, not all terrorists are Islamic extremists. the IRA, Israelis/Palestinians, and various factions in the Balkans also qualify as terrorists under common definitions... as well as several groups within the US including the KKK. also, not all muslims are radicals. most of the Islamic world is perfectly content to let everybody live their own lives. so it's important to know that we're not talking about followers of Allah. we're talking about individuals who make it their life's mission to kill a bunch of people they've never met before and know nothing about, in the pursuit of some sociopolitical agenda. it's a relatively small number of people, from all religions and countries.
i think terrorists are kinda like snakes. they're generally content to leave you alone until you threaten them. when threatened, however, they'll do anything they can to eliminate the threat. example: the IRA has never bombed my house... and i've never picked a fight with an IRA member. coincidence? i think not. if i moved to Ireland and started shooting up IRA hangouts, i bet they would quickly make it their business to find out who i am and come knocking at my door.
there have always been, and will always be, differences of opinion... but differences of opinion are not life–threatening until someone flips out and pulls a gun. from what i can see, the US government has always made sure of two things: we have the biggest guns, and we draw first.
i'm no expert on the history of Islam, but i imagine that there have been extremists since the beginning of the religion. i'm confident in saying this because every religion has its zealots. and every religion has individual members whose beliefs are slightly out of phase with the mainstream... or who believe that they are the mainstream and it's everyone else who's a bit "off" in some way. Christianity fits this description too, so get off your high horse.
followers of Allah have been aware of US actions throughout the world as long as the US has been a world power. everybody knows our business, because we make everything our business. so why have there been terrorist attacks in the last few decades, when there were none in the 1920s? i think it has more to do with US activities than it does with the terrorists. i think terrorists strike when they're struck.
as soon as we can learn to mind our own business, to be a role model without being evangelistic about it, and to let other people live their own lives, we will discover that we're no longer in the crosshairs. refusing to give money and weapons to rebel insurgencies would be a good idea too.
here's my issue with tobacco companies: they're serial murderers.
seriously. cigarettes have only a few purposes. first, they kill you and everyone around you, like a slow–motion mushroom cloud. cigarettes are also great for population control, rotting the flesh in your mouth and throat, and making nasty scars on your skin. and they make a bunch of faceless suits incredibly rich.
think about that for a minute. you're paying for the privilege of killing yourself and your children, and somebody is getting rich off of your slow and painful deaths. i would not be surprised at all to learn that the federal government subsidizes the cigarette industry, or that the tobacco companies have contributed enough to US Presidential candidates to pay off the national debt.
cigarettes are addictive. that means once you start smoking, it gets harder and harder to stop. but it never becomes impossible. people quit every day. cold turkey... ffft, that was the last cigarette they ever smoke. they finally realize what they're doing to themselves and the people they love, and they just quit. there are also people who want to help you quit. trained professionals as well as volunteers. people with nothing better to do than sit around waiting for you to come in and say "i really need to quit; please help me."
the suits make this crap, and they sell it. because it sells. people buy this crap. a lot of it. over and over and over and over. friggin energizer smokers. the suits know what cigarettes are doing, and they know they can make a lot of money off getting people hooked. so that's what they do. they don't care about you, or your family. they just want to kill you, and take your money. serial murderers.
if you're not a smoker, and you want to make a difference in the world, leave the abortion clinics and the gay rights activists alone. instead, start harassing the people who work for tobacco companies. they're killing you, and your children, and your friends. they're killing babies who haven't even been born yet. the suits are in this up to the neck. there's no such thing as ignorance or innocence anymore; there's nobody left who just doesn't understand the risks of smoking. the suits know exactly what they're selling, and they keep doing it anyway. because it's not cool enough to pick up a gun and blow you away... they're going to let your friends and family members pressure you into picking up the gun, and they're going to sell you the bullets one pack at a time.
make a statement: ffft.