Not a great picture but I worry that we have less and less freedom in a country that ought to stand for freedom (and liberty and justice for all). We've had erosions in our rights to freedom of speech, privacy and separation of church and state. Tap my phone, spy on my internet and library use, and tell me the next President of the United States has to be a Christian. What's next?
I don't want to pick any fights here, but I find it offensive that many people in this country would pick a candidate for president not on the basis of his/her qualifications for office but based on religion alone. I heard an interview of an Evangelical Christian saying that she would not vote for Romney because he wasn't a Christian. What's more, neither were Catholics considered Christian by this woman. Forgive me for being naive and thinking Catholics and Mormons were Christian, but this is beside the point. My question is what does that have to do with American politics? I'm not voting for the man but it has nothing to do with his religion or mine. I'd gladly vote for an atheist, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Jew, woman, African American, Asian American or gay, lesbian, bisexual or transsexual individual if he/she fits my criteria for who is best to run this country. I would cheerfully vote the adulterer back into office if it would solve this country's bigger problems.
Nowadays all it seems to take to win the presidency is a rich, famous father and an insincere conversion to the "right kind" of Christianity. If you were pro-Choice last week, that's OK, recant and everyone will believe you. Oh, and no stem cell research unless your family member suddenly develops Parkinson's Disease. Then you can change your mind freely.
Preach family values to me and mine and it becomes O.K. if you cheat on your wife, your son is gay, your daughters are alcoholics and you try to seduce teenage interns. Actually I don't mind if your son is gay as long as you attend his marriage to another guy and if your daughters are alcoholics if you admit that you too are powerless over drugs and alcohol.
Forgive my rant. I couldn't help myself. And no hate mail, please. It's a free country, isn't it?
By the way, I read banned books too. Below are two books on the ALA list of most challenged books of 2006.
10 comments:
I dont' think you'll get any hate comments not for such a great post as this.
I'm going over to Yahoo to see whether I can get a clearer picture. I only see a lady's face and hands?
Sarala, I agree 100 percent with 90 percent of your rant. But I have a problem with voting for Romney because of his Mormonism. Maybe I could vote for a non-practicing Mormon, but I have read enough about what Mormons actually believe and practice to know that I would never vote for a practicing Mormon, no more than I would ever vote for a practicing Pentacostalist (think John Ashcroft, Pat Robertson, etc.) What they believe is fundamentally incompatible with my vision of what America should be about, and I think beliefs are important.
...and they also all have to have southern accents.
good post.
Thanks for your support. I hate sticking my neck out but the interview I heard on the radio really stuck in my craw.
We read banned books too. :^)
bravo! if more would stick there necks out, we might find our way back to sanity as a country again!!!
Thank you for the ALA banned book link.
What you have done is risking the ire of the conservative bloggers. I have been hesitant to do that, so I admire you. When I come across a blog that has a link to "The TRUTH about Homosexuality and Christianity," I cringe and respond politely to the post I read for a meme and move on.
The time has come to challenge this crap. I have to overcome my fears of confrontation and retribution (which are valid fears: there seem to be no boundaries on right wing mud-slinging).
I worked at a church bazaar Saturday where a man felt free to promote his angry bigotry. My victory was that I spoke up. Now I know that I have the ability to draw a line and say "no, you are no longer free to promote hate in our society."
Because of your post I realize that I have to become to do this on the blog.
I couldn't agree with you more on this. We've lost control over the governemnt. So much for 'of the people, by the people and for the people' now it's all about who has the money and the connections. If Bush were running some small country some where else we would be all over him for war crimes.
As for the banned books, I've been reading them for years and now I have my daughters reading them.
Aw, come on, Self Taught Artist! "...and they also all have to have southern accents."
I admit I live in the Bible Belt, but that does NOT make me a Pentacostalist or a racist or biased in the way even YOU appear to be ... against anyone who happens to be Southern.
Rayne, I've given banned books to my GRANDchildren. My 8-year-old granddaughter helps me review them:
http://bannedbookschallenge.blogspot.com/
Well,let's not all fight over whether there are more fundamentalists in the south or the north. I think most of us have our hearts in the right place.
Glad to hear there are so many banned books readers and I'm glad there are many of us giving them to our kids too. Controversy is good for our kids to see. It is also a normal part of life.
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