Thursday, September 11, 2008

An it harm none

I'm not a big fan of any sort of religious fundamentalism. Having been raised in a fundamentalist Christian church, I view the black and white dogma of such institutions to be harmful to many. Full of prejudice toward and fear of anyone or anything different, members bring up their children to see the world through the lenses of self-righteousness and self-importance. For such people, it can be a very small step from "I am right; you are wrong" to "Agree with me or you will be cast out"--from a church, from a nation, or, in extremity, from life itself.

History is full of conflict created not by religion, itself, but by people who insist their way is the only way. How do we even begin to stop the madness? One way is by not electing anyone to a position of power who is aligned with a fundamentalist religion. While I am not terribly politically-inclined and would love to see a woman in the oval office or even as second-in-command, I will be voting against McCain and his choice of v.p. come November, largely because of Palin's association with this church, and because of her former association with this Penecostal church, and this one.

6 comments:

Lynne said...

Congratulations on your first political post!

No matter how distasteful or disgusting we find politics, it (used as a singular noun) impacts our lives. It's important to think about, explore, and make decisions on.

While I could not agree with your assessment of the charismatic Ms. Palin more, I think you gave the left a walk. Frankly, I do not see a difference in the candidates, left or right, on the matter of religion. Don’t forget the “liberal” champion attended this church, whose pastor sounded like this and was known to spout hatred for America.

For twenty years!

Is this a better choice for the President of the United States?

I say: nay.

Though I have and will continue to go to the polls, I have yet to find even a decent, let alone compelling reason to vote for any candidate offered by either party for quite some time now.

Christina said...

I did say I'd be voting against McCain, but didn't say for whom I would be voting. Haven't decided that one yet.

Lynne said...

In that case, I'm voting against him, too. And the other guy.

Now, if there were only someone to vote for.

If you find someone, please do let me know.

majesticmoose said...

I agree with lb on having to participate in politics, but that is as much as we can agree on.

If I would be a citizen, I would vote left with all my heart. I could have lived with McCain, but people like Palin scare the living daylights out of me. It would be a big blow for the equal rights movement if a woman is elected purely on the merits of being a woman. To the table she brings rethoric, views and outdated ideas, not much else. I blame McCain for that, not her.

I think it is sad when 'god, guns and gays' get people excited rather than sensible issues like the economy, global warming (which she denies exists when even GW talks about it) and foreign policies (which partly are to blame for a whole big mess this country is in).

Remember the movie Footloose? She would not have danced with the other kids ;)

Lynne said...

"Remember the movie Footloose? She would not have danced with the other kids ;)"

Unless that whole Pentacostal seizure thing counts as dancing!

I see the left as simply substituting Gaia for God as the big "G" in their collectivist ideologies.

Both approaches to government are contradictory to individual rights, and therefore anti-American, not to mention bad deals for our economy, the importance of the strength of which we also agree upon.

Christina said...

Okay, I've made my decision. I don't want Sarah Palin to become v.p. so very much (because, after all, do we really want to lose all or even some of what previous generations of women fought for?) that I will indeed, "vote for the other guy." I'm going to research the issues to make sure there's nothing else that makes me go running away from the Democrats (with whom I share many social values), but, man, the more I hear that woman talk, the less I think she belongs in any political office. She really infuriates me!