You don't get harmony when everybody sings the same note.
Doug Floyd
God and Country: A Contrarian Opinion
When I started college, I intended to study for the Roman Catholic priesthood: not necessarily a parish pastor like my maternal uncle. I was more attracted to the teaching, missionary or monastic orders, such as the Jesuits or possibly the Paulist Fathers. In fact, I had a brief introductory interview with the Jesuits while at OLL. (I may add a third blog on religious themes. I have a differing perspective in the context of Catholic tradition, as you might expect. Let's just say that I'm a sharp critic of churches trying to accommodate popular culture, I have great affection for traditional masses and chants, I place more emphasis on individual responsibility and dignity, and I believe that community-oriented actions are ancillary to and reflective of one's relationship to God. I also have befriended and have great respect for people from different religious backgrounds.)
Any regular reader of this blog knows I have a nuanced view on faith and politics. I think churches are ill-advised to intervene in political matters; matters of economics and public policy are generally beyond their distinctive competencies. I can honestly state that my pro-life beliefs preceded my research into the historically consistent condemnation of abortion throughout the history of the Christian faith. The very fact of the Hippocratic Oath shows the opposition to abortion predated Christianity.
On the other hand, we have aggressive government censorship of even modest religious displays or references (e.g., the Ten Commandments, a brief reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance, Nativity displays, etc.) It depends on context, but it's hard to believe in a pluralistic society that non-Christians consider Nativity scenes a threat to their own freedom of religion.
Probably nothing I've written gets more hostile reaction from my own socially conservative parents and siblings than my more libertarian perspective on these issues. It's similar to the "fair use" standard in terms of dealing with copyrighted material. I don't mind a brief general prayer or reference at a public event, but I think that it is an abuse of trust to promote a religious agenda to a captive audience.
I went to one of my goddaughters' high school graduation in Colorado a few years ago; the event took place on the grounds of the Air Force Academy. One of the female graduating seniors used her time at the podium to give a few minutes of testimony to Jesus Christ. There was an angry debate at my sister's home where everybody else there, including my parents, thought what the girl did was a good thing. (Somehow I think they would have had a different point of view if the speaker had been, say, Muslim.)
Shifting to the Glenn Beck event in DC over the past weekend, which I did not attend, his call to restore the Founding Father's love of God and country seem innocuous enough; what would I do next--attack Mom and apple pie? I do not like each opposing nation or stateless group presumptuously believing God is on their side in killing and maiming other people. War in some circumstances may be unavoidable, but at best it's a necessary evil. I don't like the implication if you don't agree with their concepts of God and country, you are part of the problem. This is uncivil, judgmental and divisive in nature. Americans did have the right to criticize the way Bush managed the war effort before deciding on the Petraeus strategy.
We are facing tough issues, and solving problems often involves both sides making principle-violating compromises, like GHW Bush's famous violation of his no-new-taxes pledge. For example, I've indicated I'm flexible on the issue of taxes if Americans are not ready to accept austerity measures or in conjunction with austerity measures. We owe future generations a legacy, not our bills to pay.
The issue is not whether the people who attended the rally were cohesive; it deals with the receptiveness of the same people to compromise.
Restoring honor? I don't believe it's ever been lost. It just doesn't get noticed.
Democrats Are Likely to Lose the House
I haven't located the news item from a few months back when Obama was discussing a journalist's comparison of this year with 1994, when the GOP swept into power after nearly a half century of being in the minority. Obama basically said in effect this isn't going to happen in 2010 because there's a world of difference between Bill Clinton and me. Famous last words.
How things have changed since the Democrats captured the open late John Murtha seat in Pennsylvania, above projections. Right now there's roughly a 77 seat difference. If the Republicans can flip roughly 40 seats, they recapture the House. Today's The Hill column notes that Cook's had at least a dozen seats moving from Democratic lead to toss-up over the past 2 months. Some estimates suggest that the GOP could capture from 50 to 80 seats. That's not surprising given some softening new numbers on GDP and unemployment.
Political Humor
Still more originals...
- What is the liberals' favorite feast day? September 21: St. Matthew the Tax Collector.
- Why don't the liberals believe the latest polls about the mid-term elections? Because the pollsters aren't counting Democrats on the graveyard shift...
Musical Interlude: The American Songbook Series
Lena Horne, "The Lady Is A Tramp"
