The Conversation We Would Have on the Porch

Betty´s post:
http://bettyduffy.blogspot.com/2008/09/i-cant-help-it.html


To my dear friend Betty, I miss you and your front porch. I miss the fact that we have differing opinions to bring to the table and stimulate intelligent conversation without bickering. The internet will have to suffice, here is the next round of conversation. Here we go...

Religion as a motivator for the support of a particular public policy agenda is perfectly understandable and appropriate. However, religion is inappropriate when used as the tool to gain support for that agenda. Once religion-based initiatives are introduced into the political process, those initiatives should be subject to the same critical evaluation, slings, and arrows that greet any other political initiative. Pointing to a religious motivation or claiming religious authority for a certain political position does not exempt that position from the scrutiny and criticism that are a vital part of the political process.

I do not want the government advancing my faith or any faith, religion over non-religion or non-religion over religion.
-Reverand Dr. C. Welton Grady

Grady states compactly and concisely where I feel Palin has failed in her remarks about God´s Will to her faith community. Palin´s full quote is as follows:

"God's will has to be done in unifying people and companies to get that gas line built, so pray for that," she said.

"I can do my job there in developing our natural resources and doing things like getting the roads paved and making sure our troopers have their cop cars and their uniforms and their guns, and making sure our public schools are funded," she added. "But really all of that stuff doesn't do any good if the people of Alaska's heart isn't right with God."

Again, I question Palin because she comes to her possible job as VP having stated her moral position, which I encourage see Voltaire´s quote, democracy is a catch-22 folks. However, I learned early on and continue to be fascinated by the three sectors comprising interactions in the United States: public/private/civil. The three overlap but I believe the Constitution still states clearly there is a separation between church and state. With this, are church and state not two distinct and separate segments, that can advise one another? Religiousity does not rely on a political system to make policy and Democracy does not rely on religiousity to make policy. Indeed in the Constitution of the United States God and the church are not mentioned as means to policy making, the founders of this democraacy liked the church and state in 2 tidy boxes. What public policy has been shaped by religiousity? I don´t know any answer to that question, please enlighten me.

As for Palin´s prayer, I find it disingenuous, this coming from a woman that just prayed the grass would a.) stop growing for awhile or b.) find someone to mow the grass (if this makes no sense to you, see my post "Ahh...the Weekend"). By illustrating this example, you can see I too pray for personal things. However, here is our daily familial list of prayers: the safety and well-being of our friends and family and their friends and family, the children of the world and the power of change within them, that we may know compassion, that we may see wisdom, that we may know forgiveness, and to protect our hearts from evil. Am I asking for personal gains? Absolutely, to help me and my family become better people for this entire world.

As a voter I am reluctant to vote strictly on moral matters. I am looking for a candidate that can end the divisiveness existing in the United States, help to solve moral issues (which are inherent) and address current issues American´s are facing. Where is this person? Do I think Obama would do a better job, for me and my value system? Maybe, the jury is still out. Do I think Mccain will represent my value system? Not really. Personally I´d like to see Warren E. Buffet as President and Steve Colbert as VP. We could have sound public policy, sound economic policy and laugh at Colbert in one swoop.

With that, I am saying I am a value voter too! I value my country, the Constitution, economic security, physical security which the Armed Forces do provide. We are all value voters, but which is a value are you going to elect members of government on? Anti-abortion is a moral concept, and the figure of abortions since 1973 is actually 48,589,993 with a 3% margin of error according to the National Right to Life organization. Yes, this is a staggering figure. However, what would society have done with all of those unwanted pregnancies? Would you have chosen not to bear children and adopt instead? If we make abortion illegal, how will public policy shape around the fetuses? Because it will become public policy if we ban abortion. There would be roughly 1 million more children born in the United States each year, how will we help these children? I need these questions to be answered by someone because I honestly don´t have that information.

The occupation in Iraq...you knew I would bring this up. I have been a dissenter of that war before it´s inception, I correctly predicted Bush´s hand in the war with Iraq the evening America learned he was elected in 2000. Two and a half years before the war. Clearly I remember this evening, sitting in the restaurant I managed, pregnant, with all my male gay friends and I cried. I cried for my child because I was certain with Bush came the end of the empire and the beginning of a lot of war mongering, was I wrong? You can check the daily newspapers and let me know, I check them also and I believe there is a large portion of the American public that would agree with me. The United States is f-ed up and needs fixin´.

We agree the election isn´t going to come down to two issues; anti-abortion and anti-war, but points do need to be made. Yes, I posit The Republican party in office is pro-war, despite Dem´s voting for it. Let´s face in, in the political climate of 2003, with 9/11 fresh in the psyche of citizens, no one wanted to be called a traitor to terroism or "unpatriotic". Couple that with general elections in 2003 when the Republicans took control of every branch of Federal Government, the pressure was on Dem´s not to pull bi-partisan tactics. Go with the majority, keep your head down and wait for better days. Yes, I do hold Republican´s largely responsible, the facts are there, the bed has been made and the Repub´s are lying in it, along with the Dem´s that voted for war. The question I want answered by those that voted for Bush is, how´s that working out for you? Because it´s not for me in a multitude of ways.

Advance to 2008 when we now know the story concocted around Iraq´s WMD was the witches brew. Why are we still in Iraq? Why has the Republican party in power not found a way out of this disaster? Five years and 1,033,000 total deaths due to war in Iraq (Iraqi, American and Coalition forces) as of January 2008, $575 million spent on the war in Iraq. The taxpayers of the United States have subsidized the war effort and subsequently a killing machine. Should I look at the larger picture of fetuses lost to abortion? Perhaps. Did I subsidize a woman´s choice to have an abortion? Not as far as I know. (I just had to throw that in to stir things up a bit and bring on the fact checking, I´m too lazy.)

As for heathen America, according to a Pew Global Attitudes Poll in 2001 only 24% of the population in the U.S. did not identify with any religious practice, hardly the majority and hardly safe, especially in the bible belt. Of those 24%, I wonder how many like me, have religious aspirations but cannot find the one brand of religion to get it all right? Because I have no one group, no proper church, am I uncivilized, irreligious? The way I choose to life my life and rear my children should be evidence that I am neither of those things. The ten commandments is the best foundation for moral values, but those commandments are not distinct to the Bible, many a religious text has put forth the same notions, calling it by different names.

Value voters, again, we are all value voters. I have stated clearly my values; an end to war, economic improvements, and funding for education in the States is one as well. (I have many other value judgements this is a sprinkling.) Why should values be confined to abortion, capital punishment, same sex marriage, and religion? Those are morals and there is a distinct difference between morals and values. I use my morals to choose what I value, my moral of say "thou shall not kill" extends to war but not abortion. Conundrum? Yes. Just as right-to-lifers may find war acceptable. Let us stop calling the kettle black, and this includes me, and work for change in this world finding solutions instead of just selecting the lesser of two evils.