Dear Republicans:
Here are some points that need to be addressed before I consider you a viable party to lead the country:
1) Evolution is real. It is not a "theory" in the colloquial sense; it's a "theory" the way gravity is a theory, meaning, it really exists, but the details aren't fully discovered. If you propose that an invisible man or woman (as if a god needed the differentiation) started the evolutionary ball rolling... well, you can believe that -- but nothing supports this idea. If you choose to use the Bible as a point of proof, the creatures pretty much sprung up from magic pixie dust in Genesis -- so, no evolution there. In short, understand you have no proof and no proof = imaginary, so treat it as such and shut up about it.
2) Morals exist without any divine intervention. Every society, regardless of which god they worship, has some kind of laws and morals because it keeps society together. Imagine a society without morals... how would it hold together if stealing and killing were not discouraged? Such a society would be regarded as an anarchy and would soon vanish with nary a historical mention.
3) Morals are not objective. This coincides with number 2 (above), but deserves its own category. Consider the commandment "Thou shalt not kill," (I use the King James version because it sounds so grand). You'd expect such a mighty decree to have no exceptions -- but not only does it have exceptions, it's also rather vague. Kill what? Humans only or animals, too? Let's pretend it reads "Thou shalt not kill people," just because God obviously needed an editor. It turns out, he also needed a lawyer. This commandment has some murky exceptions:
a) We can kill enemies of either our state or religion. In fact, such slaughter is commanded by God.
b) We can kill murderers. God is silent on this, but we do it because it feels good.
c) We can kill in self defense. Same as "b."
d) In many states, we can kill if someone trespasses into our homes. See "b" for reasoning.
e) We can kill someone who collects sticks on the Sabbath. God likes this one. He told us to do it.
f) We can kill adulterers. Stoning them is the preferred Biblical method. Brutal and savage, but apparently God digs it.
So, pretty much we can kill for any reason except for no reason at all, according to the Bible. Now, oddly enough, our laws are bit more specific and are a bit more intelligent than the simple than the four-word commandment in the Bible. Oh, and there are plenty of other examples of morals being subjective -- for instance, a woman not covering her head in the Middle-East is considered an immoral woman. In the nineteenth century, a woman showing her knees was immoral... and well, you get the point. Most "immoral" things are related to women, too. Those nasty, nasty women. So lusty.
4) Jesus was not a conservative. You can believe the contrary all you want, but you won't be right. You can pout and thump your Bible and cook up any imaginary scenario in which Jesus stands for the the same things you stand for (coincidentally). But the historical Jesus was a rabble-rouser. He went against the conservatives at the time by allowing the sick, the sinful, the poor, and the gentiles into Yahweh's circle. Traditionally, the sick, the poor, and the gentiles were not allowed into the Jewish temple; they were considered cursed by God. The rich were considered blessed and holier -- so, it was a total reversal of what we now know as Christian beliefs. In fact, Jesus' beliefs are alarmingly close to Buddhism (alarming for conservatives who consider Buddhism another word for Satanism). Jesus also didn't believe in a church hierarchy, but Paul did, so that little thing was glossed over in favor of some people having the fun of proclaiming to be holier than others.
5) Jesus was non-violent. He likely wouldn't have approved of the Inquisition, the Crusades, or just generally going around the world slaughtering people until they converted to Christianity.
6) Jesus was wrong. He said in the sermon on the mount, regarding the rapture, "There are those among you who will not taste death," meaning, it was coming real soon. Turns out old Jesus had more in common with Harold Camping than most people would like to admit.
7) The Founding Fathers of the US were not holy rollers. They were just the opposite. Thomas Jefferson wrote his own bible and Thomas Paine made some public screeds about the evils of religion. There are other examples from Ben Franklin and John Adams. Remember, this was the Enlightenment era. Look it up. The Enlightenment philosophy was what the US was founded upon.
OK, I've said enough about that. Pretty much, dump the religious nonsense in your platform and I think you've got a good shot at making this country better. Your fiscal ideas are good. I'm all for revising the tax code into a federal sales tax (the plan called "Fair Tax" sounds good, on the surface) and I think it bears looking into. Everyone wants more money and opportunity, so that's an easy platform. That's like running a campaign on "Puppies and kittens are cute! A vote for me is a vote for cute puppies!" Try something a little more challenging, a little more real -- like the enlightened view of the Founding Fathers. Religion is personal and wholly imaginary; leave it out of politics. Do that, and you guys just might have my vote.
1) Evolution is real. It is not a "theory" in the colloquial sense; it's a "theory" the way gravity is a theory, meaning, it really exists, but the details aren't fully discovered. If you propose that an invisible man or woman (as if a god needed the differentiation) started the evolutionary ball rolling... well, you can believe that -- but nothing supports this idea. If you choose to use the Bible as a point of proof, the creatures pretty much sprung up from magic pixie dust in Genesis -- so, no evolution there. In short, understand you have no proof and no proof = imaginary, so treat it as such and shut up about it.
2) Morals exist without any divine intervention. Every society, regardless of which god they worship, has some kind of laws and morals because it keeps society together. Imagine a society without morals... how would it hold together if stealing and killing were not discouraged? Such a society would be regarded as an anarchy and would soon vanish with nary a historical mention.
3) Morals are not objective. This coincides with number 2 (above), but deserves its own category. Consider the commandment "Thou shalt not kill," (I use the King James version because it sounds so grand). You'd expect such a mighty decree to have no exceptions -- but not only does it have exceptions, it's also rather vague. Kill what? Humans only or animals, too? Let's pretend it reads "Thou shalt not kill people," just because God obviously needed an editor. It turns out, he also needed a lawyer. This commandment has some murky exceptions:
a) We can kill enemies of either our state or religion. In fact, such slaughter is commanded by God.
b) We can kill murderers. God is silent on this, but we do it because it feels good.
c) We can kill in self defense. Same as "b."
d) In many states, we can kill if someone trespasses into our homes. See "b" for reasoning.
e) We can kill someone who collects sticks on the Sabbath. God likes this one. He told us to do it.
f) We can kill adulterers. Stoning them is the preferred Biblical method. Brutal and savage, but apparently God digs it.
So, pretty much we can kill for any reason except for no reason at all, according to the Bible. Now, oddly enough, our laws are bit more specific and are a bit more intelligent than the simple than the four-word commandment in the Bible. Oh, and there are plenty of other examples of morals being subjective -- for instance, a woman not covering her head in the Middle-East is considered an immoral woman. In the nineteenth century, a woman showing her knees was immoral... and well, you get the point. Most "immoral" things are related to women, too. Those nasty, nasty women. So lusty.
4) Jesus was not a conservative. You can believe the contrary all you want, but you won't be right. You can pout and thump your Bible and cook up any imaginary scenario in which Jesus stands for the the same things you stand for (coincidentally). But the historical Jesus was a rabble-rouser. He went against the conservatives at the time by allowing the sick, the sinful, the poor, and the gentiles into Yahweh's circle. Traditionally, the sick, the poor, and the gentiles were not allowed into the Jewish temple; they were considered cursed by God. The rich were considered blessed and holier -- so, it was a total reversal of what we now know as Christian beliefs. In fact, Jesus' beliefs are alarmingly close to Buddhism (alarming for conservatives who consider Buddhism another word for Satanism). Jesus also didn't believe in a church hierarchy, but Paul did, so that little thing was glossed over in favor of some people having the fun of proclaiming to be holier than others.
5) Jesus was non-violent. He likely wouldn't have approved of the Inquisition, the Crusades, or just generally going around the world slaughtering people until they converted to Christianity.
6) Jesus was wrong. He said in the sermon on the mount, regarding the rapture, "There are those among you who will not taste death," meaning, it was coming real soon. Turns out old Jesus had more in common with Harold Camping than most people would like to admit.
7) The Founding Fathers of the US were not holy rollers. They were just the opposite. Thomas Jefferson wrote his own bible and Thomas Paine made some public screeds about the evils of religion. There are other examples from Ben Franklin and John Adams. Remember, this was the Enlightenment era. Look it up. The Enlightenment philosophy was what the US was founded upon.
OK, I've said enough about that. Pretty much, dump the religious nonsense in your platform and I think you've got a good shot at making this country better. Your fiscal ideas are good. I'm all for revising the tax code into a federal sales tax (the plan called "Fair Tax" sounds good, on the surface) and I think it bears looking into. Everyone wants more money and opportunity, so that's an easy platform. That's like running a campaign on "Puppies and kittens are cute! A vote for me is a vote for cute puppies!" Try something a little more challenging, a little more real -- like the enlightened view of the Founding Fathers. Religion is personal and wholly imaginary; leave it out of politics. Do that, and you guys just might have my vote.
Comments
Post a Comment