The cornerstone of our democracy, of our constitution and its Bill of Rights, is the principle stated in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal and are endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ... That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.” The Bill of Rights, including the 2nd Amendment’s right to bear arms, stems from this combination of the right to life and liberty and the government’s responsibility to create a system where that is reasonably possible.
Our nation stands under attack … not from without, but from within. Both our politics and our culture have been corrupted.
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The Right to Life v the Right to Own Guns
The cornerstone of our democracy, of our constitution and its Bill of Rights, is the principle stated in the Declaration of Independence that “all men are created equal and are endowed with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness ... That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men.” The Bill of Rights, including the 2nd Amendment’s right to bear arms, stems from this combination of the right to life and liberty and the government’s responsibility to create a system where that is reasonably possible.
Labels:
2nd Amendment,
gun control,
gun rights,
Newtown shootings
Saturday, November 24, 2012
When Ego Drives Politics, Can There Be Any Hope?
We can rant all we want about the insufferable and destructive attitude and policies of the Tea Party and its fellow travelers, but truth be told, virtually all politicians are sorely lacking.
Martin Luther King said, "Someone must have sense enough and religion enough to cut off the chain of hate and evil, and this can only be done through love." To that I say, "Amen."
Labels:
American culture,
children,
class warfare,
conservative talk,
Culture,
ecumenism,
ethics,
foreign policy,
Martin Luther King,
polarization,
Politics,
religion,
religious tolerance,
right-wing,
social contract
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Media and the Polarization of America
We have become so accustomed to the extreme polarization of our country that began in earnest during Clinton’s second term and has gone off the deep end during the past few years with the creation and ascendency of the Republican Tea Party movement, that it’s hard to remember that there was a time not that long ago when things were very different. But they were,
Labels:
conservative talk,
gridlock,
media,
polarization,
Republicans,
right-wing,
Tea Party
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
We Must Reform Our Election System
We have just witnessed the most obscene election in American history. Obscene in the sense that $2.6 billion was spent on the presidential race. Obscene in that the Supreme Court’s decision that money = speech gives new meaning to the phrase, money talks. Obscene in that the Supreme Court’s decision that corporations are people entitled to their right of free speech meant that corporations as well as individuals could spend unlimited amounts of money in support of their preferred candidate.
But at least such reform needs to become part of the public discussion. Someone in Congress needs to have the guts make this his or her cause. And perhaps one day, just as public opinion has evolved on other matters. the public will come to demand such reform and the politicians will have to comply.
Friday, November 2, 2012
How Can Evangelicals Embrace Capitalism and the Republican Party?
Over the past 30-40 years, the Religious Right has gone from total noninvolvement with politics to total involvement to partial domination. As a general matter, and more specifically in recent years, they have endorsed capitalism and the concept that each person is responsible for himself, they have endorsed a limited role for government, and they have tenaciously fought for the right to life of the unborn and against same-sex marriage or any kind of gay rights that gives homosexuals the approval of society.
It is only the presence of government regulation, which began in the early 20th century and has grown over the years, that has resulted in corporations [capitalists] being able to claim to be responsible members of society. But they are not reformed. Even today with all the regulation we have, if there is an area where there is no regulation, or it is hazy, or they dislike it, capitalists will do whatever they can get away with regardless of its impact on the broader society or their workers. It is simply the nature of the beast.
Labels:
abortion,
capitalism,
Christianity,
Evangelicals,
gay marriage,
gay rights,
God,
homosexuality,
Jesus,
pro-life,
Religious Right,
Republicans,
same-sex marriage,
social contract,
Tea Party
Monday, October 15, 2012
What If All Religions Viewed Other Religions As Equal?
First let’s start with some basic facts. For millennia now, three of the world’s major religions have believed in one God. Whether one is Christian, Jewish, or Muslim, when one speaks or prays to God, one is praying to the same being. Indeed, the ancient history of these religions are to be found in the same story. Where they separate is in their belief of who the true prophet of God was and then they further separate based on the institution that best represents the faith or the sub-prophet that is more worthy of adoration.
Labels:
ecumenism,
religion,
religious conflict,
religious exclusivity,
religious liberty,
religious tolerance
Thursday, October 4, 2012
What Obama Should Have Said But Didn't
Opening Statement: I want to be a president for all the people, whether rich or poor, Democrat or Republocan ... not just the 54% that don't receive any government benefits. I will not write off any American.
Entitlements: Just a few weeks ago, Governor Romney, in a private gathering of donors, sounded very different from the way he is sounding tonight speaking to all of you. He said that the 46% of Americans who receive government benefits feel like victims, that they have become dependent on government. It sounded like he felt they were losers. I strongly disagree. The seniors who have paid into Social Security all their lives, the injured veterans coming back from Iraq and all our wars after having fought for their country ... these are people who have paid their dues, they are indeed entitled to support from the government at this point in their lives. What about the poor? The poor who have never had a fair chance to get ahead because of poor schooling, a government obligation, deserve the support of the government to help them pursue their dreams of life, liberty, and happiness. That is why President Clinton turned welfare into workfare.
The Role of Government: As it says in the Declaration of Independence, the role of government is to "secure these rights" ... meaning the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. In other words, government's role is to create a situation where everyone has at least an equal opportunity to pursue those rights. The government needs to be there for all the people, and especially those who are at a point in their lives when they are facing hardship and are vulnerable ... whether it is from old age, from natural disaster, from injury received in defense of their country, from unjust discrimination, or being born on the wrong side of the tracks. That is the ethic of the American sense of government, the American social contract.
Health Care: No, Governor, you're wrong. We do not have the best health care system in the world. Far from it. Despite spending more money by far on health care per person than the rest of the world, the United States consistently scores near the bottom of the pack of industrialized countries on almost every measurable outcome of national health. That is why the board, that you are so fond of mentioning, was created. While places like the Cleveland Clinic and several others have instituted practices that have delivered better health care at lower cost, the rest of the health care industry has not embraced those examples and so our costs keep rising while we have unsatisfactory health care outcomes. This is clearly confirmed in a recent report by the Institute of Medicine. The board was created so that these excellent health care practices developed by private clinics would be mandated for the entire health care industry. So that we can at the same time significantly lower costs while improving people's health.
Closing: I have tried to be the President for all Americans. Countless times during my first four years, I have reached across the aisle on all the major issues to try to work with Repulican legislators. But in virtually each and every case, the Republicans just said, "no." They have stated very bluntly, as did the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, that their sole goal was to see that I would be a one-term president. Every decision they have made was to weaken me by weakening the country. During the Republican primary season and at the nominating convention, Governor Romney sounded like the most radical of the radical Tea Party Republicans. He wrote off almost half of America's citizens, half of you. Tonight he tried to make you believe he is now once again the old caring Mitt Romney who was Governor of Massachusetts. I ask you ... who is he? How will he really govern?
Labels:
entitlements,
Health care,
Obama,
presidential debate,
role of government,
Romney,
Romney Obama debate
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