In 2000 encouraged by their Imam's, Mosques and Communities, a group of Muslims proposed voting as a block for George Bush. At the same time a group of Christians encouraged by their Pastors, Churches and Communities decided to continue to vote as a block for George Bush also. As a political tactic this was effective and very successful.
Now as a back story African American Muslims including the Nation of Islam did not join the block citing Bush's record in Texas, their opposition to his domestic policies and the Afrikan American history with the Republicians. Most African American Christians or otherwise did not vote Bush or Republican. Ya see, there was a disconnect there. What did African American Muslims see or believe that non Afrikan American Muslims didn't? I respectfully pose the same questions for the Christians.
Here's my theory on it. Muslims and Christians are not monolitic in their thinking as groups but the Muslims proposed to vote monolithically as a show of strength in order to possibly influence the agenda. This is the same thing that Dr. Dobson and The Late Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson have always proposed and put into action but the other factors involved dividing the Muslims were culture and history. The Muslim Bush Block were mostly foreign born Muslims who through their strength of communities, government backed small business loans, education and perseverance have achieved some simplence of the American Dream.
They also bought into the Social conservative agenda presented by the Republicans. The majority of Afrikan Americans regardless of political or religious stripe weren't buying that.
Now in 04 the Repubs reached out to so called socially conservative Afrikan American congregants appealing to them on hot button issues such as gay marriage and abortion.
Now, my point....to everyone Abortion and Gay marriage or not real issues! They're not!
How much tax you will be charged and how much of that tax will actually be translated into things that benefit you is a real issue. See if Abortion is done away it in the next hour it will have little effect on your life. Hardly any at all. So you have the baby, you will need social programs to assist you. You will need quality education for those children from pre-k to college. You will need parks and green space for those kids. You will need jobs that pay an actual living wage in order to support those kids and raise them. If you are working two low paying jobs then you ain't home to watch them. That's the real issues!
So why the big brew ha over Abortion? It's cause you got Church folks trying to make Heaven on earth through legistration. They tryna legistrate a particular narrow view morality for everybody. Abortion is private and should remain that! It is personal! It should remain that!
This is a basic Republican principle that was discarded years ago in order to win the elections. I personally do not want you in my affairs when it comes to a decision so important. The church will not be the one's grieving with someone or a couple faced with a health issue or just some no account who happen to get lil girl pregnant but won't do much else! It's none of your business!
Gay marriage is not an issue because Gay folks are less than 10% of the population. There is no logical reason why gay folks should not be allowed to marry. They are denied solely by a religious tradition that can not be enforced constitutionally! Two legal aged consenting adults choose to live together and enjoin themselves by contract to decide each others affairs can get married because of what reason? They citizens right? Pay taxes? Signed up for selective service? Serve and are willing to serve in every aspect of American life and they vote! What restricts them someone's enforced interpretation of Judeo Christian/Islamic scripture. This is not a real issue. It just gets everybody riled up and brings their prejudices to the front! Furthermore they are not hurting anyone and it's none of your business!
So are you willing to risk a possibly better future by voting on these divisive non constitutional hot buttons? I hope not cause ya did it with Bush, and now our resources are low, we are threatened by big brother, we are in two badly fought, but one unnecessary war. You are poorer than eight years ago, you are not as free as you were eight years ago and we might not ever be that free again.
Choose America!
Choice and Tolerance or A rigid narrow spiritual view enforced and continued war!
BE Careful! BE Mindful! BE Prayerful!
Jaycee
10 comments:
Never fear, I am back to teach you a thing or two about abortion and gay marraige that you apparently did not know.
Abortion:
Abortion is the death of another human being without due process of the law. It is the complete disregard of their most basic right...that being LIFE. As for the cost of supporting that life. You seem to be suggesting that we kill people when they become "cost prohibitive"...but that would be crazy talk. By your logic, if I lose my job and can no longer afford to care for my daughter, my wife and I should be allowed to kill her. Again, I'm sure that's crazy talk. As for killing a baby being a "private matter", you seem to be implying that if I kill someone in secluded area after much soul searching...it's not really a crime.
It's ironic that someone can accept the wholesale murder of the most innocent among us, but when it comes to killing terrorists...it's "unnecessary".
Gay Marriage:
This topic has less to do with religion than you probably realize. It has to do with the concept of maintaining the institution of marriage itself. If you allow the definition of marriage to be bent and contorted to please the whims of pop-culture, you will eventually destroy marriage altogether. The exact same rationals that are used to promote homomsexual marriage can be used to promote other forms of marriage. For example, if two men are allowed to marry, then why not three men? How about two men and a woman? Maybe we should be allowed to marry our relatives. Should we be allowed to marry animals?
Genetic mutations aside, the "family" unit will not be able to survive such an assault. The raising of children will become something without basic rules of stability.
The dirty little secret is, gays already have equal rights to marry. Every gay man has the exact same right to marry a woman that straight men do. The same goes for every gay woman having the same right to marry a man that straight women do.
Can you imagine the litigation involved in a divorce between two men who happen to be brothers that decided to marry two women who happen to be mother and daughter, and the resulting 4/way divorce proceding? What effects would that have on any children involved?
If the line is not drawn somewhere, there can be no line at all.
I explained all of that without one Bible reference.
Are you pro death penalty? If so that's hypocrisy! Do you support programs that help young families in raising thier children? Headstart, WIC, Parks and Recreation, Afterschool programs, Free breakfast and lunch programs? Music and Art in school including afterschool tutoring? If you don't invest in the kids then that's crazy talk.
Again, it is a private matter and the goverment has no place in it. There not there when the crying is going on for whatever reason and if it's just a moral reason you are prolife or anti abortion rights then morals should be dispensed again by the individual according to their own spiritual choices including the right not to have a spiritual path. That's America! If it is offensive to one's creator then let one's creator deal with it not the goverment.
By the way good to see ya back Roadhouse!
Now again, there is no legal, logical reason to deny marriage rights to anyone of legal age regardless of sexual orientation. It is a private matter and if a church chooses not to sanction it that's thier right but there are plenty that will sanction it. Again let that persons creator be the judge not the goverment.
Jaycee
By the way Roadhouse, lets keep the sci fi in sci fi no one is talking family intermarriage which between same sex people. And if it becomes a polygamist issue that too is a separate issue entirely. The so called conservatives always take these issues to the craziest max instead of providing an adult, intelligent discourse. That's a shame. You think being gay is wrong or icky fine but that's not a reason for denying a person their rights.
Jaycee
Jaycee,
I think you're skimming my posts, not reading them. Try again.
The death penalty is given to those who have abused their rights and have been judged by a jury of their peers. A murdered (aborted) baby has had no such luxury. No appeals. No 11th hour calls to the Governor. NO hypocrisy on my end.
I support many social programs by virtue of the taxes I pay. But even if there were no social programs at all, it would still not justify murdering babies for the sake of financial burden.
What morality from what culture could justify the murder of babies? If that is not immoral then nothing is.
You wrote about "morals dispensed by the individual". What if MY morality perscribed the murder of bloggers from California? Would that be acceptable? After all, it's my "own spiritual choice". Right?
You see, when the shoe is on the other foot, you find out pretty quick if your philosophy holds any water or not.
Again on the gay marriage issue. The next logical step is for people to use the same arguments to allow polygamy and inter-family marriage that gay rights activists are using for THEIR cause. There is no possible way that it will not happen. And when it does, they will have every legal precedent to force it into law. They will need to do nothing more than remind the courts that gays can marry so they can too. This is not "sci-fi" or "the next craziest max". It's a matter of legal precedent and the laws of probability.
This has nothing to do with the right or wrong of homosexualality. As you said, that will be sorted out in the afterlife. It has everything to do with preserving the sanctity of marriage and it's purposes.
Hey Roadhouse,
Sorry, Couldn't get back to correct you right away (Wink)
but i'm back, I would say that you missed the point of my post. The point I am making is don't vote solely on these issues which is what certain social conservative idealogues have been very successful in mobilizing folks to do. Abortion and Gay marriage are not real issues! They don't affect peoples lives in any real way unless you need or want an abortion or you are gay. Again, less than 10% of the population is gay so it's not a real issue, it's just a hot button however the recent supreme court rulings on the wage fairness, assault weapons/gun control and property rights issues are real issues that affect alot of real folks everyday.
Vote on those issues! Those are real!
Respectfully
Jaycee
PS You know you would miss me if someone hurt a certain blogger from California.
Jaycee,
As a married, former un-aborted baby myself, I think of these as very important issues that apply to me. As a human being, I consider the slaughter of the innocent sanctioned by the government to be a pretty good barometer of how intellectually bankrupt a candidate might be. If a candidate can't recognize a person's right to live, then they have no business in even the lowest levels of government.
You have to keep in mind that it is usually the media who asserts that conservatives only care about abortion and marriage. In reality, we care about all the issues you mentioned and many more. Conservatives have been screaming about the abuse of eminent domain, and the assault on the second ammendment for years. We also vote on issues such as illegal immigration, taxes, economic issues, school choice, national soverignty, national defense, national security and tort reform.
It's ironic that since I started my blog, the two topics that I haven't addressed are gay marriage and abortion.
If you want to know what a conservative is thinking, or how they're voting...ask a conservative. Don't rely on the media's third-hand assessment of what they ASSUME to be a conservative's thoughts and ideas.
One other thing, if abortion and gay marriage are not "real issues", then I can assume that you and the ACLU won't care if Roe vs. Wade is reversed and an anti-homosexual marriage ammendment is passed...right?
Hey Terry,
I read Thomas Sowell, while he is a media guy he is also one of the country's leading so called conservative writers as is the late William Bennent with his racist views wrapped in intellectual garb, not to mention Limbaugh and O'reilly although in fairness to you these two are hacks! I have not expressed my views on Abortion either or my religious viewpoint because they shouldn't count. My religion may state that these are evil but since I live in democratic republic where everyone gets a say or did once upon a time, and not a theocracy which I am against by the way, I keep my religion to myself which is my right! I am merely standing up for those rights! Which I believe everyone should have!
Jaycee
Jaycee,
I too live in a democratic republic. A representative republic to be exact. I too am standing up for the rights of others...the right of human beings to excercise their most basic right to live.
What right are you standing up for?
I'm not sure why you've mentioned theocracy because I haven't mentioned religion as of yet. I would make the exact same arguments against abortion and gay marriage if I were an athiest.
Religion has nothing to do with it.
Roadhouse,
First let me say that I am disapointed with the readership who have let us two chime in back and forth on this post but so be it.
Now I would be against a so called marriage amendment because it takes the right of a law abiding tax paying citizen based on a criteria which should not be the sole arbiter of law in this country. That criteria being Judeo/Christian/Islamic ethics. Since we live in a country who's constitution guarantees in it's articles of passage a separate of church and state I expect that to be honored. I also would oppose any limitation on my civil liberties period. Roe v Wade means nothing to me as a rule of law for there are several greater laws that people violate in the name of restricting it everyday, We have a right to proper healthcare, A doctor who refuses to perform an abortion on the basis of religious belief certainly has that right! But that same doctor must also inform his patients or anyone that comes under his care that this is his stance upfront so they can go somewhere else. Now here's one for ya! I would be in favor of malpratice, license revokation and murder charges against a doctor if a woman's life was in danger and the doctor didn't do everything including letting the fetus die or pregnancy end to save her life! I would feel the same if you refused me meds or any kinda of treatment based on your religious views and not in my best interests!
More importantly some people who are alive and grown are aborted. They dead from the neck up! or worse they are abandoned by a this morally corrupt bankrupt goverment. There are those who scream for the free market and free enterprise and will kill an entire population elsewhere to achieve it. Aborted! Will allow the many to starve so that the few can live a life of ease. Aborted! Will sell dope to an entire people, rather than educated them! Aborted! Would build over a hundred prisons but won't spend one penny for an afterschool program! Aborted!
No, the problem is not someone's stance in favor or not having abortion but the absolutism attached to it that allows them to claim pro life but pro death.
Jaycee
Jaycee,
Once again I will remind you that the arguements against abortion and gay marriage have nothing to do with religion except in the eyes of the media.
There is no "separation of church and state" in the Constitution.
There is no medical situation that requires a baby to be killed in or out of the womb.
As for the last part of your post...what are you talking about?
I would be more than happy if the government would abandon me. I scream for the free market, but I don't recall killing anyone, especially a baby. My life of ease has not required the starvation of anyone, especially a baby. I don't sell dope and I'm doing my best to educate you. I like prisons because they keep criminals out of my neighborhood, and my taxes pay for plenty of afterschool programs.
If you can't dispute my points in the earlier posts, just say so. I can spot distraction techniques a mile away, so don't waste your typing time with them.
I can spot them because I used to use them. As a formaer liberal myself, there came a time in my life where I had to summon the humility to admitt I was wrong about some of these issues. That was a hard pill to swallow, but it was also very liberating.
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