It’s a sad day in America when political compromise is a dirty word. When there were moderates in both parties who could iron out the differences.
When we went from differences of opinion to outright hate of people from different parties.
I would like to see the house return to the democrats this year. Maybe then we could move forward. I know we need to cut costs and get the debt down. Clean up the tax code and reign in the banks so they don’t create the bloody crisis again.
Maybe we can create new high speed rail systems. Update the electric grid to something close to this century.
Maybe we can learn to embrace other cultures. But other cultures should respect the country their living in.
Religious tolerance would be nice, but I haven’t seen it for quite a while. That includes people who don’t believe in a God. Religious freedom means just that. Freedom of choice without question. The law of the land is our guide to show when one religion is imposing its beliefs on society too much. That’s why our laws should remain neutral and should reflect all of society and not the will of just one group.
I’m not religious any more, but here I end my sermon for today!
Religion
Christmas
As we move from 2011 to 2012, I see during this time of good will and celebration. Religious intolerance and bigotry. I see religious fanatics trying to impose their will from some obscure moral high ground.
I see atheists being offended by the mere visual of anything looking religious.
I was raised as a catholic but I’m not religious now. I have too much curiosity and see the world through scientific eyes.
But I respect people of all faiths and customs. It is our differences that make us interesting. I have my beliefs and I will argue for them if required. But I do not impose or expect you to forgo your beliefs.
You are entitled to your opinion on religion and science, but not to your own facts. The truth should not be misrepresented to make a point.
You are entitled to your faith, but I ask you to respect the fact I don’t have that faith.
I ask for tolerance of our differences. We can enjoy religious celebrations without fear that we must convert.
Atheism is not a religion, but an absence of one. Science is not a religion but a process of discovery.
Can we see our differences not as a threat. But as a opportunity to refrain from judgement.
How I would fix the debt!
In the last few month’s we have been talking about the Debt Ceiling, the GOP wanted to link increasing the debt ceiling to cuts in spending. This was never the case before, and I am all for reducing the national debt. But where I would disagree with the Republicans is their reluctance to eliminate one of the biggest reasons for the debt in the first place. Tax cuts that were put in place by President Bush and were never paid for!
To seriously pay off the debt it is madness to think it can be done just by reducing spending. If the economy was in good shape it may be possible but will take decades. in a economy that’s suffering with high unemployment with most industrial & manufacturing work opening up in cheaper overseas markets; the outlook is grim.
There is some element of truth when the GOP say these big corporations could in fact be the job providers. My questions is even though they have had the tax breaks and corporate profits are up! The fact is the job providers are “NOT” providing the jobs, what is the justification for continuing the tax breaks.
The bush tax cuts will end december 2011, and I am sure they will not be re-introduced. Although I would personally offer any company that opens a factory in the United States providing local jobs where the work is needed; a significant tax deduction for that plant/factory for a period of five years.
I agree that there should be a serious look at Medicare & Medical, possibly creating just one service, where the State and Federal decide on the percentage each will pay toward medical bills. A true alternative to for profit care would drive down costs and provide competition; as it does in Europe and Asia already.
It’s safe to say that Republicans & Democrats in the house & Senate are going to agree on very little for the next year. Job growth will be stunted unless either corporations or government pump money into the mix.
Government could provide jobs updating infrastructure. Which is desperately needed. Of course this money comes from tax revenue. And we know the GOP don’t want new tax revenue.
In the end the only way to move this forward is to have one party running the show. Since the republicans policies were in play creating the recession. My vote is to let the Democrats lead in getting us out of this mess. And if the country doesn’t take this route the recession will be with us until it does!
The American Religious Right?
I was raised a Catholic, and I have no problem with any religion, Christian, Jewish, Muslim. But I do not want a person dictating morality to me from their outdated, ignorant, biased opinion.
Yes I said that, because these people aren’t qualified to dictate morals to me. I learned morality from my church and my parents; I also follow the laws of the land. I read and am in awe of the scientific discoveries that help people today and provide better living standards for society.
I also see the difference betwen the have’s and have not’s, and how the law makers fight to keep the wealthy rich and the poor ignorant. Who is the advocate for the poor in this country? Who looks out for children’s healthcare and education? Why is it when budgets need to be cut, it’s healthcare and education that seem to hit the list first.
Social welfare is a society saying we shall look after those who are not as lucky as ourselves, because that is how we show the world we care about our own. Nobody likes a person who mooches off a system, and they should be sought out and punished if that is the case. But that does not mean you punish the whole idea of looking after your neighbor.
The United States is a country of many religions, also people who don’t believe in a god. The Founding Fathers thought it would be wise to separate church & state. This way laws could be made to look after all citizens and not discriminate against any group. To place ourselves outside of the law leads to injustice against society.
No society is perfect, but as Plato said many years ago, you can judge a society on how it treats it’s elderly and sick. What ever happened to religion teaching us to look out for thy neighbor? Now all I hear is abortion is wrong, we won’t fund healthcare facilities that do abortions.
I am not fond of abortion as a procedure, but to cut down abortions you need to educate and help the younger among us. This would include sex education and contraception. With no unwanted pregnancies there is by definition less of a need for abortions. Rape and medical reasons are special cases and should be treated in the best interests of the mother; and anyone with compassion should not question her decision.
So for the GOP to cut funding for Planned Parenthood is like shooting yourself in the foot, without contraception and education you will see more unwanted pregnancies. And then you will see the people who voted for this complaining because of more abortions. You don’t fix a problem by cutting off the solution.
Cutting of funding for education is shooting the country in the foot, what are we going to do with a population that just can’t compete in the future for decent jobs. A smart workforce is better paid spends more money and leads to better living standards. A poor society can’t get work and will need the social services the GOP don’t want to fund in the first place.
I’m a progressive, which means I think society should always be moving forward, not back!
UPDATE:
Now that the GOP have stripped planned Parenthood of all funding because one of the services it assisted with was abortions. Where will all the women go for their cancer screenings. Or should I say the GOP is Pro-Cancer in women!
Science or Religion, a personal view.
Some times it seems that in the United States we are still going through the Scopes Trial. on one hand a fundamentalist view of religion, on the other hand evolution and science. in my opinion evolution is not a Theory, but is fact. This has been proven with use of genetic experimentation, and the development of different plant and animal species. Fundamentalist religious doctrine would argue that even though the science can be tested that the Bible does not lie and the earth was made in six days.
I was raised a Catholic, but I asked questions and learned about the way the world actually worked. While it’s a personal belief to be religious or have faith. I found the answers to be lacking and just having faith didn’t do it for me. As I got older and learned the history of the bible, I found myself with more questions than answers.
The Synod of Hippo 393 AD, was the first time a canon resembling the modern bible came into existence. Most of the books were translations from the Greek. The Gnostic Gospels were discovered in 1945, and dated to between the 2nd and 4th century. A Gospel is a story, it’s a persons account of a period in time. This bible story has been influenced for two centuries by the Christian Church, and the Gnostic Gospel’s themselves have been denounced by the Church as heretical. This makes me question how much of the original text remains and who was the author. There is possibly many authors in the Gospels, and to believe one author and no changes from the original text would be foolish. It is this doubt that makes me question all, are these just stories to help us live our lives; to give us some moral purpose. Is the old testament just a story to give a person living in Roman times an explanation of the beginning of time.
In Greece 200 years before Jesus, man was asking questions about who we are and where we are. The history of science is just as old as religion, and in many cases it was religious men that discovered the truth behind our planet and our universe. There was always a tension between science and religion. Scientific discoveries almost always argued with religious doctrine and made the church uneasy!
Charles Darwin was a religious man, he studied to be an Anglican clergyman, but during his travels he became increasingly doubtful in the History as taught in the bible. After he returned he waited twenty years to publish as he questioned his conclusions. In the end there was no doubt, the science of evolution has been tested thoroughly; and never found to be in error.
We are in the twenty first century, we have made much progress as a species, but in the end we are only as good as the weakest link. There are many nations who take pride in education, and understand the need for talented scientifically minded people, to take the next step and move society forward. Others seem to take pride in ignorance, they take the view that money is more important than knowledge. As long as the powers tell me I am saving money, the fact that I am being lied to doesn’t matter. I am ok with being indoctrinated, to the point I am making decisions to my own detriment, and halting my development and the development of my society as a whole.
Why does a belief in science, a self regulating discipline (although it has made mistakes), argue with religion to the point it can bring cultural development to a halt. At what point will the united states realize that it has fallen from the shelf and can no longer compete in technical ability or innovation. How far does it have to fall before changing course. And if it doesn’t change course will the US like being low on the list of developed nations.
