Politics and Religion Rant

[urbpan]

NPR has been spending a lot of time talking to Iowans in the runup to the Caucus. It makes me realize a few things: first, this early caucus crap gives Iowa way too much power. There's got to be a fair way to run our primary/caucus system--I understand that all the states can't have their primaries on the same day, because then the candidates would ignore the little states altogether. But listening to the people they speak to in Iowa, (and to be fair, New Hampshire) makes me think they should be ignored.

One lady they spoke to said her main concern was that God should be put back in his rightful place in society (CHURCH, maybe?) and they asked "where's that?" and she replied "First. They gunna take him off the money and then ooga googa ooga..." I can't remember how she ended her sentence because I was already ranting to myself in my kitchen. "Hey lady, you know what country puts God first? IRAN! GO MOVE THERE." This "taking God off the money" gibberish is a bible-nut conspiracy theory that floats around every election cycle. Frankly, I think they SHOULD take "God" off the money (you know, on account of the Constitution declaring that the government will respect no religion) but any candidate who said so would be tarred and feathered.

Then they spoke to an old gent. "Well, I like huntin.' When they talk about gun control it hits pretty close to the heart." Are you hunting with an AK-47? If not, FUCKING RELAX. Hunting rifles and shotguns will never be outlawed--until Giuliani is elected, and sends his shock troops out to disarm all dissenters, who will be branded with the sign of 911 and rounded into camps.

The more I write, the more I disagree with myself. The nutjobs in Iowa and New Hampshire make the campaign more interesting. They're making Romney sweat, feign tears, and explain his weird underwear cult on national television. They're sacrificing the front-runners on their bizarre altars of Mike "Hucklebee" (as one Iowan supporter insisted on calling him). They're forcing the moderates, like the Des Moines newspaper's editorial staff, and former second-banana-to-the Nobel Prize winner Joe "Benedict Arnold" Lieberman, to remind everyone that John McCain is slightly less insane-looking and reactionary compared to the rest of the Republicans. At least he is willing to take a stand against TORTURE (isn't that the least we can do as Americans?) being the only Man among the field of pansies who has any experience in the matter.

I'm out of time. Thanks, enjoy your day. It's still 12 degrees.

Comments

[g-weir.livejournal.com]

Devout Christian Teddy Roosevelt thought it sacrilegious to have God's holy name on our filthy money.

Oh, how I long for a sensible moderate like TR to emerge in this race of whakos.

--G

[buboniclou.livejournal.com]

Plus, he would kick all their asses and then go hunting.

[interfecta.livejournal.com]

And create some national parks.


Now I'm tempted to vote for him even though he's dead!

[mperrotti76.livejournal.com]

He'd sneak up on 'em and them smack 'em with a big ol' stick.

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

Actually, the whole seperation of church and state thing isn't exactly a new concept.

Mathew 22:19-21
Shew me the tribute money. And they brought unto him a penny. And he saith unto them, Whose [is] this image and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's.

God started appearing on our money during the Civil War. Is amazing the things you can get away with during war time.

[harrietbrown.livejournal.com]

Thank you, brush_rat!

What I love about this race so far is that because celebrities like Oprah and Chuck Norris back someone, everyone flocks to them like a bunch of sheep, as if they can't think for themselves without having a celebrity spell things out for them.

Oy, the stupidity.

[interfecta.livejournal.com]

THANK. YOU.

[wirrrn.livejournal.com]

I never get tired of the Relijus Rong and their tireless chants of "My Invisible Sky Buddy is better than your Invisible Sky Buddy!"
God is on your money?!:is more ascared of the US of A than he was a moment before:

-I have a spare room you and your family can use when Dubya inevitably declares Atheism Un-American and Illegal and punishable by death via mudskipper (killing two birds etc)

[duckmonster.livejournal.com]

Icon love.

I have no helpful commentary on this. I grew up in a conservative area of the country and always found it rather uncomfortable there (what with my wanting women's rights and gay rights and my arguments that "no, racism isn't dead" ... also, it's weird when everyone around you is pretty sure you're going to Hell, even if a lot of them are kind enough not to mention it).

Just know that a lot of these folks are good people. It seems weird, the idea that someone can be ignorant and a good person, but trust me, they can. They work, in the only way they know how, to make the world better. That they are misguided and actually sowing division is deeply saddening, but you have to understand that they are trying to help. They truly believe, deep down in their hearts, that they are helping. And you have to respect that, even as you disagree and try to fight through their ignorance. (Watch out; if you aren't careful, in this process, you'll discover some ignorance of your own. Trust me on that one. :))

If you haven't been exposed to certain points of view or experiences, you can't know better. I showed up, out here in the world outside my home valley, with some deeply held misconceptions, despite my liberal outlook and access to a computer, and it took a few years for certain ideas to make their way into my consciousness. That's just how it goes, you know? So I sort of get where these folks come from, even as I am angry at them for their short-sightedness. (Yes, I still get angry. But I try to dampen it with compassion, as best I can. Some days, that goes better for me than others.)

(Also, hi, urbpan, I'm Jess the Flying Duckmonster. I added you because a friend linked me to the most wonderful video of baby ducks, which you posted some months back. It was the cutest thing I've seen on the Internet and brings a smile to my face, just remembering.)

[wirrrn.livejournal.com]

Hey,

I have no real problem with the ones who are genuinely trying to help. It's the ones who pay lip service to being Christians whilst actively, knowingly and deliberately doing as much evil as they can (cough Dubya cough) I have a problem with.

Like Gandhi said: "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians; your Christians are not like your Christ."

[weofodthignen]

The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, and smiling beatifically at your enemy will get you killed. And others killed, too. They are "helping" by ruining the only planet we have and the only country most of us have.

[droserary.livejournal.com]

God is on your money?!

Ayup. And it was added to our "Pledge of Allegience" as a knee-jerk reaction to communism in the 1950s. That fictional sky monster shows up everywhere. It's really just a simple phrase "In God we trust" on our money, but it pisses me off everytime I see it. In response to claims that it represents government-sponsored religion, the religious right says either that the "wall of separation between church and state" doesn't exist legally or that acknowledgement of "God" doesn't sponsor a single cult sect and instead represents the historical ties between religion and the US. I say bullshit and I'd like it off my money now, kthxbye.

If urbpan doesn't take you up on your offer, I'll gladly take the spot if you'll have me.

[antarcticlust.livejournal.com]

Hear, hear! Romney's statements about church-going and religion and such were incredible enough to distract me from my utter frustration and bewilderment at Ron Paul's increasing popularity.

[audacian.livejournal.com]

stract me from my utter frustration and bewilderment at Ron Paul's increasing popularity.

Scary, isn't it? I think Marx would agree.

[antarcticlust.livejournal.com]

What bothers me is that so much focus is put on his very reasonable stance on Iraq that everyone is blind to his opinions on abortion and the environment.

[audacian.livejournal.com]

We don't call 'em "loltarians" for nothing.

[antarcticlust.livejournal.com]

Wow, a green party member? That's crazy! Paul's environmental position is awful - his solution to "pollution" is that all public land should be privately owned, and then if anyone pollutes your land, water, or air (how would you quantify that?) you would sue them.

On his website, THAT is his stance on the "environment."

[candent.livejournal.com]

We already have a president who takes his orders directly from God. Look where that got us. The thing that kills me is that the GOP have been running on the anti-abortion treadmill for as long as I can remember (with no results)and the fundies still vote for them on just that issue.

Love it.

[rootie-kazootie.livejournal.com]

We'll never get another Roosevelt because he'd never tolerate the crap that goes on in elections these days. We, and I mean that in the most general terms, force sterilization in our elected persons. We need to get back to campaigning by train and week old newspaper.


Do you mind if I link to it in my journal?

Re: Love it.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I don't mind--the funny thing is that I meant to friends-lock this post (my devout Aunt reads this thing) but I've gotten a lot of great comments from people that otherwise would have been excluded, so... link away!

[interfecta.livejournal.com]

I know perfectly normal, moderate friends whose families have fled Iraq and Pakistan, not because moderate people were in the minority, but because the extremist minority were in power. Same with my grandmother's parents, who hoped that moving out of Berlin to a remote town in the countryside could hide them from the Nazi regime. (They were wrong, but fortunately were not taken away. Many of my grandmother's friends were not so lucky.)

If we are truly governed by the majority, why can't the majority speak up and say, "This is ridiculous!"? Why do the weirdos always have to win, just because they are the most vocal? Even my ardently Baptist friend and my ardently Republican father are embarrassed and appalled by what they see in Washington.

It's time for people to start getting vocal about moderation -- and stop allowing shock issues like G-d and war to distract us from the real problems that our country is facing.


(OK, /rant.)

[ms-cantrell.livejournal.com]

it's good to hear political rants first thing in the morning. a great way to wake up.

and, yours is so much less offensive -in fact not at all- than what i usually read.

we really do need election reform, in a very large way. baby steps would make a big difference, if we started them in finance and moved on to voting machines.

[duckmonster.livejournal.com]

I feel obligated to put in a plug for Condorcet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Condorcet_method) voting systems. It would help eliminate the "I have to vote for this guy so that that guy doesn't win" mentality we get in our two-party elections, nowadays.

(Seriously, I didn't vote for Kerry. I voted against Bush. And that's damn sad.)

Just Once

[weavingfire.livejournal.com]

I would love to see God (any god really) left out of the presidency.

I know we will never hear this on a debate but wouldn't it be cool if it went like this?

Interviewer: So, what is your view on religion and God?
Candidate: Why does it matter? If you think I'll do a good job, vote for me, if not, don't.

[droserary.livejournal.com]

Amen.

;-)

[yagagriswold.livejournal.com]

I worry that some media outlets tend to paint people from the Midwest with a broad brush. I remember a lot of intelligent, educated people in Iowa (as well as some crackerheads), but it seems that whenever NPR or the New York Times cross the Mississippi, they like to find the most small minded people they can and use them as examples of Midwesterners. (The same happens to the South.)

This enlarges the divide between urban and rural citizens, and between the coasts and the Midwest. It makes it hard to find common ground when each side thinks the other is a bunch of knuckleheads.

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

Right, that's why I'm a big fan of Purple America

Purple America

[drocera.livejournal.com]

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

"We will spread rational inquiry by the sword" may be my new favorite thing!

[smallerdemon.livejournal.com]

Speaking of Mike Huckleberry Hound...

Huckabee's Son Arrested For Attempting To Bring A Handgun On A Flight (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalradar/2007/04/huckabees_son_a.html).

Now, see, here's where I place my ad hominem attack: good god, look at this guy. We think the Bush daughters are weirdos. Hoo BOY.

[smallerdemon.livejournal.com]

Ugh. You know, though, you can see that in the guy's eyes. "Gun Totin' Dog Hangin' Huckabee".

[droserary.livejournal.com]

God has a few questions for you...

[wynnsfolly.livejournal.com]

I was kinda of wondering where the questionable part of the rant was when I got to this
"Hunting rifles and shotguns will never be outlawed--until Giuliani is elected, and sends his shock troops out to disarm all dissenters, who will be branded with the sign of 911 and rounded into camps."

good thing I'd put my drink down.

[elainetyger.livejournal.com]

Giuliani was only canonized after 9/11. Before that, he made some changes that were good and some that weren't, but generally made the changes that he wanted and because he wanted them they must be Best. Along with about 1000 other people, I got arrested for disorderly conduct for blocking police HQ after police shot an unarmed black man to death in the Bronx. The guy's blood stains weren't even dry when Giuliani was saying publicly that the police definitely did nothing wrong there. Then some black people started saying maybe we should look into this further, and started saying it louder and marching around when their request wasn't honored. Giuliani then said that anyone who was protesting was simply race-baiting and troublemaking.

I am not anti-cop. My brother is a police sergeant, and I considered joining the NYPD when I was younger. But I do think that when a tragedy happens, especially one with grand political implications, maybe there needs to be an investigation lasting longer than five minutes. It doesn't seem to me like making trouble to ask for an investigation. So I figured some white people needed to go protest and get arrested so maybe Rudy or some other people who shared his suspicions about black protestors would maybe think about things a little further.

Re the original post, I don't care if they put Little Bo Peep on my money as long as it's accepted. And the level of religion among voters outside the NE Corridor reminds me of the saying that democracy is when three wolves and a lamb vote on lunch.

[macabre-grrl.livejournal.com]

Yes sir, this is an enjoyable rant and I found myself nodding yes the whole time...not to mention the deep sense of misery at the world in which we live.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_marquis/]

werd.