Posted on 10/16/2009 10:55:54 PM PDT by SupplySider
The Dow Jones reached a significant milestone yesterday, and news outlets were abuzz with excitement. Olympia Snowe's vote for the Baucus bill was plenty fodder for the 24-hour news cycles. But, for Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists in the United States, an epochal event transpired at the White House afternoon that should not slip notice.
Lead me from Untruth to Truth. Lead me from darkness to light. Lead me from death to immortality. (from the Brhadaranyaka Upanishad -- I.iii.28)
As the ethereal sounds of a Hindu priest's chanting of this Sanskrit prayer from ancient Hindu scripture filled the East Room, President Obama lit the ceremonial White House diya --and he used this Sanskrit word for lamp--with dozens of Asian, Indian and Hindu Americans in attendance.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.washingtonpost.com ...
Hindu Americans vote democrat because the Republican party consists of conservative christians who are knee-jerk anti-hindu, as steelfish has already posted
Otherwise, Hindu Americans are social conservatives
Oppose blacks, muslims and affirmative action
Zero unwed mothers
Income equal to jews
Education beyond the jews
12% of all MD school entrants in the USA are Hindus
48% of all USA Hindus have a masters degree or more
43% of all USA Hindus have family income over $100k
The late Shiva Subrahmanya, a Hindu was running star wars defense for the USA from 1990-2000
If you guys want a rocket scientist other than from Russia or China, you do need Hindus
You make a good point- but here are a few observations. I believe you are equating all Indians with Hindus. There are many Catholics and Christians in India. My point is that large number of immigrants that do not share the cultural traditions of western civilization- religion, rituals, habits, and customs can change a nation from within. It is no coincidence that most Third World migrants vote Democratic. 0’s gesture of celebrating the Hindu rite of Diwali in the White House was for the naked purpose of courting these voters and diluting the Judeo-Christian traditions of this nation. And, if it matters, I speak as a South Asian myself.
Your mouth tends towards the foul when you are found out. Have you always been like that? You grossly misrepresent Census numbers and pretend this point is an argument, and then refer to gutter slang to misrepresent violence that has complex roots in both Hindu villages and Christian proselytizing behaviors, and which does not in any way represent Hinduism as a whole, and which is denounced by Hinduism as a whole, and which is in any even dwarfed by Muslim atrocities - yet you claim I am rude? LOL! You're either a troll, or belligerently ignorant, but in any event you seem to dearly want to poison people's understanding of Hinduism through rank misrepresentation. Now why would you want to do that?
The "peaceful" Christians and Catholics have been pushing proselytization on frightened villagers and disrupting their cultural connections with religions ever since they got their. These same peaceful Christians and Catholics also tend to refuse to acknowledge that Hindu vilence is not supported by the vast majority of Hindus or Hinduism as a whole, and that Hindus have worked strenuously for many years to bring peace in this area. And finally, instead of acknowledging thes epeaceful efforts and majority renounciation of Hindu violence, these same Christians and Catholics constantly whip up ignorance and anger by trying to compare Hindus to the methodically murderous Muslim atrocities found in India and all over the world. Now why is that?
Post of the night winner.
I haven’t checked with missionary conections there. They are not first hand connections.
Sounds like you have a clear bias, in any case.
There are usually 2 sides to a story.
Perhaps Obama had his eye on politics, but I think this was also a sincere gesture of good will, and was taken as such by millions of people.
What in the world are you talking about? Found out about what?
What have I said in this thread that is rude, foul or inaccurate? We already explained your “census” numbers.
What is so difficult for you about having a civil discussion of this story instead of throwing insults?
Troll? Perhaps your screen name explains your delusion.
I disagree with much of what Steelfish says, but more so with how he said it. At a kids birthday party I was shocked to discover that 5th graders had no idea who Ben Franklin was. There is a culture war going on in America and the cultural history of the western world, which is more Christian, than Judeo-Christian, is under attack.
I believe that much of the rancor expressed (in general & not just this thread) is a reaction to that. No student of history can deny that America and the values that she represents have not been a powerful influence on the rest of the world. Our Constitution is the model the world uses. It was designed and implemented by white Christian men. It is a fact and there is nothing insulting or derogatory or demeaning in stating so.
At the same time there is a powerful and prevalent bias against other religions. It comes from bad doctrine, IMHO, which in part asserts that nonbelievers are doomed. This is not a unique religious experience of the American Christian Right, but is a view widely held by the religious. We would not practice or believe our faiths if we felt that it is “all good”. Sadly, one value the Founders held is a respect for conscience. This might have been easier to hold when the colonists were essentially 100% Christian.
Evangelicals have an especially bad reputation for aggressive and often negative proselytizing. They are good people who believe what they believe and try to practice it. They are bound to offend. For instance, my Mongolian friends tell me that it is illegal to proselytize in Mongolia, but Evangelicals ignore the law and do it anyway. They particularly found this offensive, even though they disagree with the law personally.
I like India and Indians and would like America to ally with India as closely as possible. India is a great counterweight to China's ambitions. The thawing in American/Indian relations started long ago and is continuing. There is a lot to dislike about the Republican party. Those frustrations get expressed on FR all the time.
I disagree, though, that the reason Hindu Americans vote Republican is because they have been offended by conservative Christians. My personal experience is that Democrats have a very effective outreach, control most local governments in my area (Obama country) and that Hindu Americans vote Democrat out of commercial convenience and not on their true beliefs.
To blame conservative Christians for how individuals vote is absurd. I vote my values and will vote for the most conservative candidate who supports those values whether Republican or Democrat (mostly Democrat by default in my area).
your friends are wrong. If you check the census for India for 2001, Muslims are < 10% in all states except Kashmir, Utter Predesh and in Andhra Predesh (I guess due to the rule of the Nizam in Hyderabad there). In the rest of India, they are sub-10%
I do not quarrel with much of what you say. But as Pat Buchanan points out in his book “Death of the West” that when large tidal waves of immigrants who do not share our Judeo-Christian beliefs come over to the US we end up not as a melting pot but as a salad bowl. This phenomenon has caused the current drive toward multi-culturalism (that all cultures are equal) and multi-religious (all religions are true and equal) approval (as opposed to tolerance) and acceptance. If you ever have the occasion to pick up a copy of T.S, Eliot’s “Christianity & Culture” or come across his poem “Hollow Men” I urge you read it it.
Well, I could respond with: "WFT are you talking about? ... your full-of-lies and rude poke at me is utter crap."
But as you are well aware, you said that to me when I refuted your knowingly fraudulent data and slanderous generalizations about Hindus.
Your hypocrisy and name-calling is tediously childish, and your arrogant slander of Hindus is ugly and embarrassing. You deserve no further attention.
To the contrary, it is a grotesque lie of overgeneralized omission that is deliberately designed to minimize the overwhelming Muslim violence, the denunciation by Hindus towards the extreme statistical minority that engages in violence, and the serious cultural disruptions created by Christian and Catholic proselytization.
If you've got something specific to say that you can back up, say it - like I did. Otherwise, take your hit-and-run generalizations somewhere else. The Hindu bashing around here is disgusting, biased, one-sided, and utterly unfair in it's refusal to acknowledge the responsibilities and provocations of both sides, and the vicious implications of similarity to Muslim murderousness. And this from people who scream over the slightest reference to things like pedophile Priests or Catholic bank scams. The hypocrisy is stark - and completely indefensible.
SupplySider (a man, by the way)
I utterly understand the culture war being fought against Western Civilization in general and Americanism in particular.
We’ll not win without ending government schooling.
Immigration is a joke. It is harder to emigrate legally than illegally. Join that to multiculturism and a welfare state and well...you’ve got modern America.
Yeah, it seems like he embraces every religious tradition that doesn’t include Jesus Christ.
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