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Why I'm Rooting for the Religious Right
Opinion Journal ^ | May 5, 2005 | James Taranto

Posted on 05/04/2005 9:30:26 PM PDT by Unam Sanctam

I am not a Christian, or even a religious believer, and my opinions on social issues are decidedly middle-of-the-road. So why do I find myself rooting for the "religious right"? I suppose it is because I am put off by self-righteousness, closed-mindedness, and contempt for democracy and pluralism--all of which characterize the opposition to the religious right.

One can disagree with religious conservatives on abortion, gay rights, school prayer, creationism and any number of other issues, and still recognize that they have good reason to feel disfranchised. This isn't the same as the oft-heard complaint of "anti-Christian bigotry," which is at best imprecise, since American Christians are all over the map politically. But those who hold traditionalist views have been shut out of the democratic process by a series of court decisions that, based on constitutional reasoning ranging from plausible to ludicrous, declared the preferred policies of the secular left the law of the land.

(Excerpt) Read more at opinionjournal.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: cary; religiousright; waronreligion
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To: Treader

Cat got ya tongue?


61 posted on 05/04/2005 10:59:01 PM PDT by Treader (Hillary's dark smile is reminiscent of Stalin's inhuman grin...)
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To: EGPWS

you forgot about the harm exception.


62 posted on 05/04/2005 10:59:55 PM PDT by parmaright
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To: Treader

To #61,,hit abuse and get that removed and post to who you intended...


63 posted on 05/04/2005 11:01:59 PM PDT by Michael Barnes
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To: angelanddevil2
1.- They want people dependent on subsidies, so they vote them.

2.- They promote hedonism: "it's all about me; if a baby is an inconvenience, I eliminate him"; "have a lot of sex"; "try same gender partners, it's normal and gives a lot of pleasure"; etc. Bottom line "do whatever you the f@ck you want to do and leave me alone; I just want to be happy". The more hedonists there are, the more votes they have.

3.- They support ONU, Greenpeace et al; they all do the same; they are platforms of power that are not even elected by the people.

Your name isn't by any chance Kennedy is it? ; )

64 posted on 05/04/2005 11:02:55 PM PDT by EGPWS
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To: parmaright
you forgot about the harm exception.

Ohhh, there are exceptions?

65 posted on 05/04/2005 11:04:10 PM PDT by EGPWS
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To: Treader; Diesonne
Cat got ya tongue?

Tic...tic...tic...

Treader, me thinks so! ; )

66 posted on 05/04/2005 11:07:43 PM PDT by EGPWS
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To: EGPWS

oh you must have missed that post. i gave you that and amended. remember, setting fires, building bombs, etc. things that harm others aren't about your personal freedom but of course, you knew what i meant. i gave it to you anyway. i remain opposed to the government meddling in my personal affairs that harm no one. that is because i am a conservative.


67 posted on 05/04/2005 11:23:27 PM PDT by parmaright
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To: New Orleans Slim
I also don't get the whole gay thing.

Nice try NOS....

You don't watch much C-SPAN do you.

And of course living in Louisiana and not California or Massachusetts, you may be missing what the "gay thing" is all about. The "gay thing" most likely isn't in your face in Louisiana.

68 posted on 05/04/2005 11:24:26 PM PDT by EGPWS
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To: parmaright
i remain opposed to the government meddling in my personal affairs that harm no one.

OK, I see your point of view. It took me a while, however thats just the way I am.

I'm conservative too, however I would never argue the laws of the land once they are in place, however I would at times fight to change laws if I deem them invalid. After all, if I decide to give my Husky a fur cut with the power mower, run someone off the road because I feel they are infringing on my personal rights by being in my way, or decide to do yard work in the nude to the neighbors objections, I would think twice before doing such things because my "morality" tells me it is wrong!

I certainly would hate to impose my morality values on anyone else however.

If morality, even if it is religion driven, is lost in lawmaking then we all will be lost as a society.

69 posted on 05/04/2005 11:42:28 PM PDT by EGPWS
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To: New Orleans Slim
"I also don't have any real strong opinions on abortion. But have to admit, if I got a woman pregnant, I'd probably suddenly become pro-choice."

I hope you are being facetious.
If not you might want to sit down and have a very long think about that statement.
If you have unprotected sex with a woman, not your wife, and she becomes pregnant, what you are saying is that your total lack of responsibility for the result of an action that you participated in willingly would put your conscience on hold long enough to kill the child you helped create.
Could you perform the abortion? If not, why not? You would be asking the woman that you loved enough to have sex with to allow a stranger to put a foreign object in her body and rip a living being from her womb.
Why not let the child be born, and after he or she came into the world, just smother it with a blanket, stick scissors in it's brain, or better yet let the child starve to death. I mean after all, we've been told that's a "peaceful" way to die.
I wish the argument about abortion was discussed in just these terms. I know it sounds harsh, but maybe actually seeing the horror (if even in the mind's eye) of what an abortion is, might change the cavalier attitudes of people who make statements like the one you posted.
You will notice that I did not bring religion into the reason that the act of abortion is wrong. However I am a Christian, and I will pray that you don't get someone pregnant until you are ready to accept the responsibility.
70 posted on 05/04/2005 11:44:04 PM PDT by rikkir (The Dems see their demise, and his name is Delay!!)
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To: Michael Barnes

I don't know what you are talking about. Thanks for da pancake dough...


71 posted on 05/04/2005 11:52:11 PM PDT by Treader (Hillary's dark smile is reminiscent of Stalin's inhuman grin...)
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To: Unam Sanctam

It's good when you know you hold the key
It's good when you know your on the winning team
The sick will be healed, the blind will see
It's the power of God, and its what this world needs


72 posted on 05/05/2005 12:14:00 AM PDT by HisKingdomWillAbolishSinDeath (Proverbs 10:30 The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.)
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To: Kenny Bunkport

"Morality." Are ya feeling that kinda pressure? From whom, bucko? Is your pressure coming from a fissure within traditional family values or a sense of guilt from straying or just not knowing? I found that Doing the Next Right Thing, with the next right thing following the last- brought serenity to my troubled heart, mind & soul. Still don't do it very well- it's a hard practice for the first 60 years or so- and my dumb azz only has about 12 days all put together, lol... give it a shot, life is surprisingly longer than our daily experience could dictate...


73 posted on 05/05/2005 12:32:33 AM PDT by Treader (Hillary's dark smile is reminiscent of Stalin's inhuman grin...)
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To: Michael Barnes

Why don't you Mikey? Give the Mod's a rip ta strip- and then tell myself how to post and to whom- again...boyo...


74 posted on 05/05/2005 12:43:19 AM PDT by Treader (Hillary's dark smile is reminiscent of Stalin's inhuman grin...)
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To: F16Fighter
On threads like this one, the anti-"religious right" types will keep a low profile or won't show up at all. But you can find them on every Robertson/Falwell/Keyes thread ironically revealing their own self-righteousness, closed-mindedness, and hypocrisy.
75 posted on 05/05/2005 12:46:22 AM PDT by k2blader (Immorality bites.)
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To: New Orleans Slim

The left is the one who pushed and lowered decency standards on broadcast media. They didn't let the market decide.

And they didn't stop there. They push and lowered decency standards in every corner of our lives. I for one am ready to stand my ground.


76 posted on 05/05/2005 12:46:23 AM PDT by GloriaJane (http://music.download.com/gloriajane)
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To: Diesonne

Now that's the thing dems just can't ever get right. We don't have a separation from Church and State. We never have had.

Congress can't establish a religion. In other words Congress can not make a religion.

But there is no such thing as a separation of, or from Church and State.


77 posted on 05/05/2005 12:57:27 AM PDT by GloriaJane (http://music.download.com/gloriajane)
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To: Torie

You and Taranto monozygotic? Based on this article, I'd have to say Yes!


78 posted on 05/05/2005 4:25:27 AM PDT by jwalsh07
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To: New Orleans Slim
I'm all for Christians being Christians. As long as they don't try to make me be a Christian.

So when did Christ die and you become God?? Spreading the word is what we do. The Truth is the Truth and that is what we believe. W/O Jesus as your Savior you are condemned to Hell which nobody should want.

Pray for W and Our Troops

79 posted on 05/05/2005 5:42:08 AM PDT by bray (Pray for Iraq's Freedom from Mohammad)
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To: Miss Behave
...and usually the Catholics and the Southern Baptists get it in the teeth.

Aint that the truth. The secular Conservatives are a strange breed. At least you can understand the lefts hatred, but our Fundamental Atheists are hard to figure.

Pray for W and Our Troops

80 posted on 05/05/2005 5:48:26 AM PDT by bray (Pray for Iraq's Freedom from Mohammad)
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