Why should I? I am proud of him.
How many children do you have?
How many grandchildren do you have?
Do the math, hon. You won't be the "majority" forever, and maybe not even right now. Our function is ex. Yours is a flat line.
Posted on 11/08/2004 6:27:21 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
I know bunches of people who take their faith very seriously and shudder at the works of George Bush: the WARMONGERING, the DISREPECT FOR THE POOR and the WEAK, the ARROGANCE.
Here’s the problem: RELIGIOUS LIBERALS don’t wear their faith on their sleeves. We don’t evangelize; we consider it disrespectful to shove our spiritual views down other people’s throats.
Faced with a movement that has no such scruples, unfortunately, we’re flummoxed.
We’re always on the back foot, being forced to resort at the last minute in an election cycle to taking out ads in newspapers under the umbrella of People of Faith Against the outrage du jour: wars, the death penalty, assaults on women’s rights, whatever.
Candidates like John Kerry who share our values feel they have to make uncharacteristic public noises about their religious views. It all seems kind of tacky. We’d prefer to wear our faith like a nice little black dress, not like a G-string.
If you think that analogy is over the top, consider a conversation my kid had at school last week. They were discussing the election, and the other child said, “KERRY’S for QUEERS.” She also informed my daughter that “GOD KILLS QUEERS.”
You see the problem? The other side’s ammunition is so inane, we haven’t taken it seriously. But they’re WINNING. These little slogans, appealing to gut instinct, beyond rational discourse, have power. That’s partly what being a liberal is about: live and let live.
But times have changed, and we need to change with them. The RELIGIOUS BIGOTS, who think it’s CHRISTIAN to hate gay people and who are ready to forgive any degree of callousness toward their fellow humans — as long as it’s cloaked in pious clichés — are winning the ideological battle in this country.
The rest of the world is horrified and perplexed. Friends from other countries ask me, “How could you let this happen?” I have to admit that I don’t have a good answer. Or maybe the answer is just too uncomfortable.
We’ve screwed up. We haven’t found a way to counter the religious right, because we’re all too damned tasteful and tolerant to be pushy about our beliefs.
That has to end, friends. We have our work cut out for us. If we’re going to rescue this country from the GAY-BASHERS, the CREATIONIST SCIENCE-HATERS (Good Lord, what more gorgeous divine plan could you find than evolution?), we’re going to have to stop being so nice and restrained.
We’re going to have to start doing some pulpit-thumping ourselves. We’re going to have to put OUR VALUES(you remember the ones: CHARITY, LOVE, that sort of thing) back into the public eye and we’re going to have to be loud about it.
We’re going to have to stop being so WASPY and RESTRAINED. We’re going to have to take on these neo-Pharisees, Bible verse for Bible verse.
We haven’t really lost this fight. The problem is that we haven’t been fighting at all.
Susanna Rodell is editorial page editor of The Charleston Gazette. E-mail: srodell-wvgazette.com
You also think Orthodox Judaism is a personal attack, but now you're trying to speak "as a Jew."
Sorry hon, that won't work both ways.
One who believes in killing unborn children, gay marriages,homosexual life styles, relativism, white lies,etc., the Bible does not mean what it says and can be interpreted any way one wants to.
Sorry. I don't have a drop of Polish blood in my body. Irish and English.
I have no problem proving you that if he ever existed (doubtful) Jesus was not the messiah...
The Talmudic commentaries accept Jesus' existence as a given. If you disagree that He's the messiah, fine. But saying that He is is not a personal attack on you - unless you think that you are the messiah.
As I said, I hate the Poles a bit less than the Germans, but in fact not much less..
Again, you are a racist. And you are not the least bit ashamed of it, either.
That is the high light. LOL
They are fairly pushy about their beliefs on baby murder and buggery.
Good thing you don't claim to be a christian. You would be an embarassment.
Kids say lousy, mean-spirited thing. The words of a kid on the playground are not an accurate reflection of the conservative or Christian standpoint on homosexuality. Charity toward persons does not mean affirmation of sinful or immoral behavior. Love the sinner and hate the sin is what Christians are called to do. Embrace chastity is what those with same sex attraction or anyone outside of marriage (between a man and a woman) are called to do.
Religious liberals prefer the cafeteria approach to religion - "I'll have a little of this, and a little of that and yuck! I don't like that, so that doesn't apply to me..." you know the type - they're quite common.
Never said anything about the orthodox Jews... I just tell them that I am not interested...
Moreover, the one that took over the rabbinate in Israel are the most fanatics, coming from shtetels without any knowledge...
What I do object is that most of the haredim don't want to serve in Tsahal because they of their milmulim... sorry prayers...
And not only am I a Jew, but I am a proud one...
And please, stop with your son... My husband without a kippa did serve through three wars, and I have any number of cousins/acquaintances that were not religious and were killed...
No dear, the Talmudic commentary speaks of a man who lived something like 150 years before the time of Jesus, ben Pantera...
Oh yes: Poles aren't a race, nor are germans...
You start to sound like a democrate...
When was the last time someone tried to force you to believe something other than your religion?
GAG ME GAG ME GAG ME GAG ME GAG ME GAG ME GAG ME
ACK UGH HARWK ACK UGH ACK UGH HARWK ACK UGH HARWK
SPITOOEE!
What an arrogant, ignorant little SH**!!!
Get these people away from me.
GRRRRRR!
<><
Ping to self; read later.
Why should I? I am proud of him.
How many children do you have?
How many grandchildren do you have?
Do the math, hon. You won't be the "majority" forever, and maybe not even right now. Our function is ex. Yours is a flat line.
"because we’re all too damned tasteful and tolerant to be pushy about our beliefs."
Yeah, all those demonstrations and protests were just figments of my imagination.
I recently heard from a gentleman who said he would vote for George Bush if only he did not feel so threatened by the "religious right"
Are those roving bands of Baptists at it again? :-)
Isn't Pitiricus hilarious?
Pitiricus hates all Poles as a race, presumably because of the cooperation of some Poles in the murders of millions of shtetl-dwelling Orthodox Jews in WWII.
Yet, at the same time Pitiricus ridicules the survivors of the Holocaust in Poland as "fanatics without any knowledge".
It's like having a split personality - he hates Judaism almost as much as he hates Christians.
LOL..
darlin' where do you think the non-orthodox Jews came from? The drop-out from the orthodox... And it still goes on!
I have children and I prefer quality over quantity... Your milmulim never saved anything!
BTW my cousin in Mishmar Haemek has by now ten grandchildren... And believe me, she hates the haredim!
My children are not yet married, but they will...
And remember: how many Israelis are for Lapid, who wants to boot the religious out of the misrad hapnim and education!
You just show your ignorance... There were fanatics and ignorant in shtetl, especially with the rabbis... The rabbis for instance were there against women learning...
OTH this wasn't a reason for the Poles to cooperate with the Germans in killing them!
My family was urban and educated, and contarrily to Alouette's remarks, quite orthodox then...
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