Well, Mark, sorry. What a baseless reply.
Look at what the colonial powers of Europe left in their wake following the great period of the so-called colonization of the world. South America was a basket case, and still is saddled with bad government. All is a direct legacy of Spain and Portugal. Latin America ... basically the same story, and a direct legacy again of Spain, chiefly, and latterly, in the case of Mexico, France. Africa, simply look at who was the colonial power and then how the now independent nation was fared and is faring. South and Southeastern Asia, again, simply look at who was the colonial power, if it was Spain, Portugal or France, they have not fared very well. It is was England or, to a lesser extent, the Dutch, they did much better.
This is a line of argument you don’t want to take up if you are a Roman Catholic. Open your eyes and simply read.
To try to write off four hundred years of bad government and abuse of the individual on the basis of a few recent economic quirks that can be viewed in a more favorable light is not, shall we say, convincing, believable, or seriously taken. What you want to believe and what is believable are two entirely different things. Roman Catholicism breeds bad government because they do not properly separate the kingdom of God (spiritual) from the kingdom of power (secular). The pope dreams that he rules over Caesar, over the king. And in this he is completely wrong.
And the US is going down the toilet as well, not because it has an allegedly Protestant president (an intellectually dishonest position to take if I ever saw one) but because in a large part, the Catholic vote is primarily Democratic and they played a huge role in putting the imposture in the White House.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/nov/07/catholic-voters-heavily-favored-obama-analysis-sho/
Large numbers of Catholics and religiously unaffiliated voters heavily contributed to President-elect Barack Obama’s huge margin of victory over Republican Sen. John McCain, according to an analysis of exit poll surveys by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.
Mr. Obama did especially well among Hispanics, who are overwhelmingly Catholic. Two-thirds of them voted for him compared with white Catholics, who voted for Mr. McCain 52 to 47 percent over Mr. Obama.
“Latino Catholics appear to have been decisive in flipping three states from red to blue: New Mexico, Colorado and Nevada,” wrote Michael Sean Winters, an author on Catholic issues and a regular contributor to a blog sponsored by the Jesuit-run America magazine.
Plus, “The states that are most Catholic - Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania - are also the states that are the bluest of the blue,” he added.
You are sorry for giving me a baseless reply? Okay, proceed.
Look at what the colonial powers of Europe left in their wake following the great period of the so-called colonization of the world. South America was a basket case, and still is saddled with bad government. All is a direct legacy of Spain and Portugal. Latin America ... basically the same story, and a direct legacy again of Spain, chiefly, and latterly, in the case of Mexico, France.
Ever been to Chicago? Tell me about the level of corruption there. New York City and Albany, New York? How about DC? Standing on the soap box and wailing about the corruption of other countries does what, when faced with such as Blagojevich? Ever seen the corrupt local governments in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi? I lived by Detroit for 10 years. Mexico ain't got corrupt like Detroit. Coleman Young was the archetype for corrupt black mayors. He proved that while black mayors are not necessarily more corrupt than white ones, they often get there faster. Marion Barry in DC. Wanna trot out some more examples?
It is was England or, to a lesser extent, the Dutch, they did much better.
In that case, Bangladesh is a tropical paradise, right? Afghanistan is a model democracy. Iran is the go-to place in the middle East for vacations. And Scotland is where you want to go if you don't want to live past 50...
What you want to believe and what is believable are two entirely different things. Roman Catholicism breeds bad government because they do not properly separate the kingdom of God (spiritual) from the kingdom of power (secular).
Neither did Calvin, or the Puritans, or the Anglican/Episcopalians of the colonial era. Care to restate your case?
The pope dreams that he rules over Caesar, over the king.
Really? Prove it. Show me.