A fear of mine
One of my many rampaging fears is that I'm so weird I won't be able to relate to people. Like, I write stuff down and it makes me laugh, but it's so idiosyncratic and just plain un-mainstream that people won't understand where I'm coming from. Countering that fear is the fear that people will understand where I'm coming from, and just not like it. So I am ambiguous about what I mean. I try to correctly represent both sides of an issue, or throw jokes in the middle of things to keep them from being deadly serious. That is my way. But to combat all these fears, and in fact give the finger to them, here's where I stand on 9/23/04 on many issues that divide people and make them cranky . I'm about to talk Politics and Religion here, people -- if you don't want to know what I think, then don't read it.
Also keep in mind that I'm tired and don't have time to go in-depth on anything at all right now.
Let's start with the Biggies right away:
Religion: I believe that Jesus died to save me from my sins, then rose again. I believe that He's the only way to heaven, and everything the Bible says He is. Anything else is open to debate for me.
Abortion: I believe that if society can't outlaw abortion, what can it outlaw? It's murder, an unrationalizable killing of an innocent human. However, outlawing it at this point in the USA would cause a totally insane situation with millions of activists marching through the streets with rusty coat hangers and signs that have downright chilling slogans like "Every Child a Wanted Child" and "Meat is Murder but Abortion isn't". What both Presidential candidates have said, which I like very much, is that education is the key to this issue. What they mean by that may vary. They could mean instructions on how to use condoms, they could mean the medical and scientific and philosophical reasons why a "fetus" is a human being whose life is of value. I obviously like the second one better, but I'm all for condoms if they can stop murders.
Political Affiliation: This is going to shock people (yeah right), but I have voted for Republicans pretty much exclusively since I turned 18. I still really, really can't stand the Democratic Party, although I would not classify myself as a Republican anymore. I have, at age 32, seen the US economy change practically overnight into a monster that sucks the life out of the middle class and gives employers a ridiculous advantage over employees. I have reacted to this change by rethinking my supply-side ways and becoming more of a demand-sider. Is there such a thing? I'm starting to think those minimum-wage-increasing freaks and those organized labor weenies might just have a purpose in this world. I also think John Ashcroft is a lunatic. He's the only member of the Bush administration that scares me. And I'd like them to radically revise the Patriot Act to protect us from, you know, fascism. This is becoming Too Much Info, so I'll just cautiously state myself to be a Pragmatic Conservative with near-daily changes in philosophy.
Capital Punishment: I will attempt to piss off everyone with my stance on this: I don't object to it because it's immoral (I believe a Nation has the right to execute people who are guilty of murder), I object to it because out justice system is insane. By that I mean totally slanted toward people with money, and against poor people and minorities. Until OJ Simpson is convicted and all those innocent people on death row in Illinois are acquitted at trial, Capital Punishment is a weapon US crimefighting doesn't need in its arsenal. Also, it's not a deterrent, so why have it? Why take the chance of executing an innocent human?
The Deficit: I may be proven wrong about this, but the deficit has never affected our economy like deficit-haters say it does. In fact, we had a huge National debt in 1990 and paid it off in 10 years. What we need is economic growth, and then everything will be taken care of.
That's it for now. Please continue to read my blog even though I believe in all this crazy stuff. And I freely admit that I may be wrong.
Whew...no longer living in fear...I feel so free.
Also keep in mind that I'm tired and don't have time to go in-depth on anything at all right now.
Let's start with the Biggies right away:
Religion: I believe that Jesus died to save me from my sins, then rose again. I believe that He's the only way to heaven, and everything the Bible says He is. Anything else is open to debate for me.
Abortion: I believe that if society can't outlaw abortion, what can it outlaw? It's murder, an unrationalizable killing of an innocent human. However, outlawing it at this point in the USA would cause a totally insane situation with millions of activists marching through the streets with rusty coat hangers and signs that have downright chilling slogans like "Every Child a Wanted Child" and "Meat is Murder but Abortion isn't". What both Presidential candidates have said, which I like very much, is that education is the key to this issue. What they mean by that may vary. They could mean instructions on how to use condoms, they could mean the medical and scientific and philosophical reasons why a "fetus" is a human being whose life is of value. I obviously like the second one better, but I'm all for condoms if they can stop murders.
Political Affiliation: This is going to shock people (yeah right), but I have voted for Republicans pretty much exclusively since I turned 18. I still really, really can't stand the Democratic Party, although I would not classify myself as a Republican anymore. I have, at age 32, seen the US economy change practically overnight into a monster that sucks the life out of the middle class and gives employers a ridiculous advantage over employees. I have reacted to this change by rethinking my supply-side ways and becoming more of a demand-sider. Is there such a thing? I'm starting to think those minimum-wage-increasing freaks and those organized labor weenies might just have a purpose in this world. I also think John Ashcroft is a lunatic. He's the only member of the Bush administration that scares me. And I'd like them to radically revise the Patriot Act to protect us from, you know, fascism. This is becoming Too Much Info, so I'll just cautiously state myself to be a Pragmatic Conservative with near-daily changes in philosophy.
Capital Punishment: I will attempt to piss off everyone with my stance on this: I don't object to it because it's immoral (I believe a Nation has the right to execute people who are guilty of murder), I object to it because out justice system is insane. By that I mean totally slanted toward people with money, and against poor people and minorities. Until OJ Simpson is convicted and all those innocent people on death row in Illinois are acquitted at trial, Capital Punishment is a weapon US crimefighting doesn't need in its arsenal. Also, it's not a deterrent, so why have it? Why take the chance of executing an innocent human?
The Deficit: I may be proven wrong about this, but the deficit has never affected our economy like deficit-haters say it does. In fact, we had a huge National debt in 1990 and paid it off in 10 years. What we need is economic growth, and then everything will be taken care of.
That's it for now. Please continue to read my blog even though I believe in all this crazy stuff. And I freely admit that I may be wrong.
Whew...no longer living in fear...I feel so free.
posted by Mike Pape @ 8:48 PM
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