Don't you love it when someone tells you that you are stupid -- or, better yet, tells the President and his subordinates that they are stupid? Elitist attitudes are those which express the idea that you are stupid if you don't agree with them. That is exactly what we hear in articles such as the one linked below:
Brains Are Back!
After eight years of proud incuriosity and anti-intellectualism, we now have a leader who values nuance and careful thought.
One of the more interesting things in the article is that it begins to apologize for his "chosen one." He apologizes for his inexperience and for his expected submission to foreign influence. He apologizes for the expected inclusion of failed leadership in the new administration. Yet he hails him as the "savior" of the U.S. I can't decide whether to be angry or embarrassed. I would be amused if it wasn't such a serious issue. The Left's self-proclaimed intellectual superiority will destroy our nation if unchecked. Where is the William F. Buckley, Jr. of our generation? We need him desperately.
7 comments:
It figures that this comes from the Texas Panhandle. Texas is full of extreme right wing religious right nuts. Even many Texas Democrats are right wingers for the most part. The panhandle is even worse.
I am 100% pro choice, against prop 8 in CA, want out of this war, feel that guns should be banned and have been called an elitist. I would probably get shot in 5 minutes if I expressed my views in the panhandle of Texas.
Interesting thoughts from one who hides behind anonymity.
As to getting shot -- that's particularly interesting considering you sanction the killing of unborn children under your misnomer of pro-choice.
Your last comment explains why it is necessary to be anon. You people down there love guns.
There is no such thing as an unborn child. It is called a fetus. A mother alone should have the right to abort a fetus up to 9 months.
All these crazy views come from Christianity, which is a complete fraud. All religions are complete frauds. Most feel the need to force you to join and they contradict each other. The biggest frauds of all are the religions with over 100 million members.
Sarah Palin and Fred Thompson are two of the most disgusting people on this planet. They take bigotry to a whole new level.
I think the media is actually too conservative.
Anon: I find your comments humorous and scarey. If you would read them objectively, you would find an extreme level of intolerance and bigotry in them.
As to loving guns -- what in my comment makes you think that we love guns? You will probably find more guns in inner-city Chicago than in the entire Texas Panhandle.
As to your idea that an unborn child is merely a fetus, I have a few questions. 1) At what point is it no longer a fetus? I suspect your answer is at birth. If that is so, 2) Is it only after natural birth that the fetus becomes a human being? I doubt that your answer to that is yes -- because that would preclude a Cesarean birth. 3) If it is a human at birth, is it non-human before birth? Suppose that that tiny human born naturally or by C-section was removed from its mother's womb at an earlier point -- say after 8 months of gestation -- perhaps due to a medical condition. Does it become human at removal from the womb at that point? Hmmm -- it can be a human at 8 months as opposed to the 9 months normal gestation period. What if removed at 7 months? What about 6 months? Pre-mature babies are being kept alive at earlier and earlier points in the gestation cycle. Is the only thing making that developing child a human the fact that it is no longer in its mother's womb? Somehow, such logic is not logic at all. The question then becomes, 4) At what point in gestation does the developing fetus become human? I would contend that it is fully human at conception.
As to religion: It has been said that religion is the opiate of the people. I wouldn't disagree with that statement. I would disagree with lumping all religions into a single category. There are widely divergent beliefs among the various world religions. Religion is man's way of seeking a higher purpose -- of seeking God. Religions are (I refer to all of them) human institutions and often designed to create control over people. Religions are subject to corruption and all other human frailties. They offer nothing to humanity other than a way for people to soothe their consciences.
The majority of Christians practice religion. It is their way of soothing their conscience for behavior that something inside of them says is wrong. It is something they "do" in order to offset that sense of wrongness. In that case it is merely an opiate for their conscience.
I would be considered a Christian. I dislike that term immensely because it lumps me with those which I have described above. I would describe myself as a "Christ Follower." I believe that God looked down on the world which He set in motion and had compassion on us. He came to earth in the form of a man, Jesus, to provide a way for us to re-connect wit him. I believe that He, Jesus, allowed himself to be crucified and that He overcame that death and returned to life. I believe that He ascended into what we refer to as heaven, which I would describe as a spritual realm, and that He continues to exist there. I believe that He seeks those, like me, who would accept Him as the "bridge" to that spiritual dimension and a life that transcends the brutality and sickness of this world. I believe this is true because I experience His presence in my life on a daily basis. To one who has not experienced it, it sounds absolutely insane. So, feel free to call me crazy. If I'm wrong, I'm merely crazy. If I'm right, I not only get to experience a difference in my life here on earth, I get to look forward to an eternal life.
It is obvious that we come from very different backgrounds and experiences. Jesus can overcome those barriers. I would be happy to have you e-mail me if you have questions at panhandlepoet(at)hotmail(dot)com.
What's there to be scared about? Bigoted? Nothing.
Most of rural America is obsessed with guns and some want them to protect against themselves against the government. That is scary to me. As scary as gangs in inner cities who hate the police.
If you don't like abortion, please please never ever have one. I don't believe it is human until birth. We disagree.
I sounded a little harsh about the religion. If it makes you happy, that is good. Please don't force it on others though. My issue is religion is often used to attack those different. Some frequent targets are other religions, atheists, gays and politicaians such as Obama. How many wars have been fought in the name of religion? Can you count that high?
This whole calling places elitist gets to me. I live in a nice area of a big city. People from the poorer areas of my city and many rural people call the area where I live elitist repeatedly. Enough already.
We are different people. I don't hate you. I just have a different opinion on some political things. Just remember that there are different people out there and some liberal from the big city is likely similar in many ways to you.
Anon: I'm not sure that I follow all of what you were saying in your last comment but I will respond to part of it.
You might be surprised at how many "liberal" thinkers there are in rural America. Most of them are liberal in the traditional sense of the word -- i.e. open to new ideas, willing to embrace new knowlege and accepting of change. Others are more of the "leftist" bent. They embrace special rights for homosexuals, are pro-abortion, and believe the government is the means to redistribute wealth earned by the "elitist" (there's that word again) capitalists.
Perhaps your perception of rural America as being obsessed with guns has been shaped by the media (the ones that I originally referred to as elitist -- meaning that they believe they are the only ones with "true" knowlege). There are many in rural areas who own firearms. Most of them are rifles and shotguns owned purely for sport. Very few that I know own handguns for self defense. However, in the cities, the majority of firearms that are owned ARE handguns. They are primarily for self-defense. Even more interesting is that most of the hunters that come to rural America each fall in pursuit of wild game come from the cities. They pay tremendous amounts of money for the privilege of hunting on the properties of rural landowners.
As to abortion, I was once in your camp. In college I embraced abortion as a great way to control the population -- especially among minorities (I didn't realize how racist that made me at the time.) I also believed that it would be merciful to eliminate any who had physical or mental disabilities or had become so old and feeble as to be a burden on society. I no longer believe those things. Somewhere during the aging process I have come to have a very different view. In fact, I would say that it is an enlightened view.
In college I also came to the belief that homosexuality was just a personal preference and was perfectly OK for those who wished to practice it -- but not for me. I am a musician (among other things). Many in the music industry embrace homosexuality as part of creativity. I believe that homosexuality is wrong -- it violates the way we are made. I don't hate homosexuals, I just don't believe they should receive special dispensation to pursue their aberrant behavior -- just like I don't believe other things which are wrong should be given those dispensations -- such as having an extramarital affair.
I know quite well an individual who aborted a child during college. She regrets it now. Fortunately, as a Christian, she has experienced the forgiveness for that wrong decision and has been able to put it behind her -- unlike many other women who struggle with having made a similar decision.
As to religion, absolutely no offense was taken. It is clear to me that you don't understand what it is that I have in my life. It is not religion, it is a relationship with God, my Creator, through the person of Jesus. You are right, religion is used as a weapon against all sorts of groups. Many wars have been fought in the name of religion. However, if you read the words of Jesus as recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the Christian Bible, you will see that He advocated peaceful relationships. The center of His very being is love for God and love for one's fellow man. He spent His life serving others -- not fomenting wars. I choose to follow Him, not the religions of man.
As to President Elect Obama, I doubt that he has any strong religious convictions. I suspect that he is a pragmatist. He will do whatever is in his best interest. Only time will tell us what that is.
As far as elitist communities go, it could easily be said that I live in one. The town in which I live has a population of about 15,000 of which the majority are upwardly mobile business professionals or small business owners. It is predominately white and Christian (in the religious sense of the word). It is a community of people who are fairly similar, but, being a college town, has a sprinkling of "leftist" thinking mixed in.
I am fortunate in that my work takes me to many places across the country. I travel about 50% of the time -- all domestically. Much of that travel is to rural areas but some is to various cities. I enjoy dialogue with those who have very different ideas than do I. It is one of the ways that I seek to continue to learn and grow as a human being on this very diverse planet. I would probably enjoy meeting you. You might be surprised at what you would find if you could get beyond preconceptions.
One of the biggest concerns that I have for our country is that we see such a deep divide between those who live in the city and those who live in rural areas. The crowded environment of the city versus the wide-open spaces alone can create disparity in beliefs. We need dialogue between the two. We would all be better off if we would seek to understand each other better.
I abssolutely agree we do need to get rid of the divide. It may end up we agree on quite a bit.
We still disagree on a few things.
I am not pro-abortion, but pro-choice. Just because some women regret having an abortion does not mean we should ban it for all. It is like if you have a bad experience dating a blonde, would you never date a blonde again?
I feel that marriage for gays is an equal right, not a special right. What I really don't get is why conservatives say no to civil unions or even a ban on (non church) employment discrimination against gays. I am stright myself, but this seems like such an injustice to me.
I have visited rural areas, so my perception from them is nowhere near just what I hear through the media. Many of the small towns are very charming and friendly, but others not so much. They vary like neighborhoods in a city.
The city I live in is one of the largest in the country and I doubt it has any majorities. So many races, religions and different kinds of people. I like things that way.
As for your Chirianity and your personal relationship with Jesus, I'm happy you have that. It's not for me though.
I felt scared when Bush was elected and he did much as I expected. I feel hopeful about how Obama will bring people together. As you say, only time will tell.
We probably agree on 90% of things, but the 10% we disagree on are the so called hot political issues. We both want a wonderful country. I am sure we both want happiness for our friends and family and even stranges.
Well, I'm off to celebrate Thanksgiving. Have a safe and happy holiday!
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