very well put ninjaJ.
yeah. i tend to find that I am alone in my beliefs but I don't have a problem with it.
I was born here but my parents weren't, I wonder if that has a reason for why my parents raised me the way they did.
Not sure.
Just to let you guys know, I'm not crazy as I do make sense in my other posts. I think the people who know me here consider me as someone who "isn't crazy" but for some reason I'm really against the norm even for Texas.
I'm not a sore loser so when Obama wins I'll roll with him.
Oh, question to soldiers. If you join (not enlisted) you go and do whatever the government tells you. So why do civilians have an issue if troops are sent to wherever?
Unlike other countries where it's mandatory to enlist, if you volunteer to serve your country it's pride. Plus you get paid ;) but still. I don't see the big hoopla about our government sending troops. Of course I would like them at home stamping papers and running drills but your a "solider". I want the solider of the USA to be strong and never 2nd guess their command.
So I guess I'm crazy to believe the Starship troops ideals of voting? Only people who are in the military and have served their country have the right to vote? I kinda think that would help reduce a lot of the money wasted in campaigning since you would just throw up a banner in the barracks and not run expensive commercials. People are born with the right to vote even though they could be considered crazy in today's society ( i mean those who value big rims or 20 bedroom houses ), wait. People actually want that! hahah
I got my new wheels ;)
I generally have a problem with folks who boil everything down to a single 'litmus test' such as abortion or gay marriage. Each of those things require so much more than what a single persident could ever muster, especially in light of the constitutional challenges each would face.
I was raised by Kennedy Democrats in the People's Republic of Massachusetts. But I have always fallen more on the Conservative side - or more like a Libertarian: fiscal conservative, social liberal, in favor of very small government.
I loved watching Teddy Kennedy go down with a crash & splash (pun intended) back in '80 and being able to support Reagan. I still believe that even though many of his policies have proven severely flawed that he was a truly great president who completely changed the course of our country and the world, and that it is the flaw of his followers as much as his own that many failures happened.
Conversely I believe that George W. Bush is the worst president of the modern era, and would not think it out of line to see him in discussion for worst ever. He has grown government and grown debt and started wars based on lies and personal agendas and taken away basic freedoms from citizens and ... well, and on and on. He has entrenched such an infrastructure that a republican being elected now cannot help but be beholden to that power.
And that is a major issue I have with McCain ... we have witnessed through his campaign and his advisors to Palin that there are Bush-folk spattered all over the place in the McCain camp, and many would likely end up in the new administration. If insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results, how could we reasonably expect that the differences would be so great as McCain claims when he is surrounded by Bush people who have been trying to handle his campaign in much the same way the Bush administration handles press-related items?
Despite my own religious background and history, I am very much for as complete a separation of church and state as possible. Although the founders were Christians, they were very clear on their opinions that no government sanctioned religion should exist. In my opinion, if you vote based on whether or not someone is 'Christian enough', you are inherently voting FOR theocracy, and against the separation of church and state. And if you believe that YOUR religion influencing government policy is a good thing, it is at best hypocritical to look at the middle east and say that THEIR religion influencing policy is inherently evil.
-- Mike
Catch my stuff at GearDiary,com!
There are some posts here that freak me out a bit-our country was founded on religious freedom, and a few posts smack of "christian nation" to me. I live in fear of that-a country where my jewish, buddist, muslim, atheist, and yes, christian brothers and sisters don't feel comfortable expressing their beliefs. We need separation of church and state for this reason. I love that a few of you feel passionately about your faith, but faith is personal-it shouldn't be forced on us by our governing body. Our churches, synagogues, mosques and temples should be handling that. In fact, it's one of my issues with Sarah Palin-she's too fundamendalist for my taste. of course, not being christian, maybe there's a reason I feel this way?
I'm voting for Obama. I think he's calm and collected, and I want someone with a level head on their shoulders, who thinks about both sides of an argument before making a decision. McCain is hot tempered. I don't want someone with that sort of a disposition in the hot seat.
That's not the only reason I'm voting for Obama, of course, but it's one of many reasons I like him. His strong reasoning skills will serve our country well in the coming years, I think. Someone who thinks before they speak is a wonderful asset to our nation.
NinjaJ: 1) Pro-Choice or Pro-Life - Man, this is a tricky subject. I think that in the event of tradgedies and situations such as Rape, etc. my belief is that a woman should have pro-choice, but in general of all abortions I am unaware and unsure of the total % of abortions that are of this nature. I do not think I have the credibility or understanding to really argue on the subject and the fact that it has never directly affected me. In general I think this subject is very difficult to meet at a common ground with society because of conditions and associations such as this in addition to death penalty, Euthanasia, assisted suicide etc.
1) Pro-Choice or Pro-Life - Man, this is a tricky subject. I think that in the event of tradgedies and situations such as Rape, etc. my belief is that a woman should have pro-choice, but in general of all abortions I am unaware and unsure of the total % of abortions that are of this nature. I do not think I have the credibility or understanding to really argue on the subject and the fact that it has never directly affected me. In general I think this subject is very difficult to meet at a common ground with society because of conditions and associations such as this in addition to death penalty, Euthanasia, assisted suicide etc.
The thing that bothers me is when politicians use abortion and gay marriage as a ploy to get people to vote for them, even though nothing is going to change. In 2004 Bush won in large part because he was very vocal about being against gay marriage and made voters believe that Kerry was for gay marriage (ask people in Ohio about the robocalls they were getting from Rove). This helped turn out the evangelic vote and Bush won the election. Meanwhile, gay marriage has not been banned on a national level. The same thing goes for abortion. They've been talking about overturning Roe vs Wade forever, but six years of a Republican President and Congress didn't change anything.
It's like when politicians write-up these bills to ban certain video games knowing they're going to get shot down because they're unconstitutional. Then they're able to say they are looking out for family values.
People need to be able to see through the bull. I haven't seen Bush do one thing in office to make me believe that he is actually a "good Christian" besides say that he talks to God.
spooon:I'm not a sore loser so when Obama wins I'll roll with him.
That is a good thing, and I'm glad to hear it. I was really PO'd with Democrats for their poor behavior in the wake of the 2000 election (i.e. 'not MY president', 'president-select' and so on). Then as now, when this is over we need unity. If Obama loses, I believe he has already paved that road with his generally positive tone throughout the campaign (least negative I can recall), whereas McCain will be hard pressed to stop his supporters running to the 'angry mob supplies' store with Palin at the head looking to lynch the lying terrorist muslim who already sold out america and is a socialist besides!
Fun fact: members of Sarah Palin's prayer group claim to have used the power of prayer to blind and give cancer to a pagan chaplin in Alaska.
Now that's religion!
Ricky0282: People need to be able to see through the bull. I haven't seen Bush do one thing in office to make me believe that he is actually a "good Christian" besides say that he talks to God.
Wait. am I out of line if I told you I also talk to God through Jesus? Call me crazy then because I believe Jesus Died for my sin so I can have a open channel to speak/pray/serve him. Not saying I hear stuff but I feel moved to do certain things.
In many eyes this is considered crazy, but so be it.
I would be afraid of a leader who said he was Christian that "didn't speak to Jesus/God". Why even label yourself Christian. Might as well just say I like church folk but I believe good people will go to heaven and that's that.
madfigs: Fun fact: members of Sarah Palin's prayer group claim to have used the power of prayer to blind and give cancer to a pagan chaplin in Alaska. Now that's religion!
wow. that is messed up. what happen to the 2nd greatest commandment of loving your neighbor. wow. thanks for sharing!
Kinda bored so i figured I'd add a little info. The whole separation of church and state is only based upon a letter Jefferson wrote. The reason they wanted the separation was not so that the church wouldn't have control over the state it was the other way around. The didn't want the state controlling the church. In England the king decided how the church ran.
Being a Christian I am torn at times by political decisions. What is best for my country and what it stands for, and what my faith is. I guess the thing that will always keep me from wanting too much religion in politics is looking at governments that are ruled by religion completely and blindly. Granted it doesnt help if the basic teaching of that religion is death to non believers. As bad as things could seem here, it's a walk in the park compared to that area.
spooon: Ricky0282: People need to be able to see through the bull. I haven't seen Bush do one thing in office to make me believe that he is actually a "good Christian" besides say that he talks to God. Wait. am I out of line if I told you I also talk to God through Jesus? Call me crazy then because I believe Jesus Died for my sin so I can have a open channel to speak/pray/serve him. Not saying I hear stuff but I feel moved to do certain things. In many eyes this is considered crazy, but so be it. I would be afraid of a leader who said he was Christian that "didn't speak to Jesus/God". Why even label yourself Christian. Might as well just say I like church folk but I believe good people will go to heaven and that's that.
You're not out of line at all and you have the right to believe whatever it is you want to believe, and I think you should with no argument or interference from anyone. My point was that Bush did nothing in office that he claimed he would do as a good Christian. He only said those things to get elected and then largely ignored the evangelicals and their policies once the election was over.
fjfabrygel: Kinda bored so i figured I'd add a little info. The whole separation of church and state is only based upon a letter Jefferson wrote. The reason they wanted the separation was not so that the church wouldn't have control over the state it was the other way around. The didn't want the state controlling the church. In England the king decided how the church ran. Being a Christian I am torn at times by political decisions. What is best for my country and what it stands for, and what my faith is. I guess the thing that will always keep me from wanting too much religion in politics is looking at governments that are ruled by religion completely and blindly. Granted it doesnt help if the basic teaching of that religion is death to non believers. As bad as things could seem here, it's a walk in the park compared to that area.
And there's, y'know, that whole first amendment thing. Freedom of religion includes freedom from religion as well.
madfigs: fjfabrygel: Kinda bored so i figured I'd add a little info. The whole separation of church and state is only based upon a letter Jefferson wrote. The reason they wanted the separation was not so that the church wouldn't have control over the state it was the other way around. The didn't want the state controlling the church. In England the king decided how the church ran. Being a Christian I am torn at times by political decisions. What is best for my country and what it stands for, and what my faith is. I guess the thing that will always keep me from wanting too much religion in politics is looking at governments that are ruled by religion completely and blindly. Granted it doesnt help if the basic teaching of that religion is death to non believers. As bad as things could seem here, it's a walk in the park compared to that area. And there's, y'know, that whole first amendment thing. Freedom of religion includes freedom from religion as well.
Yes there is, but that had nothing to do with the actual "separation of church and state". Granted it can be interpretted that way now. But when written, that is not what they were getting at. Basically all this grants you is that the government cannot force you to join any religion. It doesn't keep them from making laws based on religion by the people in control.
I applaud the solider who went to war. I was medically discharged with the marines. I went in full well if my country wanted to deploy me it's because "I WANT TO BE A SOLIDER". That simple. You don't go into the military because you want to draw cartoons all day. You do it to enforce the law and follow the commander and chief.
Don't like it? Don't join. Being enlisted to fight is a totally different ballgame. I did it for the Reserves cause my parents needed the college money. I knew full well if we went to war or just got deployed to kick some butt that was a risk I was willing to take to pay my tuition.
Spoon,
I was enlisted for four years while completing college. I was lucky enough to have scholarships to pay for my college. I joined knowing that there was a chance to get deployed. I was not saying that I wish I hadn't joined due to being deployed, and I wasn't saying anything about those that didn't make it home. I have been deployed to TONS of locations, Kosovo, Korea, Germany, Romania, Egypt, Iraq, Afganistan. I was even deployed for 6 months to White Sands Missle Range. You are always going to have the gung-ho guys who are all up for lets shoot this, blow up this, kill this donkey, but you have to understand that every person that JOINS the service joins for a reason, either personal or finacial. I have no problems with either as both are fine reasons to join. But as a person, you have to be true to yourself. I can't tell you how many soldiers I have had, under my command, that have questioned orders because morally as a person, sometimes you find it hard to do. That is why I was glad to be done with those two countries. I don't think, in any other deployment, did I ever have troops question an order from command. Why, you ask? Because when people feel they are doing something wrong or they are somewhere they shouldn't be, their conscience kicks in and says, "Hey lets get the Luck outta here!" That as a whole is why I would rather have a democrat in the office rather than a republican. The republicans are NOTORIOUS for "staying the course", when it is obvious that what you need is an about face, move out and draw fire.
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spooon: Oh, question to soldiers. If you join (not enlisted) you go and do whatever the government tells you. So why do civilians have an issue if troops are sent to wherever? Unlike other countries where it's mandatory to enlist, if you volunteer to serve your country it's pride. Plus you get paid ;) but still. I don't see the big hoopla about our government sending troops. Of course I would like them at home stamping papers and running drills but your a "solider". I want the solider of the USA to be strong and never 2nd guess their command. So I guess I'm crazy to believe the Starship troops ideals of voting? Only people who are in the military and have served their country have the right to vote? I kinda think that would help reduce a lot of the money wasted in campaigning since you would just throw up a banner in the barracks and not run expensive commercials. People are born with the right to vote even though they could be considered crazy in today's society ( i mean those who value big rims or 20 bedroom houses ), wait. People actually want that! hahah
I think what he's sayin is that if you don't join, you shouldn't complain about where the armed forces are sent.
I definitely disagree with this because when a country goes to war it effects everyone. From a personal standpoint people's family members are sent overseas. From an economic standpoint, wars obviously cost money, such as the $10BN we're spending in Iraq every month right now.
This isn't like a gory movie where you can so "If you don't like it then don't watch." War affects everybody.