Thursday, October 25, 2007

A voice of reason

Will Rainford very cogently explains in a Statesman Reader's view why he will vote for Democrats. He also implies that right wing fundamentalists, who want everyone to vote their way, are off base. An excerpt:
When I weigh all the issues of importance to me as a Christian, I absolutely must vote Democrat. I would be betraying the Holy Spirit if I did not. But that is a very personal decision between me, Jesus, and God. I would be very disappointed to learn that any Christian merely followed my example and voted as I do. Who do you vote for? Go to your knees and pray. You will figure it out. You don't need me to tell you. And you certainly do not need other Christians to tell you.
It's well worth a read. I look forward to Adam's or Bryan Fischer's response, especially since that last sentence takes dead aim at them.

7 comments:

Bubblehead said...

Not to defend right wing fundamentalists, but are you implying that they're the only ones who want everyone to vote their way? I wouldn't be surprised if there were progressives who would want everyone to vote their way, too. Almost seems like the same thing as attacking someone because they "think their opinions are right" -- I always ask someone who says that to tell me which of their own opinions they think are wrong.

Anonymous said...

I think that really misses the point. Of course we'd all like others to vote "our" way and think the country would be better of if they did. But I see a distinct difference - in general - between the way progressives try to achieve that goal and the way right wing fundamentalists do. They don't seem to believe that an individual's political decision is a "personal decision" at all. From what I can tell they believe theirs is the only decision one could possibly make without being labeled a sinner and, therefore, being damned to hell for all eternity. Isn't that incredibly arrogant? I didn't detect that kind of attitude at all in Will Rainford's column.

Anonymous said...

I think untamedshrew got it right. It's one thing to share your wisdom and try to convince folks to agree with you, to vote for the folks you think ought to be elected. The key word there is "convince," which implies that reason and logic inform the decision, and that the decision is a choice.

The fundies believe there are immutable principles that must be adhered to, on pain of eternal damnation. No choice to be made. Do or die.

Bubblehead said...

I guess I spend too much time on Democratic Underground and in the Daily Kos comment sections, where there doesn't seem to be much logic and reason -- only "Bush = Hitler" and "all Re-thug-li-KKKans are evil" kind of talk, and voting for a progressive is the only vote one could possibly make without being labeled a fascist Nazi who hates dark-skinned people and children. Much the same as you find on the far right side of the political continuum, only with the names changed.

Anonymous said...

I don't pay much attention to the lunatic fringe on either side.

Seems almost every issue has its lunatic fringe. I'm all for ending the war in Iraq, but the "Breasts Not Bombs" group seems pretty wacky and ineffectual to me. For them and their ilk, the issue is just an excuse to act out. "Don't tase me, bro!"

Anonymous said...

This is an unrelated request - Would you please replace Larry Craig's mugshots w/ something else? I feel creeped out everytime I visit your blog and have to look at those photos! I'd be so grateful...Muchas gracias.

Alan said...

I moved the mug shots to the bottom of the right column, so you won't see it unless you scroll way down. I'm thinking of leaving it up for a while, possibly until he leaves office. I agree it is kind of creepy.