22 Ways to Be a Good Democrat
Let me give a little bit of context for this post: I've been a republican all of my life. I still believe capitalism is the best way to produce wealth (though not to distribute it), and I think that most republican policies are the most "fair" to U.S. citizens and will continue to ensure our place as the single super power nation in the world. Most republican policies are probably what is best for the 300 million of us who happen to live in this country.
But as I learn more about God's concern for the world, it gives me pause to wonder if, even in the political realm, we ought to be concerned not just with our own interests, but also with the interests of others. As I learn more about war, poverty, our limited resources, God's brand of justice, God's mercy, God's Kingdom, and our role as the incarnate body of Christ within God's creation, I have to wonder if the questions we ask ourselves when making political decisions are skewed towards prioritizing the United States kingdom over the Kingdom of God.
I received these 22 ways to be a good democrat in an email forward this week. My thoughts are in red.
1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.
Abortion is a horrible thing. My opinion is abortion should be banned except for the ultra-rare case where a mother's life might be in question.
2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.
What if we found a way that governments facilitated fair business practices to generate creativity and wealth, and then let government complement industries (like healthcare) and businesses to ensure everyone had access to basic services and goods?
3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than U.S. nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese and North Korean communists.
I don't have a problem with folks that hunt. But ordinary citizens have no need of automatic weapons. They should be banned. Automatic weapons, bombs, germ warfare, only cause harm.
The second part of that statement is funny to me: "U.S. nuclear weapons technology..." I guess we want to ensure that we are the only ones with that technology. There's something fundamentally wrong with attacking nations for developing weapons of mass destruction when we hold a huge arsenal of WMDs.
4. You have to believe that there was no art before Federal funding.
5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by documented cyclical changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV's.
Regardless of the cause, shouldn't we search for ways to take care of God's creation and be concerned with how the earth's resources are distributed to its people? There's no question that we can not sustain today's current rate of the earth's resource consumption. Changes are neccessary.
6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial but being homosexual is natural.
Clearly some homosexuals have natural tendencies towards being attracted to the same sex. While I believe that is not what God designed for his creation, Christians for too long have screamed about morality at these folks with hatred. Just as Christians who have tried to assist alcoholics (AA and Celebrate Recovery ministries), who can be predetermined by genetics to struggle with alcoholism, with modifying their behavior, we ought to also love and help homosexuals.
7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.
I don't think anyone thinks that. But wouldn't it be wonderful if Christians could be like Jesus and heal the sick of the world? What a miracle that would be.
8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach fourth graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.
First of all, why would a teacher be teaching a fourth grader how to read? Wouldn't the child's parents already have done that? Since education and literacy are a huge key to solving poverty, Christians should be greatly concerned with ensuring good education for the world's children.
Secondly, no sex education discussion can be held with out close linkage to the abortion issue. In fact I feel so strongly that abortion is wrong, that I'm willing to let teachers talk about sex to kids who might not have that discussion at home. I understand that not all kids are ready for that talk at the same age, and some schools are teaching this very early. But the problem lies in the fact that if you teach a 15 year old girl about sex who got pregnant when she was 14, then you're a bit late. By the way, all 14 year olds know how to make babies, but sex education needs to be geared more towards promotion of abstinence and birth control. If every teenager in the U.S. was committed to not having babies, our abortion problem would be influenced for the better.
9. You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but activists who have never been outside of San Francisco do.
Kind of silly here. I guess this one is a PETA attack.
10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.
I'm not sure what this one means. I think it goes toward this sense of entitlement that some people have. What if our self-esteem was based on our value as a part of God's creation rather than our profession or accumulation of wealth? What if we were valued because of God's love for us instead of our talents or abilities? What if Christians influenced society to esteem all people, regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic background? Perhaps then my friend, Jack Butler, who is a poor, elderly, black man suffering from mental disabilities and Parkinson's disease, would still be valued by our society in such a way that he wouldn't have to live in shame and hunger in the final season of his life.
11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make "The Passion of the Christ" for financial gain only.
Again, I'm not sure what this one means. I think the irony is supposed to make the reader think that in fact, Gibson made this film to offer the message of Christ to the world. I don't have the slightest inkling as to Gibson's motivation for making the film, but I would say that he may have slightly missed the message of Jesus. As I reread the gospel I am more and more coming to an understanding that Jesus' main mission wasn't to die on the cross to be my personal savior so that I could go to heaven after I die. In fact, I think Jesus' primary mission was to inaugurate the Kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven, and as we live in the ways of Jesus, God's Kingdom is more fully revealed. Read Matthew 5-7 with open ears and you'll start to see that Jesus wanted to save humanity through restoring God's creation by teaching humanity how to live with one another. Over and over again Jesus calls us to service and love. Then in an ultimate act of service and love, Jesus gives his life for each of us.
12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.
Agreed. Both organizations are short sighted.
13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.
This is a tough one. Low taxes are capitalisticly fair. According to Western logic, we should only have to bear a tax burden that covers our personal benefits from the government.
But as citizens of the Kingdom of God, we should live by a different definition of "fair". God's justice is different. Read Matthew 20.1-16. God's Kingdom operates under a law of love and mercy to everyone. Then as disciples of Jesus, shouldn't we want everyone to live at a comfortable standard of living?
I'm willing to pay more taxes if things like healthcare cost less and are available to everyone.
14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, and A.G. Bell.
Well Steinem did some good things for women's rights...
15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.
I do think racial quotas are a bad way of trying to achieve equality among races. We need to teach on racial equality in our education systems. We need more integrated churches and communities. Unfortunately time after time I see star bellied sneeches leave churches or communities when people with none upon thar's move in.
16 You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is normal and is a very nice person.
I don't know her personally. I kind of think all the candidates are self-seeking by nature. But, I think Hillary has good ideas about healthcare which is an important issue to me.
17. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried is because the right people haven't been in charge.
Are you kidding? Look at France, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, etc., etc.... All these nations are more socialistic than we are and their people are generally happier, healthier, more peaceful, and live with more social and economic equality.
18. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a liar and a sex offender belonged in the White House.
Is Bill a sex offender? Or are we talking about Jefferson again?
19. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag, transvestites, and bestiality should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.
Yep there's definitely a problem with that. If we want to have freedom of speech (outside of hate speech), then it needs to go both ways.
20. You have to believe that illegal Democrat Party funding by the Chinese Government is somehow in the best interest to the United States.
Our political system is definitely broken. Our whole system needs to be revamped.
21. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right wing conspiracy.
Nah. I just think this message probably came from a fundamental evangelical U.S. Christian.
22. You have to believe that it's okay to give Federal workers the day off on Christmas Day but it's not ok to say "Merry Christmas".
Merry Christmas. Good tidings to all. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
But as I learn more about God's concern for the world, it gives me pause to wonder if, even in the political realm, we ought to be concerned not just with our own interests, but also with the interests of others. As I learn more about war, poverty, our limited resources, God's brand of justice, God's mercy, God's Kingdom, and our role as the incarnate body of Christ within God's creation, I have to wonder if the questions we ask ourselves when making political decisions are skewed towards prioritizing the United States kingdom over the Kingdom of God.
I received these 22 ways to be a good democrat in an email forward this week. My thoughts are in red.
1. You have to be against capital punishment, but support abortion on demand.
Abortion is a horrible thing. My opinion is abortion should be banned except for the ultra-rare case where a mother's life might be in question.
2. You have to believe that businesses create oppression and governments create prosperity.
What if we found a way that governments facilitated fair business practices to generate creativity and wealth, and then let government complement industries (like healthcare) and businesses to ensure everyone had access to basic services and goods?
3. You have to believe that guns in the hands of law-abiding Americans are more of a threat than U.S. nuclear weapons technology in the hands of Chinese and North Korean communists.
I don't have a problem with folks that hunt. But ordinary citizens have no need of automatic weapons. They should be banned. Automatic weapons, bombs, germ warfare, only cause harm.
The second part of that statement is funny to me: "U.S. nuclear weapons technology..." I guess we want to ensure that we are the only ones with that technology. There's something fundamentally wrong with attacking nations for developing weapons of mass destruction when we hold a huge arsenal of WMDs.
4. You have to believe that there was no art before Federal funding.
5. You have to believe that global temperatures are less affected by documented cyclical changes in the earth's climate and more affected by soccer moms driving SUV's.
Regardless of the cause, shouldn't we search for ways to take care of God's creation and be concerned with how the earth's resources are distributed to its people? There's no question that we can not sustain today's current rate of the earth's resource consumption. Changes are neccessary.
6. You have to believe that gender roles are artificial but being homosexual is natural.
Clearly some homosexuals have natural tendencies towards being attracted to the same sex. While I believe that is not what God designed for his creation, Christians for too long have screamed about morality at these folks with hatred. Just as Christians who have tried to assist alcoholics (AA and Celebrate Recovery ministries), who can be predetermined by genetics to struggle with alcoholism, with modifying their behavior, we ought to also love and help homosexuals.
7. You have to believe that the AIDS virus is spread by a lack of federal funding.
I don't think anyone thinks that. But wouldn't it be wonderful if Christians could be like Jesus and heal the sick of the world? What a miracle that would be.
8. You have to believe that the same teacher who can't teach fourth graders how to read is somehow qualified to teach those same kids about sex.
First of all, why would a teacher be teaching a fourth grader how to read? Wouldn't the child's parents already have done that? Since education and literacy are a huge key to solving poverty, Christians should be greatly concerned with ensuring good education for the world's children.
Secondly, no sex education discussion can be held with out close linkage to the abortion issue. In fact I feel so strongly that abortion is wrong, that I'm willing to let teachers talk about sex to kids who might not have that discussion at home. I understand that not all kids are ready for that talk at the same age, and some schools are teaching this very early. But the problem lies in the fact that if you teach a 15 year old girl about sex who got pregnant when she was 14, then you're a bit late. By the way, all 14 year olds know how to make babies, but sex education needs to be geared more towards promotion of abstinence and birth control. If every teenager in the U.S. was committed to not having babies, our abortion problem would be influenced for the better.
9. You have to believe that hunters don't care about nature, but activists who have never been outside of San Francisco do.
Kind of silly here. I guess this one is a PETA attack.
10. You have to believe that self-esteem is more important than actually doing something to earn it.
I'm not sure what this one means. I think it goes toward this sense of entitlement that some people have. What if our self-esteem was based on our value as a part of God's creation rather than our profession or accumulation of wealth? What if we were valued because of God's love for us instead of our talents or abilities? What if Christians influenced society to esteem all people, regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic background? Perhaps then my friend, Jack Butler, who is a poor, elderly, black man suffering from mental disabilities and Parkinson's disease, would still be valued by our society in such a way that he wouldn't have to live in shame and hunger in the final season of his life.
11. You have to believe that Mel Gibson spent $25 million of his own money to make "The Passion of the Christ" for financial gain only.
Again, I'm not sure what this one means. I think the irony is supposed to make the reader think that in fact, Gibson made this film to offer the message of Christ to the world. I don't have the slightest inkling as to Gibson's motivation for making the film, but I would say that he may have slightly missed the message of Jesus. As I reread the gospel I am more and more coming to an understanding that Jesus' main mission wasn't to die on the cross to be my personal savior so that I could go to heaven after I die. In fact, I think Jesus' primary mission was to inaugurate the Kingdom of God here on earth as it is in heaven, and as we live in the ways of Jesus, God's Kingdom is more fully revealed. Read Matthew 5-7 with open ears and you'll start to see that Jesus wanted to save humanity through restoring God's creation by teaching humanity how to live with one another. Over and over again Jesus calls us to service and love. Then in an ultimate act of service and love, Jesus gives his life for each of us.
12. You have to believe the NRA is bad because it supports certain parts of the Constitution, while the ACLU is good because it supports certain parts of the Constitution.
Agreed. Both organizations are short sighted.
13. You have to believe that taxes are too low, but ATM fees are too high.
This is a tough one. Low taxes are capitalisticly fair. According to Western logic, we should only have to bear a tax burden that covers our personal benefits from the government.
But as citizens of the Kingdom of God, we should live by a different definition of "fair". God's justice is different. Read Matthew 20.1-16. God's Kingdom operates under a law of love and mercy to everyone. Then as disciples of Jesus, shouldn't we want everyone to live at a comfortable standard of living?
I'm willing to pay more taxes if things like healthcare cost less and are available to everyone.
14. You have to believe that Margaret Sanger and Gloria Steinem are more important to American history than Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Edison, and A.G. Bell.
Well Steinem did some good things for women's rights...
15. You have to believe that standardized tests are racist, but racial quotas and set-asides are not.
I do think racial quotas are a bad way of trying to achieve equality among races. We need to teach on racial equality in our education systems. We need more integrated churches and communities. Unfortunately time after time I see star bellied sneeches leave churches or communities when people with none upon thar's move in.
16 You have to believe that Hillary Clinton is normal and is a very nice person.
I don't know her personally. I kind of think all the candidates are self-seeking by nature. But, I think Hillary has good ideas about healthcare which is an important issue to me.
17. You have to believe that the only reason socialism hasn't worked anywhere it's been tried is because the right people haven't been in charge.
Are you kidding? Look at France, Canada, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, etc., etc.... All these nations are more socialistic than we are and their people are generally happier, healthier, more peaceful, and live with more social and economic equality.
18. You have to believe conservatives telling the truth belong in jail, but a liar and a sex offender belonged in the White House.
Is Bill a sex offender? Or are we talking about Jefferson again?
19. You have to believe that homosexual parades displaying drag, transvestites, and bestiality should be constitutionally protected, and manger scenes at Christmas should be illegal.
Yep there's definitely a problem with that. If we want to have freedom of speech (outside of hate speech), then it needs to go both ways.
20. You have to believe that illegal Democrat Party funding by the Chinese Government is somehow in the best interest to the United States.
Our political system is definitely broken. Our whole system needs to be revamped.
21. You have to believe that this message is a part of a vast, right wing conspiracy.
Nah. I just think this message probably came from a fundamental evangelical U.S. Christian.
22. You have to believe that it's okay to give Federal workers the day off on Christmas Day but it's not ok to say "Merry Christmas".
Merry Christmas. Good tidings to all. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
posted by Eric Livingston at
2/04/2008
2 Comments:
DUMB!!!!!!!!!
Get a Life Eric!!!!!!!!!
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