... but doesn't make the internet any cheaper.
Anyway, with a move, new jobs, a new kid, no wireless, and array of art projects, it gets tough to sit down and be Mirthful & Matterful. It's also difficult to compose the rather large essays this blog has become famous for (locally famous at least). That said, here's a few blurbs tugging at my brain.
1. John McCain. If you had run your campaign the way you ran your concession speech the outcome may have been different. Although I will admit that as the season grew on I became less afraid of you and more accepting.
2. Sarah Palin. You are completely justified in calling the media "jerks" for the way you've been treated. That said, it doesn't do any justice to your case when you call the media "jerks" in the same sentence in which you accuse them of being "juvenile."
3. Gay marriage. Maybe I'm wired in an ungodly way, but I just don't get the argument. Saying that allowing gay marriage is a slight to the sanctity of straight marriage is invalid. Combat the growing divorce rate and then you can talk. As I was discussing with my wife I understand the argument that raising children in an unconventional format raises issues in child development, but so far there is no factual evidence to support any such assertion. The only factual evidence that even remotely degrades the existence of homosexuality is the fact that anal sex practices are more succeptible to the spread of disease. Anal tissue is more porrous and allows for greater ease of microbe penetration, the temperature and humidity conditions are more favorable to the incubation of viruses, and the anus, unlike the vagina, is not a self-flushing mucous membrane. Those are facts. Facts that, I contend, should encourage gay marriage, as a willing adoption of monogamy in gay communities would be ideal to prevent the spread of STD's. I am not saying that homosexuality means you're a walking time bomb, nor do I blame homosexuality for the sexually-transmitted ills of the world. I'm just saying that marriage would help. Ignore, for the time being, that straight marriage is a niche and it is unconstitutional to not allow equal rights to all members of American society.
4. Abortion. I contend that, while abortion isn't a pleasant subject, people need to at least grasp the very elemental concept that the people who are opposed to Roe vs. Wade are in no need of its protection. If over-protective fathers didn't turn into a rhinoceros on steroids at the mention of abortion then Roe vs. Wade wouldn't exist. If women didn't have to be retreated to closets with the highly unsafe coathanger method the issue would be different. Our population is out of control and our overly-prideful, dog-eat-dog society is just too threatening to people who have no hope. Yes, adoption is better, but it's not your choice. If religious zealots in opposition to Roe vs. Wade were a little more religious and a little less zealot they might see the hypocrasy in their actions. The paramount of Christianity is God's gift of free will to humans, or to use more fluid terminology: CHOICE. So please, if it's a religious reason you're opposed, consider this notion.
EDIT:
5. Missile Defense Shield. Can someone tell me how both of the candidates made it the entire election cycle without even mentioning it? Perhaps it's my naivete, but it's a big deal, right? Aggravating Cold War sentiments with unreliable technology against enemies who are not Russia but don't have the bomb either just seems foolish.
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2 comments:
Welcome back!
1) I am in complete agreement. After losing himself for two months it was refreshing but sad to see a gracious, warm man step out from behind the fear-mongerer at the very end.
2) I can see how some people might be upset by the media's treatment of Palin, but in all honesty, nothing that they did this election cycle was out of bounds. They scrutinized her record; they reacted with dismay when she couldn't answer certain basic questions. It's her own fault she bombed with Katie Couric - she refused to prep for it, and there wasn't any "gotcha" journalism going on in those questions, just basic inquiries and follow-ups. Ironically, as much as she inveighed against the "liberal mainstream media" it was McCain aides in the end who did the most damage to her reputation.
3) Excellent point, especially your reference to the obscene divorce rate. Before conservatives start flogging the gays for destroying marriage, they need to look into what factors are tearing apart hetero couples (especially in the red states). Perhaps a sex-phobic culture that encourages its teenagers to marry young has something to do with it? Nah.
4) I'm afraid abortion will be a perennial issue until the church modernizes its believes. It is interesting to note that the conservative Christian churches didn't formally take a position at all on abortion until the mid-70s, when it was used as a political issue a la Karl Rove to get people wound up. There's not a word about abortion in the Bible; Aquinas certainly doesn't define personhood as beginning at conception. This is a modern political issue, not an ancient religious one, but the GOP has found it to be effective in getting poorer people to vote against their economic interests. Perhaps this election will force a reexamination of this tactic.
Did I say media? My bad. Calling her experience into question was right on. That is absolutely necessary and should earn kudos for the media. My opposition to Palin being McCain's running mate is that such an obvious ploy to attract Hillary supporters makes Palina a puppet and insults the female voting demographic. Lo and behold, the Republican party justifies all out that they were simply using her, and thus all women in America, as a puppet. Not in the least bit acceptable.
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