More political thoughts

[aurordice]

I'm in a political mood. Call it the new president (who I think will be far better than the old one, but I know not all agree), or whatever. Anyways

Comments

[susanbones111]

I was raised Catholic, too, and the thing I find interesting about your entry is that you are doing the opposite of what the Catholic Church preached for so many years ( centuries, even), in my opinion. The Catholic Church asked people to believe things and do things because they said it was right. Things like birth control, for example, must be handled the way the Catholic Church says to handle it. It is not up for discussion. The same with the role of priests. Women cannot be priests, it is not up for discussion. The list goes on and on. To me this is robotic.

So, in my view, I don't question things and form my own opinion about important matters "because of my Catholic upbringing" but "in spite" of it.
Does that make sense, or did I completely miss the point?

[aurordice]

No, it makes sense. What's funny though is that some of the more liberal orders (like the Jesuits, who educated me) actually do make a point of wanting their members to question the "why". This may be the reason why the Jesuits are occasionally at odds with the rest of the Church, lol

[susanbones111]

Okay, in another attempt to respond properly when my brain is still on vacation - I agree that it seems as if some Conservatives are a lot less willing to be open to other ideas than Liberals are. That is probably the nature of the beast, so to speak. I consider myself to be more Liberal than Conservative, but there are a few issues that I won't budge on. But I won't waste my time trying to convince others that my view is the correct view.

[aurordice]

I've gained some brownie points with my wife by arguing stuff with my brothers. But the reward wasn't getting my brothers to budge - it was my wife being happy that I stuck up for my beliefs :lol:

[susanbones111]

Good for you. It can be scary sometimes to stand up for your beliefs.

[aurordice]

I think this is where grad school and modding has trained me well - I'm more confident in my beliefs now and more willing to stick it all out there - even if it makes me a bit less popular. Not that I ever was popular, but still.

That, and Helen also constantly tells me she wants me to be confident instead of wishy-washy :lol:

[bothersomeaunt]

I love to read your posts. I enjoy being encouraged to stop and think. I have a niece who occasionally gets on her soap box and your posts remind me of hers. If nothing else interests me on livejournal (or myspace in my niece's case)reading your posts make it more than worth it. Thank you.

[aurordice]

You're welcome. I'm one of those guys who can't stop analyzing things :lol:

[blekroed]

I got my upbringing in an environment where kremlology (the art of interpreting signals omitted from the Kremlin) was a very important branch of politics. The main lesson being 'never take at face value the words of a politician'. What I have been missing through all the years of DoIMC is some kind of serious whitehouseology. And the articles people use to link to very seldom even try to provide anything worth the name of analysis. They are mostly just for or against. But exactly what they are for or against I sometimes suspect they don't know themselves.

Not to question the words and actions of the leaders of one's own country is dangerous for democracy and not to question the words and actions of foreign leaders is, well, bad too. :D

[aurordice]

Very true on all accounts - when people bemoan the demise of the muckrakers, sometimes I think they have a point. Books like The Jungle and papers like the New York Times used to be feared for the power for change they could induce.

[matthewrodney]

During the election, I continuously asked people who disagreed with me "why." And the majority of my peers still are the type who do not think for themselves, but feel the same way their parents feel. I would ask why people didn't like Obama, and the only thing my conservative friends would have to go back to were those rehearsed lines "he's inexperienced" and even "he's a muslim." I tend to agree that liberals are more open to picking and choosing the ideas that they want, that is kinda what makes them liberal. They don't believe what they are told to believe, they believe new ideas, and don't (as much, plenty still do) follow the party lines precisely.

[aurordice]

If someone is pro-life, supports the death penalty, and wants lower taxes as the way to go for stimulating the economy - yup, please go vote republican. But I think it's a shame that most elections are a referendum on the person themself and not the positions.