My hope for these posts is that they will provoke thinking, not mere agreement or disagreement. If they can get you to consider even one idea which you would not previously have entertained, or which would not previously have occurred to you, then I've succeeded in what I'm trying to do.
[For the link round-up, click here.]
I want our legislators to be true to the Constitution and to safeguard individual freedom.
I want our media to be honest.
I want our universities to be citadels of science, culture, free inquiry, and free expression.
I want our economy to deliver the wealth of the nation to the workers who create it.
I want our culture to be free, daring, diverse, colorful, intelligent, and imaginative.
I want our nation to be vigorously democratic and dedicated to the freedom of all its citizens.
Lots of really good ones here that make you think. I liked the one, "I want my country to be Christian" followed by your rebuttal points starting with "I want my countrymen to be rational and humane." What struck me is that I agree with each point of both of those.
ReplyDeleteThis post gave me lots to think about. You done good.
ReplyDeleteDarrell: Thanks, that's what I was hoping for.
ReplyDeleteThe implications of what Zeisloft says may not be universally apparent. "I want our legislators to be Christian", for example, means that the one-third (and growing) of the American people who are not Christian should not be legislators. He wants the economy, culture, education, etc to be shaped by an ideology which a hundred million Americans don't believe in. He thinks of me and everyone else who doesn't believe the same things as he does as second-class citizens.
Ricko: Thanks -- glad to hear it.
No, that was not apparent to me, sir, if that is what that person meant. A person that truly follows Christ would love his neighbor as himself so there would not be any second-class citizens. If we take care of each other regardless of race, sex, class, or faith, that is what I believe Christ is calling Christians to do. And wouldn't an economy, culture, and education based on doing unto others as you would have them do unto you a good notion, my friend? Christ does not insist you believe in him, that is why we are given free will and the intellect to decide. I was once an atheist and basically researched my way into belief in God. Thanks for putting up with me and my comments. ;)
ReplyDeleteIt's quite clear. Saying that "the legislators" should be Christian means that non-Christians should not be legislators. Saying that the nation should be Christian means that it should take its character from that particular religion, which inherently means non-Christian Americans are not quite as American as Christians are. Same with the media, culture, etc. He's not talking about "an economy, culture, and education based on doing unto others as you would have them do unto you", he's talking about those things being Christian. That inherently means non-Christians do not belong in quite the same way. I refuse to accept the US being a Christian nation just as I would refuse to accept it being a Muslim nation or a Marxist nation. It is the nation of all its citizens regardless of belief systems.
ReplyDeleteYes, give me something to read. I don't want to sit through a 10 minute video when I could have read an article in 3 minutes.
ReplyDeleteSoon. That could be about so much. Everyone is going to think of something different that could be attributed to.
Read books. I'm already ahead of the game on this one.
I don't know why so many people put things out in video form instead of just writing a post. Making a video is a lot more work, and it's harder to slow down or go back over something multiple times to make sure you understand it. Video is really only justified if there are interesting or essential visuals available to use.
ReplyDeleteI took the "soon" image as a reference to Halloween being only two months away. At least, that's why I included it.
You certainly read a lot more books than most people.
The human mind and spirit cannot be confined, contained or constrained.
ReplyDeleteThey live and thrive on truth and wither and die from ignorance.
Better an open mind and spirit of truth than a closed mind and spirit of ignorance.
-Rj
An open mind, yes -- but rather than a spirit of truth, I would say a spirit of humble acceptance of the verdict of the evidence. Everybody thinks that his own views at a given moment are "truth". But there's a difference between actual knowledge derived from hard objective evidence, and mere belief derived from tradition, sacred texts, or wishful thinking.
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