How different are they? Really? James Dobson and Barack Obama?
On the face of it there is little, save their shared humanity, that seems to unite the two men. From their skin color to their positions on abortion, gay marriage, poverty, the role of government, from their views on the separation of church and state to their positions on the Iraq War, the men are about as far apart as men can get.
But appearances are deceiving. The men are actually very, very similar. (And this goes beyond their common love of basketball).
Both men see their religious faith as one of their primary political weapons. They take that faith and move in opposite directions, but their philosophy, their spirituality is very similar.
Dr. Dobson attacked Sen. Obama for having a flawed view - a deliberately skewed view - of Biblical theology "deliberately distorting the Bible," "dragging biblical understanding through the gutter," "willfully trying to confuse people," and having a "fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution." Obama responded by saying Dobson either hadn't read his speech (at a Sojourners event on poverty) or was just trying to score political points.
That back and forth, however, is simply the exchange of men who long ago decided that their faith was a tool for material ends.
It is a common mistake, a common temptation - the temptation to take the very hard work of the spiritual life - living humbly, loving your enemies, putting others first, forgiving always - and replace it with the easy work of politics - the promise that this policy or plan will bring about a sort of spiritual nirvana.
That is what unites Obama and Dobson. That they take those politics in different directions is incidental.
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...the weird ol Canadian...
my lawyers will be in touch, Thinker!
more (litigation, that is) later
OK - movies of the summer. One one has struck me - The Visitor. In a post 9/11 world a successful professor has lost his soul, his curiosity, his wife and the story of reconnecting to a world so dangerous and so wonderful is powerful. Can't think of a better movie in the last couple of years. I think it is coming out soon on video - since it was only in art houses this summer.
I can see both sides. Woman's health is very important and it should be very carefully dealt with because it is about one's life. At the same time, if you can avoid having abortion, this should be also considered because it is also about a life. Is there any way to accommodate both arguments? I will certainly think about choosing some type of middle ground.
I am a supporter of Pro-choice and I believe by giving women the right to terminate an unwanted, unplanned, or physically hazardous pregnancy, we allow them the same rights as all other people in all other medical and social conditions. Forcing them to carry to full term jeopardizes their ability to have a healthy and fulfilling life.
I am an anti-abortionist. It is sad to see that so many women had their unwanted baby aborted but so many other women want babies desperately but cannot have one. Adoption is a viable alternative to abortion and accomplishes the same result. And with 1.5 million American families wanting to adopt a child, there is no such thing as an unwanted child.
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