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Nov. 6, 2004 I’m skeptical. The same pollsters who blundered before the election now claim to understand it afterward. They say that moral issues caused the Democrats to lose. Maybe. Despite a botched war and a sluggish economy (all magnified by a sympathetic media), the Democrats still lost. Clearly, something more than security and the economy played a part. The Democrats didn’t lose by much, but the defeat was clear, and it’s their third straight. What’s revealing is the Democrats’ response. If moral issues didn’t sink the Democrats in this election, their first attempts at “morality talk” now are embarrassing. It may show how out of touch they are, and will surely sink them in the next election. Let me help. I’m a voter the Democrats need to target. I’m an Irish-Catholic husband and father, which means that while I’m basically conservative now, I grew up in a Democrat house. Yes, we had the three pictures by our front door – Pope John, John Kennedy, and the sacred heart of Jesus. If the Democrats give me a reason – any reason at all – I’ll gladly come back. Sadly, they’re so out of touch, I can’t bring myself to vote for them. Yes, moral values did sway my vote. If the Democrats want votes from guys like me, they need to listen to guys like me. Why didn’t I vote for John Kerry? Because he’s a liberal. It’s not about religion. It’s about freedom and respect. I know an awful lot of religious liberals (I was a Jesuit for eight years, after all), and it isn’t their religion that bothers me. It’s how liberals disparage people who use religious values to make public decisions. Liberals believe that anyone can have a religion, so long as they keep it to themselves and keep it away from public discussions. Liberals believe, in short, that people can’t bring their religion to the table. The “separation between church and state” is the liberal First Commandment. Liberals believe that the price of religious freedom is religious silence. It isn’t hard to prove this true. If you look to see who prevents any trace of public religious expression, you don’t see conservatives leading the charge. It’s the ACLU and the liberals. Conservatives don’t complain when they see a Star of David, but liberals hyperventilate at the sight of a crucifix. I claim that’s the problem. Here’s the solution. There are three attitudes that liberals need to adjust about moral values. First, citizens don’t need to justify their values to anyone, least of all to politicians. Second, using one’s religious and moral values is no imposition on anyone else. Third, public decisions belong to the public. Rule One: Citizens don’t need to justify their values to anyone, least of all to politicians. To be clear: as a citizen, you can vote however you want, for whatever reason you want. That’s what freedom is; it’s not only the ability to vote, but it’s also the right to use whatever rationale you want. If you want to vote for John Kerry because he’s taller than George Bush is, go right ahead. We may snicker at your shallowness, but so long as this is a free country, we won’t deny your vote because we dislike your rationale. Therefore, if you want to use religious convictions to decide public policy questions, that’s your right as an American citizen. If your religion forbids chewing gum, and chewing gum comes up as a public policy question, you don’t have to justify your vote to anyone. You should feel free to vote against chewing gum, even while you know that others think you’re crazy. You don’t have to justify it to them. As you’re free to vote, you’re also free to promote your rationale. You can persuade, encourage, and advertise your values, yet still respect every individual’s right to choose for themselves. Partisans use rhetoric to cower or intimidate people. They scold or scorn others who vote according to different criteria than they do. There’s nothing wrong with that. If some snooty college professor wants to disparage everyone who votes for tax cuts, let him. If you withhold your vote because you want to impress the snooty professor, then his rhetorical trap has simply suckered you, but that’s part of the game also. Rule Two: Using one’s religious and moral values is no imposition on anyone else. John Kerry claimed that while he opposes abortion himself, he refuses to impose his private values on others. This is a classic political dodge, but it doesn’t stand up to reason. When you vote your beliefs, you don’t insult others who believe differently. You’re simply exercising your freedom. No one takes offense at that. This dodge pretends to be humble and magnanimous, but it’s actually a threat: it insists that no one should use his or her religious values when discussing abortion. It presumes that religious convictions are inherently dictatorial. It presumes that religious convictions are too divisive to use in public. If liberals hold onto this attitude, they can kiss most of America goodbye. Rule Three: Public decisions belong to the public. Politically, this is the major question. Democrats lose the “value battle” because America identifies Democrats with liberals. America distrusts liberals, not because of what liberals believe, but because liberals want to take authority away from the public. "Fundamental human rights should never be put up for a popular vote," says Matt Foreman of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. -- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6401635/site/newsweek / The Fourteenth Amendment is a great amendment except for one, fatal flaw. The Amendment holds that no legislature can pass a law that abridges the privileges and immunities of citizens of the United States, but the Amendment never defines what those privileges and immunities are. Instead, like the quote above, it leaves open the question of what constitutes a “fundamental human right.” The sloppy language of the amendment specifically prevents the public from defining those rights. Judges, exploiting that ambiguity, have usurped the public’s authority to define those rights. That alone is intellectually indefensible, but what’s worse is when advocates of unpopular social policies shop for compliant judges. These judges then issue legal precedents that presume to bind everyone. It’s still amazing that in Roe v. Wade, Justice Harry Blackmun created the entire “trimester” scheme entirely by himself, and yet we use it as the dividing line between life and death for millions of fetuses. The public never voted on the trimester scheme, and to this day, the public has never been consulted about it. Whenever the public actually votes on abortion (as opposed to polls conducted by vested interests), the votes are overwhelmingly in favor of traditional values. Partial-birth abortion referendums always reject the procedure. Parental notification referendums always win. Yet abortion is virtually on demand, partial birth abortions are legal, and the parents may never know. The obvious will of the public is simply ignored. Before the most recent election, judges in Massachusetts ruled that the law must protect gay marriages. Renegade mayors in San Francisco and elsewhere, having never consulted the public, began passing out marriage licenses to gays in utter defiance of local laws. Then in this most recent election, every referendum rejected gay marriage. To anyone with open eyes, it’s obvious that the public holds a vastly different opinion about gay marriage than liberal judges and liberal mayors. Yet, amazingly, liberal politicians wonder why they keep losing elections. Democrat politicians scratch their heads on how to “connect” with the American heartland. The first step is to display genuine respect for religious values. People have values, they vote according to values, and whether you like it or not, no one sets their religion aside when they vote. Surrender this false attitude about the separation between church and state, and you’ll see people give your other ideas a fair hearing. ------------ About the author: KC Mulville is a computer programmer, a happy husband and father of four, and holds several degrees in philosophy. Email KC Mulville: kcmulville@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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