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Oct. 27, 2004 At one time I held a management position in a huge corporation. Every year my department would hold a retreat for its management staff and hire a motivational speaker. The last year that I worked for this conglomeration they hired a speaker who suggested that we should always address an individual by his first name when engaging in a conversation. My best friend at the time always addressed me as "dude" or "hey," but after the retreat, every time we had a conversation, he addressed me, dozens of times, by my first name. It drove me nuts. George W. Bush has always made a practice of mentioning "God" in his stump speeches, because he wants to secure his evangelical base. It's irritating, but at least evidence suggests he is a practicing evangelical Christian. Lately, Senator John Kerry has developed a penchant for mentioning God and quoting scripture like a Pentecostal preacher. Kerry is a Catholic and members of that religious denomination rarely quote scripture, which leads me to ask: Why is it that days before the presidential election, John Kerry is suddenly sounding like Billy Graham? Kerry's campaign mantra seems to be "faith without works is dead", apparently he's only had time to read the book of James. Senior Kerry adviser solved the mystery when he told The New York Times: "We know that Americans are a very faithful people; the vast majority believe in God and worship. Over 70 percent tell pollsters routinely that they want a president who is deeply grounded in faith and speaks to those issues." I guess if 70 percent of Americans told the Gallup Poll that they were New Age practitioners, John Kerry would be find a way to mention "Deepak Chopra" in his stump speeches. Every time John Kerry invokes the Almighty, he infuriates freethinkers such as myself, and further alienates the evangelical community, who can spot a hypocrite when they see one. I have nothing against "people of faith," but when they use faith, especially when it is faux-faith to troll for votes, it really makes me angry. ------------ About the author Robert Paul Reyes: I am a columnist for the Lynchburg Ledger. Email: rreyes4966@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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