Christian Science Monitor: Religious Right's Tough Call
WASHINGTON - After two days of wooing by all the Republican presidential candidates, religious conservatives appear no more in agreement on whom to support than they did going in.
The good news, said some of the 2,500 attendees at the Values Voter Summit organized by the Family Research Council, is that most of the GOP candidates share their views on the bedrock issues of the movement: opposition to abortion rights and support for traditional marriage. The bad news is that the strongest Republican in national polls, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, is not with them on those issues.
It looks like the so-called 'values voters' are having trouble finding a candidate who is popular but also sufficiently homophobic and strong against women's rights. Shame that Brownback's out of the race. His 'values' were certainly backward enough.
What about God? Is he available for a presidential bid? Or is He too busy preparing to rapture all of those values voters? I hope he does so soon - then those of us who are 'left behind' can elect a worthy president according to rational criteria.
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To be wise, observe; for observation is the source of wisdom.
"A wonderful, maaaagical animal!"
To be wise, observe; for observation is the source of wisdom.
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Why the learned pig?
In early 19th-century America, a certain traveling show featured a remarkable pig that, on command, could spell out letters to form words. This "pig of knowledge", or "learned pig", baffled superstitious mobs, and excited frenzied accusations of witchcraft. In response, the pig's trainer published a pamphlet that sought to dispel the rumors by detailing his methods of instruction, and demonstrating that this apparent miracle could be accounted for through reason and observation alone.
Tacitus once wrote, "everything unknown passes for something splendid." Humans by nature desire to know, and when they encounter something seemingly inexplicable, they tend to fill in the holes with religion, superstition, or inane anti-intellectualism that dismisses the need for knowledge altogether. But these are cowardly subsitutes for reason and observation. The learned pig reminds us that if we wish to be wise, "observe; for observation is the source of wisdom."
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1 comment:
Help me, Lord!
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