That being said, let me point out that the religious, conservative David Brooks just wrote a column for the New York Times in which he explained that, because money is tight, we should just let old people die and save our money for the young.
In case you think I’m taking him out of context, let me just hand you a towel as I reveal the money shot in the second paragraph.
Trim from the old to invest in the young. We should adjust pension promises and reduce the amount of money spent on health care during the last months of life so we can preserve programs for those who are growing and learning the most.His mother must be so proud.
Brooks: reduce the amount of money spent on health care during the last months of life ..."
ReplyDeleteDid I just read "Death Panel" or is this my imagination running wild?
I've been outraged at the Christian chauvinism that passes for religion in this country for most of my life. The smear campaign against unbelievers and disbelievers and agnostics removes, in my opinion, a great many people from consideration as Christian in the first place, but we hear it from presidents as well as preachers. We hear them go crazy with "Christian" rage when a secular humanist suggests that virtue is its own reward or a physicist declares that we don't need to explain the cosmos with a magical, supernatural entity.
ReplyDeleteI'm tired of hearing the word "Christian" used as not only a synonym for good, but as the sole source of goodness. I'm even more tired of hearing that a good act is not a good act unless motivated by fear of damnation and I'm ready to leave the cesspool entirely when I hear evil justified by a promise of transportation of the dead to some realm where all will be made right.
I almost hope these people will have their way and this sad and sorry travesty of "Judeo-Christian" ethics returns us to the day of Dickens: state religion, brutish lives, disease, starvation, poverty and all. That might just tempt some to take some personal responsibility for justice and decency and human values.
Morality is a human invention and a human need
I'm often tempted to tell overtly pious prigs that my version of morality (sans organized religion) trumps the hell out of the version most often practiced in public by the typical values crowd Onward Christian Soldier. There are people in my 'friends' circle on Facebook (don't scorn me for returning to that banal septic tank, I was trying to promote my blog) who seem to be going steady with Jesus, if not double-dating, and every other post from them is some Biblical quote or comment about how wonderful the sermon was that morning from Rev. Lovejoy. Their posts IN BETWEEN the godly ones consist of bashing Muslims and Islam, questioning the citizenship of our Kenyan Muslim Usurper President, and supporting GOP efforts to take funding from programs that do the most for the "least among us".
ReplyDeleteI'd run for office, but here in Tennessee there's a law here on the books that prevents atheists from holding public office.
(heavy sigh...)
Next step, soylent green!
ReplyDeleteIf anyone is wondering about the anonymous "Jon" reference to Soylent Green, the intent is not what you think. I deleted the comment because it probably came from this discussion thread. Please note the intended subtext.
ReplyDelete"We should adjust pension promises..."
ReplyDeleteI.e. make it legal for corporations to walk away from contractual obligations which they voluntarily entered into. Now, it's not enough that thirty years of Republican rule let the rich steal trillions of dollars, and left the rest of us to pay it back. In the Republican future, even the most basic legal responsibilities will be abandoned if it suits corporations. Try telling the banks that you are about to "adjust mortgage promises" on your house, and see where it gets you; yet your mortgage agreement is no different from these pensions- one party agreed to pay money in the future for benefits obtained now. Yet, with the country struggling to deal with a disaster caused by the greed of the rich, they are trying to use our situation to get us to just walk away from what they owe us.
This is a sick country, and like a schizophrenic who won't take his meds, it's heading toward a real smash.
Green,
ReplyDeleteUndoubtedly correct, what you say. We live in an age of obstinate lies and artful mendacities spoken by knaves and eunuchs, of false witness spoken by the party faithful, of the virtues of work replaced by legal theft, of merit turned upside down and inside out, and the end of honor and noblesse oblige. Let us pause for a moment of comic relief.
To all,
ReplyDeleteYes, whenever I hear calls for an "efficiency revolution" with our tax dollars, that language worries me. It's nice to be vigilant about fraud and corruption, sure, but government isn't primarily about achieving ruthless efficiency -- it ought to promote humaneness first, and efficiency second. I find it contemptible that so many conservatives laud the principle of "sacrifice." Isn't a key goal of government amelioration, not sacrifice, unless the latter becomes unavoidable? The idea is to make life better to the extent that human nature and circumstance permit, not to accept the pain and spread it around real good so it's "fair." If a predatory dinosaur with a walnut-sized brain can figure that out, why can't certain humans puzzle it out for themselves?
Dino:
ReplyDelete"If a predatory dinosaur with a walnut-sized brain can figure that out, why can't certain humans puzzle it out for themselves? "
The sad (and dangerous) thing about these marvelous brains we inherit is that they come with no software and an inadequate operating system that does little more than urge us to eat and breed. Sadder is that there are those who will supply us with all the software we need to become consumers and to direct our animal instincts to their benefit.
Squatlo:
I'd be interested to hear about a law that requires a religious test to run for office. I should think that's unequivocally unconstitutional. Is there a lawyer in the house?
"If a predatory dinosaur with a walnut-sized brain can figure that out, why can't certain humans puzzle it out for themselves? "
ReplyDeleteWell, obviously, their brains are somewhat smaller than walnuts. Makes sense to me.
Capt. Fogg: I posted about this particular law a while back, and rather than look up the language of the state constitution prohibiting athiests from holding public office here in TN, or in TX, or a number of other states, I'll just attach the link for my blog post:
ReplyDeletehttp://squatlo-rant.blogspot.com/2011/02/supporting-blasphemers-for-public.html