LIBERALS TRYING HARD

The terrible and terrifying results of the election of 2004 are definitely causing deep introspection among liberals who were convinced President Bush's policies and mistakes were going to get him fired. How did Kerry lose the popular vote by over 4 million votes? And what can be done to turn the tide in favor of the Democrats for 2008?

I read few commentators who lay heavy blame on failures of Kerry the man or his campaign. Many agree that the SwiftBoat Veteran's testimonies were damaging and Kerry's response took weeks to materialize. Liberals were by and large happy with Kerry and appear to want him to continue as a leader in their party.

But over and over again the message appears that there is something desperately wrong with a person who would support Bush in the wake of the invasion of Iraq, the outrages of Abu Ghraib, the injustices of the Patriot Act, the conservative tax policy, and innumerable other violations of the liberal ethic. Only two explanations for this abberant behavior come to mind: they are filled with evil, or they are overrun by Ignorance (with a capital I). Perhaps because most liberals can't abide the doctrine that real evil exists in the human heart, mind-crushing Ignorance is the most popular answer, summarized by Jane Smiley in Slate:

Here is how ignorance works: First, they put the fear of God into you—if you don't believe in the literal word of the Bible, you will burn in hell. Of course, the literal word of the Bible is tremendously contradictory, and so you must abdicate all critical thinking, and accept a simple but logical system of belief that is dangerous to question. A corollary to this point is that they make sure you understand that Satan resides in the toils and snares of complex thought and so it is best not try it.

Ms. Smiley's words are very close to an American Left-Wing Catechism. Here we have the default perception of the blue state intelligentsia. At times this statement of liberal (yet incredibly dogmatic) belief in ignorance is attached to all religious people, but more often only applied to Christian fundamentalists. You know, the really dangerous ones.

How do They put the fear of God into you? What is the mechanism of conservative religious faith? How does it get into a person? Do the preachers put it there through hypnotism, or do they bribe them, or what? Isn't it true that the prospective convert to Ignorance must first choose to listen to the Christian message? And once he or she has listened, make a decision as to whether the message is worth listening to or not? Is it not remotely possible that a transcendent God can lead us into religious faith that includes belief in an actual heaven and hell?

The literal word of the Bible can stand up to critical analysis. It is not a tender blade of grass that withers under the first direct beam of light shined upon it. It is not a fragile scroll of decaying parchment that crumbles in the hands of the PhD who picks it up. I wonder how many great minds have made this careless assumption and do nothing to discover themselves of what stuff the Word of God is made. Some of the most towering intellects of the ages have devoured the Bible and found untold riches of wisdom in its pages, and lifetimes have been invested discovering the gold within. It is simply not a human-engineered book. I am still looking for a true contradiction of fact in the Bible after years of study. The best I have been able to come up with is that Matthew says the Romans put a scarlet robe on Jesus before the crucifixion, while John says it was purple.

Dangerous to question? The actors and actresses of scripture are at their best when they question God and struggle to act out their faith. Of course we all long for that moment when we become the mindless automatons the Lord desires us to be, right?

Complex thought is the realm of satan? Who has recorded more complex thoughts than scholars like Paul, Augustine, Ambrose, Athanasius, Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards? Or Christian scientists whose brilliant, original, and complex inquisitiveness into the realms of nature never dampened their thirst for God, like Newton, Pascal, Pasteur, Galileo, Maxwell? Do universities still hand out doctorate degrees in Christian theology, even places like Harvard and Princeton? Christians do not fear and do not discourage complex thought.

The far left also is having trouble comprehending the motivations behind the opposition to gay marriage. I have more to say on this soon.

I VOTED THIRD-PARTY

Once again I stared my ballot (this time electronic) and couldn't bring myself to vote for the GOP candidate for President. Again I voted for the Constitution Party (formerly the US Taxpayers Party).

Bush says he's pro-life. I'm grateful for the minimal progress against partial-birth abortion and fetal tissue research and same-sex marriage, but the facts are that we are still k1lling a million babies a year and pretty soon civil unions are going to happen. He's not leading a charge, only giving us rhetoric and a few token efforts to convince Christians to support him.

Bush says he's a Christian. but he thoroughly embraces the American civil religion that considers Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Shintos, Buddhists, and Pagans on a level playing field, all worshiping the same God. I don't get that. Maybe US Presidents simply cannot express their faith, faithfully while in office.

Bush says he's a conservative. He did cut some taxes. But on any other standard of economic policy, he's a wild spending liberal. He's no different with his GOP majority in Congress than a California Democrat approving billions of new spending with no thought for the future. Not close to good enough. Is anyone worried that oil is at $50 per barrel? What are we doing about it again?

I do support the war on terr0r and I don't think it was wrong to invade Iraq. Peroutka advocates an immediate pullout, saying any and all nation-building is unconstitutional. Generally I agree but we have to finish the job in Iraq. This is where the decision got very difficult. I came to the conclusion that fewer lives would be lost if abortion ended than if we cut and ran from Iraq. If I had to choose between having my house blown up and me and my family with it, or d3stroying a 20-week-old unborn child, go ahead -- I'll take the hit.

Another awful compromise I made is that Peroutka has inherited and embraced the support of the League of the South, Long Live the Confederacy crowd. Talk about choosing the lesser of two evils. Ugh.

Of course I knew that my vote was not going to bring Kerry any closer to victory since I live in Texas. I may have been more pragmatic if I lived in Ohio or Florida.

In one sense I prefer Bush to Kerry and think he'll be a better President. However I fear that the spending spree in Congress isn't over and that Bush will continue to be a doormat for them. Hopefully Bush will make wise choices in the judicial appointment opportunities that are sure to come. But I am not optimistic that any substantial reduction in the number of abortions will come in the next four years.

God have mercy on the souls of our President, legislators, and judges, and may God revive the soul of America.