Mike Huckabee, Are you KIDDING me?! Options

[Jim]

so if he gets elected you think that just him being president will allow for the Christian crusade? i mean...no one has to vote on the initiatives it takes to get something like that rolling ....

It's just a hypothetical of what could happen. Zealous people tend to make other people just as zealous...

[Spectatrix]

so if he gets elected you think that just him being president will allow for the Christian crusade? i mean...no one has to vote on the initiatives it takes to get something like that rolling ....

No, we do have checks & balances, so I doubt that much of his MO would get accomplished. The same can be said of pretty much every candidate. But if I disagree with 99% of his ideology, why would I vote for him? I don't want to see another 4 or 8 years of a president pushing a Christianity-laced agenda and vetoing everything that doesn't match his world view.

Sure, why not? Everything in society is fueled by beliefs in ....something. What does it matter that he finds motivation from faith in christianity?

The key concern is over how he applies his Christian faith towards legislation. There are many things that are part of the Christian belief structure that I, as an atheist, will wholeheartedly agree with. But not all -- not by a long shot. When it comes to people's morals in their private lives, I have little problem with what they believe and how they act. But you must be cautious about how that gets applied in the public sphere.

I really like what Barack Obama had to say on the matter:

For my friends on the right, I think it would be helpful to remember the critical role that the separation of church and state has played in preserving not only our democracy but also our religious practice. Folks tend to forget that during our founding, it wasn't the atheists or the civil libertarians who were the most effective champions of the First Amendment. It was the persecuted minorities, it was Baptists like John Leland who didn't want the established churches to impose their views on folks who were getting happy out in the fields and teaching the scripture to slaves.

It was the forbearers of Evangelicals who were the most adamant about not mingling government with religious, because they didn't want state-sponsored religion hindering their ability to practice their faith as they understood it. Given this fact, I think that the right might worry a bit more about the dangers of sectarianism.

Whatever we once were, we're no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of non-believers. We should acknowledge this and realize that when we're formulating policies from the state house to the Senate floor to the White House, we've got to work to translate our reasoning into values that are accessible to every one of our citizens, not just members of our own faith community.

This post has been edited by Spectatrix: Dec 10 2007, 12:29 PM

[impala454]

I think you guys are just taking his remarks a little too literal and/or over the top. Him saying we're a nation that needs to find God doesn't mean he's going to have government mandated bible study. It just means he feels that the moral center of the country has slipped, and honestly it has. We're slowly being desensitized to things that used to be very morally wrong.

[theIncredibleEdi...]

the war on Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Testm0nkey]

i am on the extreme side but i personally dont want a president who is religious in the least bit! i know that unfortunately cant happen because most people are totally stupid but hey. i want a president that is not guided by faith but by fact, intelligence, rationality and excellent information and personal resources. a person that can weigh two choices on an issue and decide on the greater good in the long run and for the whole not because one is more morally sound according to prophecy or God

people have been hating on bush for being too religious, seeking guidance in high up churchy dudes, spouting off god this and god that, claiming god is on americas side in the fight against terrorism... where are all these people (on both parties) now that Huckabee is sounding even more crazy?

thats a bit of evidence for impala that people just like to complain. but not EVERYONE is as easily swayed by loud crowds and poll numbers

[Spectatrix]

We're slowly being desensitized to things that used to be very morally wrong.

Examples?

[impala454]

Oh I forgot you don't watch much TV.

-I can now hear the words fuck and shit on regular cable tv

-Jerry Springer?

-Temptation Island?

-Rap music?

It just seems to me like it's a contest now to see who can go further over the top to be shocking and controversial. You have a new show about to start where people are admitting terrible things about their family in exchange for money. It's pathetic. I'm not saying it's because people aren't going to church, but a little spirituality (whether they're bowing cross legged to a buddha or eatin a cracker and drinkin some wine) couldn't hurt.

[Spectatrix]

Rap music and trash tv are designed for shock value. I don't know that they're the best measure of our nation's moral compass.

Of course, I spent part of this weekend watching some of season 4 of Penn & Teller's Bullshit! and a documentary entitled Fuck. So yeah... I might not be the best person to talk to about this... I also swear in my sleep, eat dead babies, and, while not "living in sin", do frequently engage in pre-marital relations. (Ok, so I was kidding about the eating babies thing...)

This post has been edited by Spectatrix: Dec 10 2007, 02:51 PM

[johnthedrunk]

so is this guy jewish?

[pebkac]

Oh I forgot you don't watch much TV.

-I can now hear the words fuck and shit on regular cable tv

-Jerry Springer?

-Temptation Island?

-Rap music?

Now you're just begging the question. What's wrong with these things? There's nothing immoral about being controversial or shocking.

(Ok, so I was kidding about the eating babies thing...)

I used to think you were cool Christine.

[impala454]

Now you're just begging the question. What's wrong with these things? There's nothing immoral about being controversial or shocking.

If there's nothing wrong with them then when you're in a job interview make sure you use as many cuss words as possible.

Hell look at some of the NSFW threads on here... some old dude torturing his cock?

[Testm0nkey]

shit like that existed way back in the day. there were nasty ass stag parties, racism, genital mutilation 50-60 years ago and earlier. now its just a bit more in the public. so keeping weird gross things secret and living double lives or having it out in the open which one is betteR? you can make a case for both


if you dont believe me about the hard core mutilation, S&M in the 1890s-1950s ive got pictures! 7 years ago the thought of splitting a penis didnt just pop into a guys head out of nowhere

[impala454]

shit like that existed way back in the day. there were nasty ass stag parties, racism, genital mutilation 50-60 years ago and earlier. now its just a bit more in the public. so keeping weird gross things secret and living double lives or having it out in the open which one is betteR? you can make a case for both
if you dont believe me about the hard core mutilation, S&M in the 1890s-1950s ive got pictures! 7 years ago the thought of splitting a penis didnt just pop into a guys head out of nowhere

I didn't say immorality didn't used to exist. Just saying it's become much more widespread. TV/internet/movies/music has desensitized us.

[Mommy]

The thing is, radio and movies were VERY racey when they first began. The FCC finally instituted rules to control radio content (and eventually tv content). Movies were even worse than radio, and when the Catholic church threatened to go to the FCC to control movie content, film makers began to control movie content and instituted a rating system to keep themselves from being controlled by the FCC, thus maintaining the artistic aspect of movies.

And thats one big run-on sentence I don't want to punctuate properly

[impala454]

Yeah... they showed women's ankles!