Back into the Fray

Photo by moddb.com

I have  a love-hate relationship with politics.  On the one hand the constant arguing and staggering ignorance is making me old before my time, but on the other hand it is as Plato once said:  "One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors."

But even though I rant about politics a lot, I was hesitant to jump back into the Op-Ed game for a few reasons.  One, it forces me to think about politics even more than I already do and two, you're always bound to alienate several of your peers.   It's even worse in my case because I'm under 35 and like every generation before it today's younger generation is overwhelmingly Liberal, usually due to naive idealism. 

However, today I saw the following quoted Op-Ed in my newsfeed from Huffington Post Contributor Dennis Jett.  The bitterness and sheer gall of this short rant made it clear that I have no choice but to rejoin the fight.

The blue text is his work, while the red is response. 

---

"One might think that a political party and a religious organization would not have that much in common. But the Republican Party, in the wake of its failure to retake the White House, and the Catholic Church, in the aftermath of a series of scandals, actually have a lot in common. Here are at least six similarities:

"1. They both select the oldest white guy in the room as their standard bearer."

     If being old and white is an immediate disqualifier, as seems to be the perspective of many modern Liberals, then what are you doing writing columns?  You're both, so clearly your opinion is invalid and based on an irrational hate-trigger for the people you disagree with, right?

"2. They have a fundamental policy of denying certain rights to gays and women."

     Contrary to popular Leftist belief, the church has no legal right to deny gays the right to marry.  They're just outspoken against it, as they are with abortion.  This harkens back to the no-tolerance ideology of the No-Really-We-Tolerate-All-Opinions Left Wing where expressing any opinion aside from 100% acceptance of homosexuality evokes reactions akin to burning a homosexual at the stake. 

    I support legal gay marriage, but ask yourself this: if you're unwilling to meet them halfway and tolerate their perspective then why should the dissenting crowd tolerate yours?

"3. They are convinced they have a monopoly on morality."

     The church bases its morality on the Bible, which it holds is the Word of God.  So yes, God's law takes precedence over Dennis's law.  Not to mention that the return to civility and enlightenment from the Dark Ages is centered heavily around the Magna Carta, which was drafted from Judeo-Christian values, so it's not as if their promoting evil in the world. 

"4. They believe putting a Latino face on their product will increase sales to that important demographic."

     Or maybe, just maybe (and try to stick with me on this one)...they just thought he was the best man for the job and marketing and politics had nothing to do with it.  Believe it or not, not everyone race baits like the American Left, and the church does not make moves simply to spite you or anyone else.   

"5. They cater to their base and could care less about public opinion or interest writ large."

     I throw my hand up on this one; you're right, the church is not swayed by public opinion.  But then what else would you expect?  "Sorry, God, but the public clearly wants us to change our positions on certain social affairs, so I guess you're SOL." 

"6. They think to prevail in today's world all they have to do is change the messaging without making any change in the meaning of their message."

    See #5.  Again, the church values God's opinion over yours. 

Here's the link to the article.

I left  a slightly condensed version of my notes in a comment on the page, but HuffPo's moderators have yet to allow to be viewed on their site.  God forbid I interfere with their propagating, after all. 

-El Conservador

Adam Alexander © 2013