Bible is no defense for cowardly, dishonest ideology
To the Daily:
Kyle Burleson is an example of what is wrong with conservatives who base their politics on religion. Would it be fair to call him a bad person? I don’t know — I’ve never met the kid. But from reading his letter to the editor, Democrats don’t follow Christian values (11/22/2004), I can safely conclude that I don’t like him. I can guarantee that I don’t have nearly the base of biblical knowledge that Burleson has, as he so eloquently established in his article in noting how Medicaid somehow proves Jesus wouldn’t be a Democrat today. What would he be, Kyle? A “compassionate conservative?”
Damn straight Kyle Burleson, you tell Jeff Craven. Tell us all. Tell me how Jesus would have smiled on tax cuts for the wealthy, how the rich do indeed deserve their tax breaks and most importantly, how Republicans are morally superior to Democrats because they support a ban on abortion. Burleson, I liked how you invoked the Ten Commandments as a defense for your abortion argument, but let me offer a critique, if I may. How about we use a modern set of social principles based on the evolution (oh wait, is that a blasphemous word?) of human thought to determine the laws of our nation rather than a multi-millennia old religious document? How about that?
I have a problem with Burleson and others who invoke such strict interpretations of the Bible as a defense for modern political stances. They hide behind religion as a means of resisting change, and I find that cowardly and dishonest. Arguments that gay marriage is a plague on this country and will erode the sanctity of marriage are but one example.
Now I won’t infer your feelings on same-sex marriage. Frankly, I don’t really care. Let’s just allow your “morally superior” administration to speak for you on this one. Karl Rove made it abundantly clear that the Bush administration seeks to amend the U.S. Constitution to maintain marriage as a union of one man and one woman only. One more time: We are going to permanently change the fundamental political document of our country to support a religious principle — one that boils down to discrimination. In this administration’s eyes, all men are not equal, and unlike you I am not “truly grateful.”
John Mittelbach
LSA senior
Letter writer fails to defend the sins of the GOP
To the Daily:
Kyle Burleson ineffectively attempted to defend the Republican Party as being “the party of moral values” (Democrats don’t follow Christian values, 11/22/2004). The mixed hypocrisy and ignorance of this statement is amusing at first (he seems to forget our beloved president’s drunk driving and drug abuse record), but when one realizes that people like Burleson, as the election shows, are in the majority, the statement becomes almost frightening.
The Republican Party is the party of the wealthy and powerful. Burleson and many other conservatives seem to forget the holy aphorism, “It is more difficult for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God than a camel to pass through the eye of a needle.” Could Jesus be saying that it is not virtuous to exploit the impoverished and horde material wealth for personal gain? But if he were saying that, he’d sound like a gasp liberal!
Burleson writes of U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) opportunistic dishonesty. Now, ol’ Teddy is definitely a disgrace to Democrats and humanity in general, but let’s not forget President Bush’s rushing into war (Iraq), disrespectfully taking advantage of an opportunity (post-Sept. 11 anti-terrorist sentiment) and also lying about it. Which brings me to the next point.
Burleson brings up the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill” and condemns the Democrats as murderers for their typical pro-choice stance. Well, that may be, but I am positive that sending troops into harm’s way and commanding them to kill people is a more direct means of murdering than giving people the option of having an abortion. Not to mention Bush is notoriously pro-capital punishment. Just because the state says it’s OK to kill someone doesn’t mean Jesus wants it to happen. Sorry.
The fact is, it is necessary for politicians to lie, mislead, and misinform, thus abandoning Christian values. And when they are in position to send people to their deaths, they usually do. It’s all part of the job requirements. The moral of this story is: Don’t vote based on morality. Politicians are by nature immoral and any that claim otherwise are lying, which should come as no surprise.
Andy Petrovich
LSA sophomore