Been a Long Time
So, it's been a long time. As usual. And last time I said I was going to start making more regular updates, so, I apologize. But, I really haven't felt like I had anything to say that I wasn't getting out in some of my other writing (that writing is NOT NOT NOT going to be discussed here, because it's not for normal human consumption...aka...it's fanfic and it's only for fanfic-reading folks, who have NO IDEA who I am...except that one person.)
Anyway. I am here to say I am frustrated right now. I am in a slightly difficult position, because I'm a Democrat who works at a Christian church. Really, what that means is I'm not really able to truly discuss my opinions. It's not that anyone else would be mean to me about it, or even shut me down, it just makes for an awkward environment. Democrat and Christian. The two are not mutually exclusive, no matter what the ultra conservatives would like people to believe. It just means that I see things in a different way.
I'm really not here to justify my stance on things like abortion and the death penalty, both of which SUCK. I think it SUCKS that abortion is an option. But that doesn't mean I think it should be banned. The thing is, I can think of some very real situations where it is necessary. And I know that if abortion were made completely illegal, it would still happen, only it would be in back alleys and be made entirely unsafe. And I think the death penalty is WRONG. I agree that the world is safer without some people. But what if a person we execute is innocent? And that isn't an unbelievable figment of my imagination...it's happened.
I just find it hard to justify my stance as a Democrat to my Christian friends. None of my Democrat friends make me justify my Christianity. I am frustrated that much of the Republican debate that I have witnessed makes the argument that ONLY THEY care about Family Values and ONLY THEY are guided by Christian principles and ONLY THEY can claim that Abraham Lincoln was on their side.
Hear me out. Yes, Abraham Lincoln was a "Republican". He started the republican party! But that was a completely different time. They don't stand for the same things they did then, nor do the Democrats. Things have changed. I'm not saying he'd be a Democrat today, because we can't really speculate about things like that. What I can say, is that in his 2nd Inaugural Address, he stated:
"...Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the CAUSE of the conflict mighe cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other...The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully."
Instead of using Lincoln as a weapon against the Democrats, why don't the Republicans (or even the Democrats for pete's sake) start paying attention to what was being said. We were in the middle of a war that Americans were divided on. Lincoln's goal was to unite the country despite that. Hmm. Maybe we should refocus the election on what is important. Like the issues, perhaps. And stop the character-slurring, mud-slinging, swiftboat-ian bitching. I'm just saying...
Anyway. I am here to say I am frustrated right now. I am in a slightly difficult position, because I'm a Democrat who works at a Christian church. Really, what that means is I'm not really able to truly discuss my opinions. It's not that anyone else would be mean to me about it, or even shut me down, it just makes for an awkward environment. Democrat and Christian. The two are not mutually exclusive, no matter what the ultra conservatives would like people to believe. It just means that I see things in a different way.
I'm really not here to justify my stance on things like abortion and the death penalty, both of which SUCK. I think it SUCKS that abortion is an option. But that doesn't mean I think it should be banned. The thing is, I can think of some very real situations where it is necessary. And I know that if abortion were made completely illegal, it would still happen, only it would be in back alleys and be made entirely unsafe. And I think the death penalty is WRONG. I agree that the world is safer without some people. But what if a person we execute is innocent? And that isn't an unbelievable figment of my imagination...it's happened.
I just find it hard to justify my stance as a Democrat to my Christian friends. None of my Democrat friends make me justify my Christianity. I am frustrated that much of the Republican debate that I have witnessed makes the argument that ONLY THEY care about Family Values and ONLY THEY are guided by Christian principles and ONLY THEY can claim that Abraham Lincoln was on their side.
Hear me out. Yes, Abraham Lincoln was a "Republican". He started the republican party! But that was a completely different time. They don't stand for the same things they did then, nor do the Democrats. Things have changed. I'm not saying he'd be a Democrat today, because we can't really speculate about things like that. What I can say, is that in his 2nd Inaugural Address, he stated:
"...Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained. Neither anticipated that the CAUSE of the conflict mighe cease with or even before the conflict itself should cease. Each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other...The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully."
Instead of using Lincoln as a weapon against the Democrats, why don't the Republicans (or even the Democrats for pete's sake) start paying attention to what was being said. We were in the middle of a war that Americans were divided on. Lincoln's goal was to unite the country despite that. Hmm. Maybe we should refocus the election on what is important. Like the issues, perhaps. And stop the character-slurring, mud-slinging, swiftboat-ian bitching. I'm just saying...