Sunday, November 14, 2004

Holier than thou...

Thursday, November 04, 2004

Purple Mountains Majesty

Check out these interesting projections of the voter turnout by county in two dimensions over at Crooked Timber.

Something odd influenced this election. I'm not ready to fall into conspiracy land and suggest that Diebold software somehow skewed the results for Bush; at the same time, I'm not entirely sure that the results didn't get screwed with somewhere between the booth and Wednesday morning.

Hrm.

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Faith-based Voting and how to convert the religious right

Well, the votes are counted, and we've got four more years of President Bush. Apparently the "evangelical Christian" vote turned out for Bush in key states.

My strategy as a Democrat over the next four years will be to work with every single evangelical I know - with every single religious person I know - to stress that Bush does not represent their interests. I will do this by holding up the teachings of Jesus in constrast to the actions of Bush. The case makes itself. Bush does not govern according to the teachings which Jesus laid down; check his actions against the Beatitudes.

I think that this kind of outreach to evangelical Christians can make the difference in the next election. Too many liberals have attacked this group for their beliefs, making fun of people who pray to the "invisible guy in the clouds" and alienating the very group Republicans have been cultivating for thirty years.

Are we liberals hypocrites? I don't hear any liberals making fun of Buddhists (invisible and unprovable perfect state of being), Muslims (invisible cloud guy again), or Hindus (blue multi-armed lady).

Liberals, here are your marching orders for the next four years:

1. Read a little bit about Jesus Christ. You don't have to believe His teachings - approach them from a scholarly viewpoint, as you would when reading about Shiva or Buddha. In particular, check out the Beatitudes.

2. try to think about the abuses of this administration in terms of "What Would Jesus Do?" Oh, I can hear your eyes rolling in your heads now.

3. Step three? There is no step three. Just apply logic to what you've read, and contrast the teachings of Jesus with the practices of the Bush administration. While hotbutton issues like Gay Marriage and Abortion will always bring out the "liberal haters brigade", you can be very convincing when making arguments like: "Would Jesus approve of the death penalty while condemning abortion? Why does Goerge Bush?"*

Why would I do this? Because I work and live with some very conservative Christians who are pissed that Bush is destroying the environment (that the Christian God and Jesus asked us to take care of), but who still voted for him because he "stands for their values". For too long, the religious right has used "religious values" a.k.a. morals, a.k.a. "basic right and wrong" to paint the Democratic party and liberals in general as pandering to the most base of human desires.

Since God, through Jesus, specifically taught that compassion and humility are to be elevated above all else, that good works are the path to heaven, it would seem easy to make the case that Democrats - the truly compassionate party - are closer to the religious and

Another point; when it comes to Gay Marriage (which I support, through civil unions) and Abortion (which I personally don't have a say in, being sans uterus and all), realize that these two issues are nowhere specifically forbidden in the New Testament. Jesus worked with individuals; he didn't rise up in government to issue edicts upon all people. Encourage evangelicals to emulate Jesus' good work by truly following His teachings and working with downtrodden or disadvantaged individuals who have individual problems instead of appointing modern Pharisees like George Bush and Dick Cheney to do "God's work" by blanketing our country with well-meaning but ultimately misguided laws.

I think this strategy can work. Don't make fun of people - gain a better understanding of them and apply that understanding toward electing the next truly compassionate President of the united States.

*I would think Jesus might not be all that happy about the death penalty, since it was imposed on Him.
** I'm a Catholic, somewhat lapsed, but I think it helps me understand where people are coming from.

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