Larry Willis
I have always been a registered Democrat. I am also a Christian (Southern
Baptist) and have taught Sunday school for over 30 years. My party
affiliation for practical purposes has meant very little to me over the
years since I have always voted the candidate, not the party. However, the
current atmosphere in this country to me is disgusting. In a nutshell it is
this: If you are not a conservative republican, you are neither Christian
nor moral. Even if you have the audacity to oppose something on the Bush
agenda, you are branded as unpatriotic and immoral. Now we have a large
number of influential preachers shouting that same message from the
pulpits.
The latest self-righteous move is the effort to end the filibuster as a
political tool to empower the minority party. The entire purpose of the
judicial approval process is to appoint judges that both sides can accept.
If a candidate is unacceptable to a large percentage of the population, that
candidate should be replaced with a more viable one. That is how the process
is supposed to work.
Instead, we have the majority party threatening the "nuclear option," a
self-righteous attempt to destroy our entire political process in order to
get those judges "appointed by Bush and endorsed by God" seated on the
bench. I will buy this only when I see "Good Lord's seal of approval"
stamped on one of their foreheads.
The ethics of Christianity, not the theology of Christianity. should be the
guiding force in our government. Obviously, that leaves room for nearly an
infinite number of ideas and beliefs. The common elements? Decency, honesty,
tolerance, and a willingness to compromise. Those who believe they have all
the answers (or in this case, all the "right" judges), actually have none of
the answers. An example of those who have "all the answers" are the ones
blowing themselves up in Baghdad believing it is "God's will."
More observations, for better or worse: Would there be rioting if a Bible
instead of the Koran were flushed down a toilet? Would there be rioting if
we saw George Bush in his underwear instead of Saddam Hussein? Finally,
would President Bush be so adamantly opposed to all forms of stem-cell
research if he were a C-4 quadraplegic, or if he could have traded places
with Christopher Reeve for a few weeks? There is nothing like a little
suffering to punch holes in the holy.
