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April 13, 2008
CNN and the Faith Meme
This evening CNN hosted a two part forum, not a debate, with the two remaining Democratic candidates for President on
extricating us from the worst foreign policy decision of my lifetime
restoring our constitutional protections
combating terrorism
national energy policy and global warming
worldwide food distribution
healthcare
the trade imbalance
the budget deficit
the national debt
the economic downturn and loan default crisis
the ever widening income gap and the shrinking middle class
rebuilding our infrastructure
faith and compassion.
Oh, they did touch on a few other things, but CNN billed this debate as a debate about faith and, to a shocking extent, it was.
I do care about the candidates' religious beliefs. After all, there isn't a chance that someone that doesn't acknowledge some religious belief will get elected. So what do I look for? I look for a candidate whose religious beliefs are no more than the minimum required for election and who is uncomfortable talking about even those beliefs. Oh yeah, I also want that minimum faith to be related to a historical religion, not some set of beliefs where the details of their origin are not lost in the fog of ancient history. Historical longevity does not make a set of beliefs any truer but it does provide a traditional basis that explains in part why someone might share some or all of those beliefs. In other words, I would find it hard to vote for a candidate who followed a faith that a science fiction writer dreamed up; a faith that was founded by someone who "translated" a holy book from a language he didn't know, with or without looking at it; or a faith founded by anyone who was crowned "King of Peace" in the Dirksen Senate Office Building or anyone who was at that coronation whether or not they think him the "True Parent" and regardless of their political affiliations.
Anything more than the absolute minimum required faith scares the wits out of me and both Senator Clinton and Senator Obama managed to scare me this evening.
By the way, I like compassion. Of course, it has nothing to do with faith even if some religious people happen to be compassionate or that most religious people believe that it does. And that is what bothered me the most about this CNN event. It provided an occasion to repeat the false meme of faith, values, and compassion and have two of the candidates reinforce it.
A final thought: I'm pragmatic enough to know that the false meme has become an significant distraction over the last several national elections. While the meme may have started in a faith community, a group having no values beyond the enhancement of the personal wealth of their cohorts and very few signs of faith made it an election issue. That said, I hardly believe that the Democrats adopting the meme is the way to overcome whatever political advantage it may give the opposition.
Posted by Duane Smith at April 13, 2008 9:05 PM | Read more on Religion |
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Comments
I heard about this one. I'm glad I didn't see it, honestly. I'd probably have sounded like my dad when he watches hockey games, yelling at the TV when his team loses the puck.
Posted by: Alan Lenzi at April 15, 2008 12:45 AM
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