"Does America really need a religious extremist a heartbeat away from the Oval Office? If your answer is yes, then vote for Sarah Palin." - Mark C. Eades, blogger
Tim Sledge, a blogger from Keller, TX, writes of Sarah Palin's "attacks" on Obama in her speech at the Republican Convention by saying, "I found myself feeling violated, depressed and angry... Have you wondered how a deeply religious person like Sarah Palin can be so vicious in her comments about Barack Obama?" This same writer goes on to explain the "double standard" being applied to Palin and Obama by gaining an understanding of "the mindset of religious and political fundamentalists" via the "Six Principles of Fundamentalism."
1. Good and "evil" are always black and white with no shades of gray.
2. "We" are on the side of "good," and "they" are on the side of "evil."
3. "We" must do whatever is necessary to defeat "them" even if we have to use "evil" tactics.
4. If you are one of "them," nothing you do can be regarded as "good," even if the same behavior, when practiced by one of "us" would be regarded as "good."
5. If you are one of "us," you can be exempted from our disapproval even when you do something that would be considered "evil" if done by one of "them."
6. If you are one of "us," but fail to follow these principles, you are no longer one of "us."
This list, written by an enormous Obama supporter, floored me. I have to assume that he truly believes this to be true of most conservatives. I have to assume he believes this list to be true of me, for I like Sarah Palin a lot. But the thing is, I see parts of this list to be true on the liberal side of things. Of course, liberals don't truly believe in good vs. evil, which is why his list had to have the word "evil" in quotations marks. But I certainly see a "them vs. us" approach in the worldview of liberals.
He goes on to say, "Living by these principles requires a disconnect from reality... This disconnect enables some followers of Jesus to stay hooked up with the political party that thrives on war and conflict, has turned its back on the poor, gives favors to the rich, and pretends that the polar ice cap is not melting. ...these principles of fundamentalism trump the teachings of Jesus about loving your enemies, not judging others, and treating others the way you want to be treated. Exhibit A is Sarah Palin's sneering condemnation of Barack Obama's motives and trivialization of his achievements."
Oooo... where to start? I guess by saying the Republican party is NOT perfect. Some reform is most certainly needed. That said, Republicans do not thrive on war and conflict. But when conflict arises, they're not afraid to take it on. Republicans have not turned their backs on the poor, but they don't believe that the governmental distribution of wealth is the best way to help them. And on that note, allowing people to keep more of the money for which they have worked is not "giving favors to the rich." AND I'm not pretending the polar ice cap is not melting, nor am I pretending to know more about weather patterns than I actually do.
I don't think anything trumps the teachings of Jesus in any respect. But Sarah Palin's response to the democrat's assertion that she's not qualified was a response to an attack. It's a little bit funny to assume that because Sarah Palin is a Christian, Jesus would expect her to say, "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry about my qualifications." She's in politics! When someone is attacking her during a political race that's at a dead heat, pointing out (with a sense of humor, no less) the fact that her qualifications are every bit as good as the Democrat nominee's is just PERFECT.
Douglas Groothuis of Colorado blogs, "Gov. Palin has attained the feminist dream, 'having it all.' She is a wife, mother, and successful politician and poised for greater influence than ever. However, she is not a liberal feminist, since she is Christian, pro-life, and politically conservative. This rankles liberal feminists to no end. What the heck happened?" and then later, "The liberal media gives the religion of Obama a pass and does not hold against him the racist rantings of his twenty-year pastor... But the liberal media will descend on Palin's religion and deem her a 'holy roller,' since she has a background in the Pentecostal Assemblies of God. This is how it works: religion held by a leftist is sacrosanct since it inspires him (Obama) to justice and goodness; religion held by a conservative is dangerous and fanatical, since you never know what a God-obsessed person (Palin) might do."
And to this I give a resounding "AMEN."
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