From LibDem

I fail to see the hardline ideology Newcomer speaks of in respect to the Obama administration. What I see is a pragmatic approach that seeks (in your own words) “to balance the need to both protect the innocent while also preserving the right to defend oneself/use guns in a non-violent/non-threatening way.”

The right wing, however, has been totally unwilling to compromise or offer any practical solutions beyond their hardline ideology. They have rendered the rhetoric of “balance”, of “compromise” and of “bipartisanship” as empty, overrated and a path to plain obstruction. The right wing has knowingly moved so far right that a compromise still puts them ahead of the curve. Its like compromising with the devil and reminds me of the following quote:
“Bipartisanship for its own sake is no virtue. Partisanship for the sake of what’s right is no vice.”

So while I’m glad you are willing to listen to both sides of an argument, but if you are unable to extrapolate from a debate an essence of educated truth that leads to a concrete conclusion, then you are living in a ignorant web of ambiguity that offers no substantive solutions and no practical goals.

Now I know you don’t practice this ambiguity with your religion. You are indeed an absolutist. You have developed a clear sense of what is right and what is wrong based on religious dogma. Yet you are unwilling to apply the same level of scrutiny to other matters -whether it be gun control, environmental issues, economics. I cannot understand this. Is it laziness?

This is not only a major cop, but its a sell out. A democracy depends on an educated citizenry. Your excuse- an acquiescence to religion- is counter to this and sets a dangerous precedence. Of course, it is also the very essence of why religion is a plague to humanity.

Instead of solving problems that could help humanity here and now, the religious seek to simply prepare humanity for a magical afterlife. Instead of researching for the scientific truth, the religious prefer the mystical, the unseen, the hearsay. Instead of forming opinions based on reason and evidence, the religious say “I form most of my opinions based on the tenets of my religion”. The result is a placating ambiguity that works toward holding back progress, works on preventing rebellion against oppression, works toward preserving poverty because the real world matters less than the afterlife. This is why Mother Theresa was so evil. Instead of fighting for human rights, fighting to end poverty, she taught people to simply accept it, to acquiesce to it, to seek the intangible sublime of suffering. This kind of subversive thinking thwarts self preserving activism and it allows for exploitation and control. Its no wonder why throughout history the rich and powerful have used religion to subdue and exploit the masses, insisting that they keep their eyes on the hereafter- while their present is stolen from them.

You, my friend, by your preference to “make god smile” and to pursue a life that is controlled by patriarchal dogma, rather than to truly understand and act on the issues which have great impact on your life, have not only diminished your credibility, but have hurt the movement needed to truly improve human life and dignity.