Re: [asa] Thoughts on the new president

As a Southern Baptist minister friend of mine said to me - the dumbest thing about America is the gun-owning.

He is also a Republican.
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: David Clounch
  To: asa@calvin.edu
  Sent: Friday, January 23, 2009 6:35 AM
  Subject: Re: [asa] Thoughts on the new president

  Iain,
  Maybe it would be best to keep partisan politics totally off this list?

  Iain, Perhaps you would be better off to go to Dublin and stand on a street corner to preach about the subject of unification and working together? My clan McCarty cousins have some tomatoes they tell me are badly in need of throwing.

  I know sooooo many people in the USA who are buying guns who never owned guns before. I was told today all gun suppliers are sold out. Its a historical record! Thats just since the election.
  People are afraid now who were not afraid before (I mean under the previous administration). Does that sound like unity has been inspired?
  What are people afraid of, one wonders? I think they are afraid our country will become like your country. It's maybe understandable. It would scare the willies out of me to live in the UK.

  As for Christians, the way I read history books is that the Tories and the Continentals who were butchering each other in 1776 through 1781 were all church going Christians.

  On Fri, Jan 23, 2009 at 9:37 PM, Nucacids <nucacids@wowway.com> wrote:

    Hi Iain,

    "From my listening to Obama's speeches (I've heard the one he gave
    exactly a year ago at the MLK church, and the inaugural speech), this
    certainly seems to be a recurring Obama theme - that we should
    concentrate on what we have in common to work together, rather than
    fighting over differences. Since it recurs so often it would seem
    reasonable to say that at the very least it is something he feels
    passionately about."

    Perhaps. On the other hand, it is a common theme among politicians, so I bet it has been focus group tested and the handlers have determined it to be very good for public image. This explains why McCain was using the same theme in his campaign. Even Bush was sounding the same theme back when he was elected in 2000.

    I'm too cynical to attach any real meaning to politicians' words. We'll have to wait a couple of years to see the actions in order to make a better assessment.

    Mike

      I think the phrase you are objecting to is just a bit of journalistic
      writing. It is more interesting to see it in the context:

      Most of all, he feels
      deep in his heart that our problems can never be solved, let alone to
      the full satisfaction of all, by harping on our acute differences and
      rubbing in ad nauseam our past mutual hurts, but only by looking into
      the future, holding hands together as dedicated citizens of the nation
      and of the world

        From my listening to Obama's speeches (I've heard the one he gave

      exactly a year ago at the MLK church, and the inaugural speech), this
      certainly seems to be a recurring Obama theme - that we should
      concentrate on what we have in common to work together, rather than
      fighting over differences. Since it recurs so often it would seem
      reasonable to say that at the very least it is something he feels
      passionately about.

      I noticed, for example from the inaugural speech, that BO acknowledged
      the role of non-believers (is this a first?) in saying something like
      "We are a nation of Christians and Muslims and Jews and Hindus - and
      non-believers" - the implication being that all had something to
      offer.

      Maybe that's a bit wishy-washy for some? But I rather liked the
      intent to try and avoid the war between science and religion,
      believers and non-believers, and start working together.

      Iain

      On Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 12:30 PM, Nucacids <nucacids@wowway.com> wrote:

        Let's not abandon critical thinking. For example, Raman writes, "Most of
        all, he feels deep in his heart.." How does Raman know what Obama feels
        "deep in his heart?" From the way he speaks, one gets the impression that
        Raman is a close friend of Obama. Is this true?

        Mike

>From "Science and Religion Today":

          "From all that we have seen and heard and read, Obama is a man of
          unusual intelligence, insight, and vision. He is a rare combination of
          idealism and activism, a politician and citizen who considers himself
          an American first and foremost, rather than an individual with a
          hyphenated nationality and subgroup loyalties. He is, in the tradition
          of the country, a man of faith, but also enlightened enough to respect
          those who find fulfillment beyond his own pews, or in no traditional
          religion at all. He has his own convictions about traditional
          morality, but respects those of others in so far as they don't perturb
          the personal lives of their fellow citizens. Most of all, he feels
          deep in his heart that our problems can never be solved, let alone to
          the full satisfaction of all, by harping on our acute differences and
          rubbing in ad nauseam our past mutual hurts, but only by looking into
          the future, holding hands together as dedicated citizens of the nation
          and of the world," says V.V. Raman, an emeritus professor of physics
          and humanities at the Rochester Institute of Technology, in a note to
          Science & Religion Today.
          "Obama is acutely aware of the dangers lurking in the environment as a
          result of unbridled industrial excesses, and he trusts scientifically
          informed advisers to recommend steps to curb and eliminate these
          dangers. He respects science and science education in our schools,
          relegating visions of a Creator God to places of worship and tradition
          rather than to biology classes."

          (Please note: I am from the UK and don't have a political axe to
          grind, but I thought these observations were encouraging).

          Iain

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Received on Fri Jan 23 02:02:47 2009