Right-wing rubbish AND Left-wing crap at the same time !

[cardosino]

I'm way behind and will be for days, so I thought a shameless plug in order.

Some of you will think this is just politically motivated left wing BS, some of you will think it's just more religious right-wing hate mongering (also politically motivated)

(plug at the end)

"To move away from the bifurcating politics of liberal and conservative, Left and Right, would be an enormously positive change and would open up a new "politics of solutions." Right now, Washington responds to a problem or crisis in two ways. First, politicians try to make us afraid of the problem, and, second, they look for somebody to blame for it. Then they watch to see whose political spin succeeded, either in the next poll or the next election. But they seldom get around to actually solving the problem. The media make everything worse by assuming that every political issue has only two sides instead of multiple angles to view and solve the problem. Addicted to conflict as their methodology, the media always seem to want to pitch a fight between polarized views instead of convening a public discussion to find serious answers.

The answer is to put values at the center of political discourse and, in every public debate, ask what kind of country and people we really want to be. We would find new agreements across old political boundaries and new common ground among people who agree on values and are ready to challenge the special interests on all sides who are obstructing the solutions most Americans would support. Ideologies have failed us; values can unite us, especially around our most common democratic visions. "

http://sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0502&article=050210

 

[cardosino]

I'm way behind and will be for days, so I thought a shameless plug in order.

Some of you will think this is just politically motivated left wing BS, some of you will think it's just more religious right-wing hate mongering (also politically motivated)

(plug at the end)

"To move away from the bifurcating politics of liberal and conservative, Left and Right, would be an enormously positive change and would open up a new "politics of solutions." Right now, Washington responds to a problem or crisis in two ways. First, politicians try to make us afraid of the problem, and, second, they look for somebody to blame for it. Then they watch to see whose political spin succeeded, either in the next poll or the next election. But they seldom get around to actually solving the problem. The media make everything worse by assuming that every political issue has only two sides instead of multiple angles to view and solve the problem. Addicted to conflict as their methodology, the media always seem to want to pitch a fight between polarized views instead of convening a public discussion to find serious answers.

The answer is to put values at the center of political discourse and, in every public debate, ask what kind of country and people we really want to be. We would find new agreements across old political boundaries and new common ground among people who agree on values and are ready to challenge the special interests on all sides who are obstructing the solutions most Americans would support. Ideologies have failed us; values can unite us, especially around our most common democratic visions. "

http://sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0502&article=050210

Oops. Long day..........

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/a...rners-20/102-0429302-4423328?v=glance&s=books

 

[drhark]

Hmmmm.... doesn't sound like much fun.....

 

[deep]

Since when did believing in God and having moral values make you pro-war, pro-rich, and pro-Republican? And since when did promoting and pursuing a progressive social agenda with a concern for economic security, health care, and educational opportunity mean you had to put faith in God aside?

While the Right in America has hijacked the language of faith to prop up its political agenda -- an agenda not all people of faith support -- the Left hasn't done much better, largely ignoring faith and continually separating moral discourse and personal ethics from public policy. While the Right argues that God's way is their way, the Left pursues an unrealistic separation of religious values from morally grounded political leadership. The consequence is a false choice between ideological religion and soulless politics.

The effect of this dilemma was made clear in the 2004 presidential election. The Democrats' miscalculations have left them despairing and searching for a way forward. It has become clear that someone must challenge the Republicans' claim that they speak for God, or that they hold a monopoly on moral values in the nation's public life. Wallis argues that America's separation of church and state does not require banishing moral and religious values from the public square. In fact, the very survival of America's social fabric depends on such values and vision to shape our politics -- a dependence the nation's founders recognized.

God's Politics offers a clarion call to make both our religious communities and our government more accountable to key values of the prophetic religious tradition -- that is, make them pro-justice, pro-peace, pro-environment, pro-equality, pro-consistent ethic of life (beyond single issue voting), and pro-family (without making scapegoats of single mothers or gays and lesbians). Our biblical faith and religious traditions simply do not allow us as a nation to continue to ignore the poor and marginalized, deny racial justice, tolerate the ravages of war, or turn away from the human rights of those made in the image of God. These are the values of love and justice, reconciliation, and community that Jesus taught and that are at the core of what many of us believe, Christian or not. In the tradition of prophets such as Martin Luther King Jr., Dorothy Day, and Desmond Tutu, Wallis inspires us to hold our political leaders and policies accountable by integrating our deepest moral convictions into our nation's public life.

 

[Scarletwine]

This segways right into Sherry's thread.

*must buy book*

 

[Macfistowannabe]

This review is a little... ah, forget it.

God's Politics - Aren't Bush's..., January 19, 2005
Reviewer: Robert L. Cowling "gonzoid" (Saginaw) - See all my reviews

It's interesting that people seem to want to paint Bush as the saviour of the world and 'liberals' and 'progressives' as being somehow 'communist'. I've heard a lot of over baked tripe in my days, but that comparison is just daft! Come up with a better argument or just please shut the heck up!

When I have studied the bible, I don't see a 'god' that looks over my shoulder just waiting for me to screw up so that he can pounce on me and condemn me to burning in hell for ever.

If anything, I feel that God would be deeply ashamed at the evil that is once again being done in His name by Bush and the Bushist hordes that follow his every misspoken gaff.

Bush does not value the environment - this is not what anyone that believes in God's teachings would believe.

Bush does not have any compassion for the poor - this is not what anyone that believes in God's teachings would believe.

Bush has sent perhaps hundreds of thousands of human beings to an early and often hideous death (and the reason for the 'war on Iraq' drifts from lie to lie) - that is also something a 'true believer' would do.

Bush seems to be driven by hubris, power and money. Look at the 'inauguration' for an example. More and more American families are living in poverty, and more and more American families are trying to celebrate the religious holidays with empty chairs at the table because family members are either dead from military service, or are over there trying not to die and yet Bush spends over 40 million dollars while sticking Washington DC with the bill for security for the entire mess.

Bush is a disgrace. I sure hope that when God does return, there are some TV cameras there to detail the end of the evil of America.

People really need to research Adolph Hitler. He started out Nazi Germany with the stench of his warped view of religion (that the Catholic's bought whole) and that 'sugar coating' helped people to embrace it and do the absolute worst atrocities to human beings.

Organized religion has lost value for me. I hold God in my heart, Bush and his followers do not. A cold hard rock is in His place.

That's a great review of this book. I've learned so much about it, and now I really want it. You should be a freaking professional.

 

[indra]

And here I thought you all were discussing porn set in Washington DC....

 

[Macfistowannabe]

Take note that I haven't read the book, but although this guy's review is unpopular, I think it makes the most sense compared to the other reviews. I don't really agree with every sentence, but in general, no government has been perfect, and that's not subject to change. I don't really think God would represent everything one party is doing, and nothing of the other. Of course, we've already had that discussion, although it is the reason why I feel distant as to reading this book.

- - - - - - - - -
God is not political!
January 18, 2005
Reviewer: Rick D. Barszcz

Actually i found this book to be a comedy. God's politics? Both the left and the right are trying so hard to see read into the Bible what the meaning of pollitics is. God has let us earthlings have all kinds of governments but they have all failed because of lies, corruption, greed and everything in between. Jim Wallis writing about what God would do or his and many other interputations are all wrong.

It has taken me years to understand the Bible and I still haven't mastered it because it's a book that you'll always find something that you didn't know before. Our government is way to corrupt to even think that they understand what GOD wants. If they only read in several accounts where Jesus says "My kingdom is not of this world." There is only ONE form of government and that is the Kingdom of GOD. Putting GOD's good name (Jehovah) in this book is wrong and has false believes.

If you really want to know about government, read the Bible.

 

[verte76]

This makes sense to me. I don't believe in politicizing God. God doesn't vote in our political elections.