Why I Will Not Be Voting For Bush

[A_Wanderer]

Well its not written by me but I would agree with almost every point.

WHY I WON’T VOTE FOR BUSH

By Nelson Ascher

Let me be straightforward here. I’m an atheist and a secularist.

By atheist I mean that I take the possibility of there being any kind of transcendence, anything supernatural, anything that is not explainable or that won’t be eventually be explainad by the laws of physics (which I don’t pretend to understand fully) to be infinitesimally small. I’d really love it if there were something else besides what I can see, because what I can see if suffering, fear and crap. I’d like to think I’ll meet my loved ones who disappeared into nothingness or, to put it even less metaphorically, have disintegrated, don’t exist anymore, are not. It would be nice to imagine that I will outlast my mortal bodily being. But I can’t. Maybe that’s a failure of imagination. The trouble with atheism is the same as with learning to play the piano. To be able to play it well, you’ve got to learn it before you have time to fall in love with music. When you get to love music, it’s usually too late for your fingers to learn the right movements. In the same way, one becomes an atheist before one learns what fear, finitude and mortality are.

As a secularist, I simply don’t want other people’s beliefs dictating my behavior. You don’t want to eat pork? Fine, but leave me alone with my Spanish “jamon de jabugo” or “pata negra”. You dislike spirits? OK. Even so I’ll drink my cognac. Sex outside marriage is sinful for you? That’s your trouble, not mine. Live and let me live.

When I became a conscious atheist (I think that was when, for the hundredth time, in spite of my prayers, God almighty didn’t grant me the grades I needed at junior high school) I also started to militate. I couldn’t admit anyone disbelieving in my disbelief. I thought: I’m so smart and they’re so stupid. Eventually I came around to the conclusion that I couldn’t be so smarter than almost everybody else: a bit maybe, but not that much. So, the conclusions I arrived at could also have been arrived at by most people, living, dead or still to be born. If they took another way, they must have had their own reasons for it. Probably much comes down to temperament, a disposition we’re born with and cannot do much to change.

Continue Reading - here

 

[starsgoblue]

I couldn't continue reading it...the guy seems so negative about everything that he's one step away from slitting his wrists...goodness.

 

[kobayashi]

I couldn't continue reading it...the guy seems so negative about everything that he's one step away from slitting his wrists...goodness.

i think its quite the opposite actually.

 

[Popmartijn]

Well, while the arguments make a lot of sense, it's very strange how the author has come to the conclusion. Based on this article, I would say that indeed one gets it and one doesn't. I won't be voting for Bush, but not only because I'm not a US citizen.

Marty

 

[AcrobatMan]

infact i thought that the ending was quite a good one..

and expected too..

 

[Popmartijn]

After some more reading on this site, I've come to the conclusion that the blogger uses a lot of empty rhetorics. He dislikes Kerry, but has no valid arguments to support his dislike (as most are based on what he thinks, not on what Kerry has done).



Marty

 

[AcrobatMan]

After some more reading on this site, I've come to the conclusion that the blogger uses a lot of empty rhetorics. He dislikes Kerry, but has no valid arguments to support his dislike (as most are based on what he thinks, not on what Kerry has done).



Marty

come on MILLIONS of people like kerry because they dislike bush..

just because this guys likes bush, cant he dislike kerry ?

 

[Popmartijn]

Of course he can like Bush and dislike Kerry. But I do think it's quite a stretch to say that Kerry won't do anything against terrorism, that all blame for 11 September lies on the Clinton administration, etc.

 

[sharky]

You have to understand that in an election with an incumbent, its a vote for who you like and an assessment of the incumbent's work, hence the Anybody But Bush crowd. I was an ABB and as I educated myself, I really started to learn about the GOOD things John Kerry plans to do. I'm not an ABB anymore -- I'm a Kerry supporter. There is a difference.

 

[nbcrusader]

I'm glad you found reason to support your candidate. It seems a rarity these days.

 

[verte76]

I was an ABB also, but I have positive reasons for supporting Kerry as well. I don't hate Bush in the first place, I never did. It's never been personal. He's a sincere, decent guy who's trying to do the right thing, I just don't share his outlook on life and the world. He hasn't gotten in the way of a huge, dramatic improvement in the quality of my life. It happened during his Administration. Amazing things can keep on happening to me no matter who's in the damn White House or controlling Congress. This stuff has pretty limited impact on my day to day life.

 

[deep]

will try and read tonight

First, I admit I have not read this article.


But, I think their are many valid reasons not to vote for Bush if you are a religious person.

 

[verte76]

Re: will try and read tonight

First, I admit I have not read this article.


But, I think their are many valid reasons not to vote for Bush if you are a religious person.

Absolutely. I'm a Catholic Christian and I'm voting for Kerry. But being religious doesn't mean you can't vote for Bush in all honesty and sincerity. The past few weeks at mass I've held hands during the "Our Father" with people wearing Bush campaign buttons. I was initially a bit shocked at political buttons at church but I've gotten used to them.

 

[deep]

Re: Re: will try and read tonight

But being religious doesn't mean you can't vote for Bush

True, but if one truly beieves in what Jesus taught they would be more in sinc with Kerry.

 

[nbcrusader]

Re: Re: Re: will try and read tonight

True, but if one truly beieves in what Jesus taught they would be more in sinc with Kerry.

This message brought to you by the First Church of Deep.....

 

[iota]

Basically, what Jesus taught was that He was God in human form and that only He could fix our problems down here, though it would involve much blood, sweat and tears from us along the way. Jesus did not teach "peace"...i.e. "I have not come to bring peace, but to give you a sword"...suggesting that certain things should be fought for. Whether freedom is one of them, He doesn't state implicitely. So basically Jesus' teachings were more about who He was than anything else, and if you don't accept that, then His more 'proverb-type' sayings are really pointless. So believing in Jesus (not just his teachings) doesn't really dictate who you vote for, as He wasn't a political figure at all. Republicans can find passages they can incorporate into conservatism, and democrats can do the same. In the end, He transcends both by pointing to Himself - not some philosophical ideology. His teachings never sugggest that anyone but Himself can fix what needs to be fixed. So believe in Jesus and vote for whoever you want.

 

[JOFO]

I'm not voting for Bush, but a few observations here:

Bush is hijacking religion the same way he's hijacking the American flag; if you vote for Kerry, apparently your faith is weak. If you vote for Kerry, you're not voting for a strong America. I hate his stance on both these things.

btw, that article is wrong on one thing for sure: his analogy about learning the piano, in that you need to learn it before you can love it; simply not true. take it from a pianist.

 

[Diane L]

I'm not voting for Bush, but a few observations here:

Bush is hijacking religion the same way he's hijacking the American flag; if you vote for Kerry, apparently your faith is weak. If you vote for Kerry, you're not voting for a strong America. I hate his stance on both these things.

JOFO, I couldn't agree with you more.

One aspect of reading left-wing blogs that disturbs me is that some posters tend to dismiss religion and faith. I cannot agree with this. I have what I feel is a strong sense of faith. I pray a lot, and usually not for things like winning the lottery or meeting a good man...I thank God for good things that have happened to me and others, that it's a nice day outside...you get the idea.

There are sites on the web that have shown me that I am not the only person who believe in faith AND Kerry:
www.johnkerry.com/communities.faith
and I love this one, it's really beautiful:
www.keprayerteam.org

 

[edgeboy]

A Wanderer; "When I became a conscious atheist (I think that was when, for the hundredth time, in spite of my prayers, God almighty didn’t grant me the grades I needed at junior high school."


.....I feel sorry for you.

 

[indra]

I'm not voting for Bush, but a few observations here:

Bush is hijacking religion the same way he's hijacking the American flag; if you vote for Kerry, apparently your faith is weak. If you vote for Kerry, you're not voting for a strong America. I hate his stance on both these things.

btw, that article is wrong on one thing for sure: his analogy about learning the piano, in that you need to learn it before you can love it; simply not true. take it from a pianist.

Agreed.

Also agree with your take on the piano analogy, which also works for other arts, etc. I know a painter who lovedit from his very first go. Many people are like that -- they fall in love with something and then become good at it (well, sometimes they never become good at it.... But they enjoy it!).

And I'd be very willing to buy Bush a one way plane ticket to Brasil (I'd send him to you in Oz, A_Wanderer, but I couldn't do something so horrid to Kilbey and co. )

 

[A_Wanderer]

Edge boy I didn't write the thing, but I certainly agree that there are very good reasons to vote for Bush in light of my atheist stance.

Nothing to feel sorry about regardless, I never every believed and so never lost my faith, family not actively part of religion and I have always loved science and investigation.

There is no afterlife, your life doesn't matter at all, then make it count because that is all that matters.

 

[BVS]

your life doesn't matter at all

That's brilliant.

 

[tiny dancer]

Re: Re: will try and read tonight

Absolutely. I'm a Catholic Christian and I'm voting for Kerry. But being religious doesn't mean you can't vote for Bush in all honesty and sincerity. The past few weeks at mass I've held hands during the "Our Father" with people wearing Bush campaign buttons. I was initially a bit shocked at political buttons at church but I've gotten used to them.

I am Catholic, and at my church, I see Kerry buttions and bumper stickers.

 

[deep]

no afterlife, your life doesn't matter at all, then make it count because that is all that matters.

good advice

people spend too much time worrying about the so-called afterlife

while failing to live a productive before death life.

 

[hiphop]

He's a sincere, decent guy who's trying to do the right thing

Wow. That´s a lot of credit for a killer.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Because when Saddam is executing even more innocent people every day its allright but if you go in there to stop it you are a killer.

 

[MissMaCo]

 

[hiphop]

Re: Re: Re: Re: will try and read tonight

This message brought to you by the First Church of Deep.....

First Church of Deep? Never heard of that. But if you say it exists, I´ll probably change religion, taking into account that the First Church of Deep hasn´t been crusading, and its financial assets weren´t bunked at a Mafia bank, and, and, and... endless list.

Nbc, there´s no need to fire senseless disrespect into the crowd in a sentence without making any argument. Imo, if someone believes that Christian interests are represented rather by one candidate than the other candidate, that´s his/ her choice.

Kerry has better views on lots of issues, but to me that doesn´t mean he even gets near to follow the teachings of the Bible that I believe in. He´s definitely not the next Martin Luther King.

He also would wage an unjust war against another country, I am pretty sure of that (maybe he would make sure of some proper international backing, but that´s another speculation). Being a U.S. President seems to include certain duties, after all.

 

[hiphop]

Because when Saddam is executing even more innocent people every day its allright but if you go in there to stop it you are a killer.

hahaha

I wasn´t even talking about Saddam.

Get a fucking clue.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Hahahaha, you are calling President Bush a killer.