Interesting, this was my main issue with the bill. I've never agreed with Mary Fallin before.“The bill is so ambiguous and so vague that doctors cannot be certain what medical circumstances would be considered ‘necessary to preserve the life of the mother,” Fallin said. “The absence of any definition, analysis or medical standard renders this exception vague, indefinite and vulnerable to subjective interpretation and application.”
The only time a politician mentions abortion is when they need to raise money, fast, or they are hiding some corrupt crap and need the outrage machine to look somewhere else for a few days. Nobody I know gives a flying shit about the whole bathroom issue. Noboy outside of the media cares either, as most real people have never met a trans person and most likely never will. But the same bill in North Carolina they just passed prevents cities from raising the minimum wage, prevents cities from running their own municipal broadband, does something (still not sure what exactly) to underfund Pre-School education programs and guts the cities rights to pass their own worker safely laws. It's a power grab by the legislature to kneecap the cities. Nobody cares about the real issue because the media sucks.
yah... but that's the rub... evangelizing is one thing (although that word has gained a serious negative connotation), but forcing your will upon some one else is just SO counter to true christianity... ugh. I try to "share" the gospel message with people... WHO WANT TO LISTEN. It's something I offer them. Like "hey - did you know that if you move the switch on your car from recycled air to fresh air that your windows will fog less in the rain?" It's a helpful tip that makes my life better, and might help them too. I think this analogy applies. What I don't like is for people to reach into my car and change the airflow selector... or worse, legislate so that if some one gets pulled over, they get fined or imprisoned for the wrong switch position. it's a super crappy time to be a person of faith. just sayin'. There's more toolbags thumping bibles, and not enough people reaching out to lift those around them. blergh.
Honestly? I think it's that the jerks are a minority, arguably a decent sized minority but still a minority, who happen to be very vocal and very public in their actions. I think that the reasonable and good hearted people, no matter their faith, are more concerned with going about their daily lives and trying to be good people. Who brags about holding the door for the elderly? Who brags about buying their friend lunch when they're in a spot? Who brags about donating food and toys? No one, if they're honest and humble. That's the type of mentality that can change the world though. That's the type of behavior we should champion and encourage. Because people are humble in these acts, they often go unnoticed. It's a catch 22.There's more toolbags thumping bibles, and not enough people reaching out to lift those around them. blergh.
Well, that's the thing. That's not a problem with Christianity per se, but of just being human in general. People of a certain upbringing and/or world view often think that things would just be better if other people adopted their point of view. Religion, politics, on and on. That's why a good education and an emphasis on living a life of empathy are two very important things every person should strive for. The problem with a lot religions that revolve around prophets when it comes to this issue, is that more often than not there are texts that people are able to point to in order to reinforce both their arguments and their beliefs. It can be something that can be very hard to address without being bogged down both by emotional investment as well as semantics. I mean, speaking of Christianity in particular, the whole concept of The Kingdom of God and what it actually entails has been contested up, down, left, and right.
No this is a Christian problem. It's not a uniquely Christian problem, Hare Krishna's are pretty annoying about recruiting too. There are such things as non-missionary religions. Regardless of what a Buddhist believes, they don't actively recruit new members. Recruiting new members to the religion isn't a virtue in Buddhism. Evangelism is a Christian Virtue.but of just being human in general.
Proselytizing, while not a central Buddhist tenant, was something that Buddhists participated in, especially rulers of Buddhist empires such as Ashoka. It's not even a uniquely Christian concept as Muslim and Baha'is (both also having Abrahamic roots) also endeavour to spread their faith and win converts. It's part of human nature to want others to adopt our ideas and world views, for personal reasons, for political reasons, for economic reasons. After all, Cultural Imperialism is a not modern phenomenon.
Indeed, and I already somewhat addressed this concept in my earlier statement, even though I didn't name proselytization directly. The thing is though, and I'm sure you'll agree, a lot of the things we believe can have a direct impact on our behavior towards each other. Even religions that don't revolve around prophets often see people behaving improperly. Even the non-religious can find themselves behaving similarly as many colorful threads in r/atheism have illustrated over the years. It's not a problem with religion, just like it's not a problem with patriotism and nationalism, or race, or sexual identity, or anything of the source. It's a problem with a lack of education, a lack of empathy and respect, and a lack of social encouragement to be better than we already are. It's hard. It sucks. I know. That's okay though, because it's possible to change things. I'm sure steve does what he can to address these issues. I'm positive you do. I know I do. In fact, I'm confident the majority of Hubski's members in some way shape or form do what they can to make the world a better place. Progress is possible, maybe even inevitable. We just have to try and fight for it.The problem with a lot religions that revolve around prophets when it comes to this issue, is that more often than not there are texts that people are able to point to in order to reinforce both their arguments and their beliefs.
One of the reasons that a ton of my family is felating themselves over Pope Francis is that he is a guy who comes off as genuinely trying to be for lack of a better term, "Christ-Like." The stuff that my old pastor called 'The Hippy Feel-Good stuff people skip over on the way to how to hate gays.' Christ also was explicit in that you will be judged on your actions in his name, then Paul came along and said "nope, faith alone people!" The problem, not just with religion, is that the loud annoying tools get all the press and attention, meanwhile the dozen people in the back of the room feeding the homeless and running a care shelter cannot get any media because stuff like that does not trigger the outrage mechanic in the human animal. Tumblr ruined feminism, Reddit ruined Men's Rights activists, the militant anti-theists (can also be blamed on Reddit) ruined atheism, the English soccer hooligans helped ruined sports fandom, and a few creepy weirdos ruined cosplay at conventions. The thing I work on in my head is how can we say "Wow! This is amazing!" and share it with people, but not become the enemy we bemoan? When I do outreach I have a barker who says something like "Hey, want to look through a telescope?" If the person walking by us says no, we say "Ok! Thanks!" and ask the next person. Totally non-pushy, as polite and chipper as can be. You'd be shocked how many people brace for a sell, then have to stop for a second when that sell does not come. Then the people behind them on the walkway go to the scopes to look and the the people who say no will usually stop and at least ask a question or two.There's more toolbags thumping bibles, and not enough people reaching out to lift those around them. blergh.
I try to "share" the gospel message with people... WHO WANT TO LISTEN.
well... ok... I said I don't understand... I do understand, I just wish for something better. I get that dicks will be dicks. And I get the power corrupts... I just feel like... it's the 21st century... perhaps we can move past some of this petty garbage and on to things that actually matter (and that weren't decided by the supreme court 40+ years ago).
In a world as safe and stable as ours, petty garbage is what attracts a lot of attention because there's not much else beyond the big stuff that people can squabble on. We'll move on. Maybe not in our lifetime, maybe not in our children's, but we will. It's a shame we have to live through this, but I'd rather take this than plagues, world wars or slavery.
The governor hasn't even signed it and it's being threatened in court. If she has any sense she'll just veto it. My governor did it twice with stupid shit like this and I'm not exactly proud of him, more like "Whew, we're lookin better than Mississippi and Indiana. No Onion articles about Georgia this session." I feel like posting this here. It just seems appropriate for some reason and I don't want to make it its own post.