Atrocities, and Responses Thereto

I came across a Christian Right website today, expressing moral disappointment with the conservatives that are in power in the U.S.

All these atrocities continue in spite of the fact that we now have the "right" people in places of power. Indeed, the occupant of the White House is a professing Christian. The U.S. Attorney General is believed to be a devout Christian. "Conservatives" control both Houses of Congress, and Republican presidents appointed seven of the nine Supreme Court justices.

One might assume something false about the 'atrocities' in question. Here's the same quote in greater context:

Christians have actively tried to return our entire land to its moral foundation for more than 20 years. We can categorically say that absolutely nothing has been achieved. If you disagree, consider this:

• Abortion continues against the wishes of many States
• Children may not pray in our schools*
• The Bible is not welcome in schools except under strict FEDERAL guidelines
• The 10 Commandments remain banned from public display
• Sodomy is now legal AND celebrated as “diversity” rather than perversion
• Preaching Christianity will soon be outlawed as “hate speech”¹²
• Gay marriage will be foisted upon us in the very near future

All these atrocities continue in spite of the fact that we now have the “right” people in places of power. Indeed, the occupant of the White House is a professing Christian. The U.S. Attorney General is believed to be a devout Christian. “Conservatives” control both Houses of Congress, and Republican presidents appointed seven of the nine Supreme Court justices. Christian activists placed the right party in power, but are we now witnessing the return to moral and constitutional government that we have demanded for so long? No, we are not, and we never will. More than fifty-three million people voted for pro-abortion, pro-gay candidates in the 2000 presidential election. That number will undoubtedly grow each year as Hollywood, MTv and universities turn out liberals faster than our churches can produce converts. Redemption of all 50 American States and their general government is totally impossible. (links in original)

The site I take this from, ChristianExodus.org, intends for all the Christians to move to South Carolina and secede from the nation. They hope to achieve

an independent Christian nation where people may once again worship God under the protection of a friendly government. In addition, such a nation will be free of burdensome taxation and federal meddling in local affairs. Matter of factly, the liberties we have lost to liberalism over the past century will be restored in one fell swoop.

Happy Memorial Day, everyone.

Update

I realized I hadn't said that I'd be out of town for the past week. I'm in California, visiting my parents at their new place in Clayton, then attending my cousin Josh's wedding. It was beautiful. I'll be back on a relatively regular schedule tomorrow.

Hitting the road

Providence and Brown, have a good summer. I'm out of here as of pretty much right now. First leg is short -- I'm seeing Iolanthe in New York tonight. Then, if things go as I plan them too, I'll make Atlanta by tomorrow night and Houston by Wednesday evening. I haven't been reading any blogs the last couple weeks. Nor have I been writing much, as is obvious. Term papers, etc. That'll change soon, I'm sure. Wish me safe driving.

Happy Birthday, Sir Arthur

Today we celebrate the birthday of Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900). From his diary: It was on a very cold morning, with the snow falling heavily, that Gilbert came round to my place, clad in a heavy fur coat. He had called to read over to me the manuscript of Trial By Jury. He read it through, as it seemed to me, in a perturbed sort of way, with a gradual crescendo of indignation, in a manner of a man considerably disappointed with what he had written. As soon as he had come to the last word, he closed up the manuscript violently, apparently unconscious of the fact that he had achieved his purpose so fas as I was concerned, insasmuch as I was screaming with laughter the whole time. It was a Beautiful Thing.

They'll never see it not coming.

It's moments like these that make me wish I were a film-writer. I just thought of a great piece of a scene for a cheesy comedy. Leslie Nielson plays a man named "Shirley". (If a man can be named "Leslie," then a man can be named "Shirley.") He presents a bold idea, and someone says to him, "Surely you're not serious!" Leslie Nielson appraises him with his perfect deadpan, then says "I am serious." And then there's about three beats of tension where the camera continues on him and the audience expects him to finish the line from Airplane. But he doesn't, see, because his name is "Shirley." He just stands there for three beats, then the scene continues. Seriously. This would be really, really funny.

Alas, gone forever

I just remembered a piece of my past. I don't remember if it was eight or twelve years ago. In either 1992 or 1996, I found a treasure at one of those awful Warner Bros. stores in the mall. It was a magnetic bumper sticker, and it said "Put a Brain in the White House", with a picture of this guy:

I put it on... well, I guess it would've been my parents' old Thunderbird? Or maybe the Accord? I'm not sure... but I lost it. Probably it was stolen. It was only attached via the power of magnetism. I miss that thing; I'd love to put it on my car now.

Brown Graduate Philosophy Conference

In case there are any philosophers who read this blog but don't read Fake Barn Country, we have announced the Ninth Annual Brown Graduate Philosophy Conference. The conference will be October 15 and 16, 2004, and paper submissions are due August 15. Check out the conference web page, the call for papers (PDF), and last year's conference site. Also, it's pretty silly to be a philosopher who reads TISTIT but not FBC. Get over there.

Horses

I know nothing at all about horse racing. I saw the scene in My Fair Lady, and I'm pretty sure there's one in a James Bond movie, too. Also, I just saw highlights from the Kentucky Derby on ESPN. I know that people do terrible things to animals and don't feel guilty about it. But usually, there's some kind of mechanism -- we're really good at not thinking about the conditions under which animal meat is generated. I just saw sports highlights of large men, desperately and repeatedly striking their horses with black rods. Do groups like PETA make a big deal about horseracing? I think there could actually be some intuitive traction, there -- I have a hard time thinking that ordinary people couldn't be pursuaded to recognize the apparent cruelty.

Slack v. Strict relations applied

This site puts it perfectly. www.johnkerryisadouchebagbutimvotingforhimanyway.com