Leaning Left 3/24/2011

Leaning Left

Jim Fitzgerald

Have you ever taken the time to wade through a political party’s platform? Allegedly, the platform is the framework for their belief system and should be the document to drive their legislation. But what you find is a mess of contradictions between the two. Neither party is immune because it is almost impossible to frame a document that espouses the views and beliefs of all members of any organization.

For example, I tend to be a fiscal conservative but am quite liberal when it comes to social issues. It is my belief that all citizens are truly created equal and should enjoy the same benefits provided by government as all other citizens. I do not believe in anti-discrimination policies because unless your group is on the “list” of protected classes, you are wide open for legal discrimination. Even if your group is on the list, it does not prevent institutional discrimination. Right now, in spite of anti-discrimination policies protecting religion, we see the very people who claim to believe in the Constitution doing everything in their power to discriminate against, and vilify, Muslims. Even though no one holds Christians responsible for the actions of Jimmy Swaggart or Ted Haggard or Jim Baker or Timothy McVeigh, they certainly hold Muslims responsible for the radical few.

The Republican platform states: “Our Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion and forbids any religious test for public office, and it likewise prohibits the establishment of a state-sponsored creed.” Obama has made it perfectly clear that he is not a Muslim. However, considering that we, as a people, claim to respect religious differences, his religious beliefs should not matter. Romney is a Mormon. That should not matter when he runs for political office. Either we believe the Constitution and party platforms or we do not. The whole God-in-school argument is a red herring. God is already in school, brought by those who believe in Him. Actually, it is the publicly, school sanctioned, Christian prayer that is being pushed, an attempt to force everyone to publicly make a profession of faith. They want a state sponsored creed.

Lest you think this is an attack on the church, let me be clear. I am a religious person and I am not addressing the faith that people have in God. I am addressing how that faith is being expressed in the public markets. I am addressing our fundamental problem with accepting people of other faiths and thereby pushing government to codify our particular beliefs. I am addressing the attempts to force a faith-based system into the public school curriculum where learning should be fact-based. Yes, this is a reference to evolution versus non-evolution. You want to see evolution in action today? Try looking at anti-biotic resistant bacteria. In fact, most of the chemicals used in my childhood to eradicate plant diseases are no longer effective and the diseases remain.

As the Republican Party platform says: “Individual rights – and the responsibilities that go with them – are the foundation of a free society. From the time of Lincoln, equality of individuals has been a cornerstone of the Republican Party.” I believe this as I’m sure most people do – in spirit. Don’t you think it is time to weigh our statements and actions against the statements we hold to be true?