Danny ChaiMaybe I should segue a bit so I can equally alienate everyone and talk about one reason why I’m not a Democrat, nor do I think I can ever in good faith call myself a Democrat. Maybe I’ll change though. Who knows.
It worries me when Christians say they can’t even understand why evangelical Christians tend to vote Republican. It’s even more strange when they say Christians vote for Bush just because he’s Christian. That’s completely missing the boat. Evangelical Christians have tended to vote Republican for a while now. It’s not just massive coincidence, there’s a reason for it. And that reason is (I think at least), Christians believe that Republicans more closely espouse certain Christian values in regards to moral issues. It is 100% valid to disagree with that. But at least understand where they’re coming from.
My particular problem with Democrats, which is fairly fundamental, is not their stance on moral issues like abortion, stem cell research, marriage, religious nonprofits and whatever. God knows all those things are complex, and anyone who says otherwise is either callous or dull. I’m confused about all those things. And I respect people who disagree. What bothers me about Democrats is not their stance, but the attitude behind that stance, and that attitude is, issues like this aren’t even worth discussing because moral issues just don’t matter.
I once read this exchange in the Senate involving Barbara Boxer and it was absurd. (Oh, found it online. The transcript is at the bottom.) She’s heavily pro-choice, which I can respect, but her position requires her to be extreme in not even considering when life begins. A Senator kept asking, if a baby has been nearly delivered except for its foot, has it been born? And she refused to answer, refused to consider where the line of life might be drawn.
Again, I don’t want to trivialize the abortion debate, it’s not an easy answer and I can understand differing viewpoints. But that exchange kind of sums up my fundamental problem with Democrats. It’s the idea that morality should not / cannot even be discussed. That’s just about the most frightening idea in the world to me.
Same attitude came out with the stem cell debate. I understand if you’re for stem cell research. Even religious Republicans like Orrin Hatch are in favor of it. What bothered me was the attitude some had that it could help people, so of course it’s right, that moral issues of life aren’t even relevant. There was also this attitude of utilitarianism. Chuck Colson wrote about this in Christianity Today. Christopher Reeve was testifying in the Senate regarding stem cell research, and he made the comment, “I thought it was the job of the government to do the greatest good for the greatest number.” And Senators nodded as if that were true.
Colson points out why this is wrong. If it’s true, Reeve himself would be in trouble, since the government would do better not spending money on spinal cord research, which could help just a few, and using that money on say, immunizations for the poor, which would help far more people. And it’s just counter to Christianity, which asserts that there are moral standards that transcend utility. That many Democrats aren’t even willing to consider it troubles me.
Some came out in the VP debate, the snippet I saw. Edwards was saying how he (and Kerry, if I recall correctly) personally believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, but that there needs to be some considerations for same-sex couples. He wasn’t just trying to have it both ways. He was revealing a philosophy. That it’s not the job of government to consider moral issues. I can respect the stance, but I cannot respect that underlying philosophy.
Clinton said similar things with abortion, that he personally did not believe in it, but it was not the role of government to decide. It’s just a pervasive idea among Democrats, that the government should not even consider issues of morality.
And that freaks me out. Call me crazy, but I think morality does matter, that it affects society not necessarily in terms of God’s judgment but in practical ways. I respect people who disagree on these issues. I don’t know where I stand on some of them. And were it just a matter of Democrats are pro-choice, Republicans are pro-life, that would be one thing. But there’s a pervasive philosophy among Democrats that moral issues in general shouldn’t even be discussed by government. And that just totally frightens me. Call me crazy.
And that’s one fundamental reason I can’t be a Democrat.