Originally Posted by
YardleyLabs
Stan,
As one of the "Godless Progressives" you speak of, I took no offense at your comments. In 1959 Kurt Vonnegut wrote a book named the Sirens of Titan where he spoke of the Church of "God the Utterly Indifferent." Even as a 12 year old when I read it, that captured my imagination. I have never believed in God but also didn't not believe. I simply didn't feel it was very important. In my mind, the miracle of life was real regardless of its genesis (pun intended). A God capable of creating all of our diversity, in my mind, would only revel at seeing it unfold, not expect or care about if or how anyone gave thanks. Once again, in my mind, the important thing has always been reverence for the miracle of life, of our environment, and of our diversity.
My progressiveness grows directly from that reverence. It is with that same spirit that I revere the Declaration of Independence as the beginning it was. It stated a fundamental objective, an ideal, that we as a nation would seek to achieve. It is an objective that is still eludes us. It also stated specific causes for the revolution, setting the yardstick high for when it becomes necessary and justifiable to sever the connections that bind us. I would wish that those who bandy about notions of secession would be so responsible in setting out their causes instead of whining because the majority of voters elected a President they hate.
For eight years, I lived under Bush, a man I believe will be known as one of the worst Presidents of our history. For the first four years, I lived with the fact that he was not even elected by a plurality of voters and that his election by the electoral college came from a highly suspect decision by partisan political cronies. In his second term, I lived with the fact that the majority of voters clearly voted for him no matter how stupid and misguided I believed them to be. I lived with his Presidency as he embroiled us in a war that I believed was unjustified, as he implemented economic policies that I believed threatened our long term viability as a nation, and as he waged war on some of our most important civil liberties. I hated his policies, and still do. However, there is no question that he was our President throughout those eight years and that I was an American throughout that time. I never considered seceding or emigrating. As a citizen, it was and is my responsibility to formulate my opinions and be willing to support them in discussions of our future and in voting. I did so.
I appreciate your comments and respect your willingness to fulfill your responsibilities as a citizen even when you disagree violently with the directions being taken by our current President. I am less willing to respect those who say -- whether seriously or not -- that they would welcome armed rebellion or secession instead. For me, that is anti-Americans and a betrayal of our heritage.
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