tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post4455287364910997097..comments2024-02-19T13:11:04.970-05:00Comments on Ponderings on a Faith Journey: The Dangers of MoralismRobert Cornwallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-77033328659025388062008-09-29T07:57:00.000-04:002008-09-29T07:57:00.000-04:00Thank you. I've only recently learned what 'earma...Thank you. I've only recently learned what 'earmarks' are too. Here they're only marks on the ears of farm stock. I hadn't heard of any other earmark until Palin got picked - and then I heard it all the time!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-79947449146386224572008-09-26T09:13:00.000-04:002008-09-26T09:13:00.000-04:00Steph,Sorry -- I was away most of yesterday and di...Steph,<BR/><BR/>Sorry -- I was away most of yesterday and didn't respond to the question.<BR/><BR/>I was just using the euphemism about the one who brings home the wages (bacon). Joe Biden used earmarks to benefit Deleware. McCain calls that pork -- ie bacon!Robert Cornwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-72791709031370805812008-09-26T05:30:00.000-04:002008-09-26T05:30:00.000-04:00please?please?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-22256526953709354552008-09-24T20:34:00.000-04:002008-09-24T20:34:00.000-04:00He brought home the bacon for Delaware - what does...He brought home the bacon for Delaware - what does that mean please?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-13039460847434074292008-09-24T16:46:00.000-04:002008-09-24T16:46:00.000-04:00I do not believe that McCain is a neo-conservative...I do not believe that McCain is a neo-conservative though I think Palin is or will eventually become one. She is too black and white oriented not to buy into the allure of the New American Empire, especially with her as empress in waiting. But I think McCain is too sophisticated in foreign affairs to be caught up in that trap.<BR/><BR/>I believe McCain's foreign policy agenda is more formed by his military background: avoid overcommitment, protect your troops, engage fully when committed; force is a tool of foreign relations, not of first or last choice, just a tool. And I think he is committed to consensus building as a foreign relations methodology rather than to the neo-conservative unilateralist approach. All of which is to the good as far as I am concerned - though as a Christian I would prefer to see force as a tool of last resort.<BR/><BR/>Obama appears to reflect the same kind of thinking, though with less willingness to resort to force, and less willingness to become fully engaged when he believes some degree of force is called for. <BR/><BR/>When I think about use of force and degree of commitment I can't help but think on the one hand of Jimmy Carter's failed rescue attempt from Iran or Bill Clinton's ineffectual rocket attacks on Sudan and Afghanistan, and on the other hand GWB's tragic adventurism in Iraq.<BR/><BR/>I think all decision-makers need a degree of black and whiteness to make hard decisions I just fear when decisions are driven wholly by ideology (or theological orthodoxy) rather than by prudence and pragmatism.<BR/><BR/>JohnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-977150196442560462008-09-24T09:21:00.000-04:002008-09-24T09:21:00.000-04:00I want to just add that all of us are tempted by i...I want to just add that all of us are tempted by ideology and moralism. By criticizing McCain, I don't want to be seen as assuming that Obama or Biden have no warts. Both do! Joe Biden has been in the Senate for 36 years and often says things he later regrets. He brought home the bacon for Delaware, even as Obama has done for Illinois. Obama has at times been blown in the wind of popular sentiment. <BR/><BR/>So, no candidate is perfect. But what I want to point out about McCain/Palin is a common tendency to be unreflective and seeing things in black and white terms that could prove dangerous.Robert Cornwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-68039113148117162172008-09-24T06:17:00.000-04:002008-09-24T06:17:00.000-04:00I am familiar with the Biden quote which "clean" i...I am familiar with the Biden quote which "clean" is taken out of context. McCain too is a "taker of money" from financial organisations or their employees. Isn't it the campaigns and not the individuals in both cases thought? And Palin - well I have heard her bring "God's task" into her rhetoric on the war and it is something the rest of the world regards with deep suspicion. This phrase is not misunderstood out of context.<BR/><BR/>There has also been a marked difference between the McCain campaign and the Obama one. The former is set on belittling their opponents particularly illustrated with Palin's sarcastic jibes at Obama.<BR/><BR/>The new American empire sounds like McCain (and Palin).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-59536009688476032562008-09-24T00:33:00.000-04:002008-09-24T00:33:00.000-04:00The self-righteous include ideologues of every str...The self-righteous include ideologues of every strip. whether it be some of my union friends, my neo-conservative friends, my feminist friends, etc. Friends they may be , but when they get on their soap box it is not a pretty sight.<BR/><BR/>When the ideologue becomes a leader in government (i.e., Dick Cheney) then all else is sacrificed to accomplish the ideological objective. Civil rights are sacrificed to the national security agenda; the integrity of our intelligence agencies is sacrificed to the objective of the new American Empire; international alliances are sacrificed to military hubris. And fear becomes the whip driving the nation to pull the ideological chariot.<BR/><BR/>It isn't just misguided Christians (Muslims, and Jews) of whom we need to be wary.<BR/><BR/>JohnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-42692718466412741722008-09-23T21:50:00.000-04:002008-09-23T21:50:00.000-04:00Fair enough.. and I apologize to you Bob that I di...Fair enough.. and I apologize to you Bob that I did not see the Will post and thought this was just a "random" post. <BR/><BR/>Umm.. Steph, I would argue that Palin line is actually a myth and taken WAY out of context. You may want to check the facts. Both of my statements are NOT MYTHS, both are well accepted and recorded facts.<BR/><BR/>But my point is not lift up or put one side down.. but to use the word "moral" and politician in the same sentence is pretty much an oxymoron. Think about it.. the goal is to belittle your opponent in order to lift yourself up. Hardly a Christlike model.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-39011241322935169072008-09-23T20:56:00.000-04:002008-09-23T20:56:00.000-04:00I understand how my post can look hypocritical. M...I understand how my post can look hypocritical. My point is that McCain and Palin take a moralistic view of the world, whereas Obama/Biden take a more balanced perspective. That is the point of the Will article quoted in a previous post.<BR/><BR/>Now, should I preach on this I wouldn't use McCain/Palin as examples!Robert Cornwallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04581876323110725024noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-70118109088533214002008-09-23T20:35:00.000-04:002008-09-23T20:35:00.000-04:00The difference between your charges, anon, and Pas...The difference between your charges, anon, and Pastor Cornwall's is that his are based on truth and yours on myth. McCain does make a big deal of his war experience and Palin does harp on tasks from GodAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22980286.post-55353242486087590952008-09-23T18:42:00.000-04:002008-09-23T18:42:00.000-04:00Bob I 100% agree with you post.. HOWEVER.. why do ...Bob I 100% agree with you post.. HOWEVER.. why do you target just one side of the political equation? Do you REALLY believe Biden/Obama are not the very things you describe? Obama was the #2 taker of money from Fannie Mae. Your charges on M&P are simply spin.. its like me saying Obama is in bed with the Weatherman terrorist group and Biden is racist based on calling his own running mate "clean" and remarking on all the Indians working in C stores in his district.<BR/><BR/>Take out the 3rd paragraph.. and I am right there with you in. In fact my sermon Sunday was on the danger of moralism and its requirement to measure against others.<BR/><BR/>Your post almost screams hypocrisy b/c you are calling one group immoral.. as though another has the metric on what is moral.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com