Politics and Fundamentalism
I started this blog thinking I’d weave in politics with baseball in a similar but lesser fashion to how the Baseball Crank does. Though I tend to fall just on the other side of center from where he is. But I changed that approach to just focus on baseball, and the Braves in particular. Much of that change was due to my opinions and ideas about politics being just too damn complex to be blogged about along side baseball. Also, I thought there were plenty of bloggers out there who were talking about politics that did a ‘heckuva job’ as it was (some of them are linked on the column to the right).
But I came across a story that sums up many of my fears about where the politics of this country seem headed. This Rolling Stone article (quite long, but worth the read) details an example of what I have thought for some time is the systematic unraveling of the barrier that protects the state from the church and the church from the state. That wall is in place to protect each one of those institutions from the other, and there are many out there that wish to tear it down.
I also came across a great quote by Andrew Sullivan that sums up how I view all this in a nutshell: “We once allowed for strong religious faith but also for a neutral but respectful public square. What fundamentalism does is demand the complete submission of all parts of life - professional, civic, political - to the demands of dogma.”
Scary business, at least to me. That’ll be enough politics for now, I’ll get back to baseball tomorrow.
posted by gondeee @ 4:37 PM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I could always get alarmist leftist rhetoric over at Mac T's Braves Journal. And Kos is a moral zero. I'm an atheist, but do you really believe there's some real danger being posed by Christian fundamentalists in the US? I mean, really believe that? I'm not scared in the least. Annoyed, sometimes, maybe. But definitely not scared. There's about a thousand other kinds of dogma in this world that are more dangerous to people.
Yeah, I was a little hesitant to post this. But as a pedestrian myself, I’m just tired of right-wing religious agenda pushing. I tried not to make the post too alarmist, I obviously don’t want to turn anyone off. I just felt that the Rolling Stone article was quite interesting with regards to the picture it painted of the backroom deal making in DC. And specifically how all that backrooming involved a religious agenda.
Kos is a wild and crazy guy. Here is a good article on him and his background and strategy: http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0601.wallace-wells.html.
If you notice the general links on the right side of the blog, you’ll see that I try and read the rhetoric from both sides, and make up my own mind. But every once in a while something needs to be said, and I felt that this post was my moment to say that ‘something.’ Don’t worry, it won’t happen too often.
Gondee:
I read your reply. Fair enough.
I'm something of a lapsed leftist, myself. Once subscribed to the Wahington Monthly, but, really, no longer agree with much of what they have to say. I think my politics jibe more or less with kausfiles.com (Kaus once even wrote for the Washington Monthly, but I think he's moved away from Charlie Peters's world view.)
And, still, I have no use for Kos. Just a total waste of DNA.
Thanks very much for your reply. Looking forward to following your blog throughout the season. Now, let's go, Braves!
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