(no subject)

[blistermoth]

marketsquare wrote this great column on how some politicans are more open about their faith.

He also discusses how silly it is to be an out-of-town Yankees fan. :)

Comments

[bona.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, another reason to dislike Hillary! Does that make me an "arch-liberal"?

I believe I speak for Yankee Nation when I say, "We don't want her!"

On the religion front, there's an interesting quandary for Dems and other left-leaning people of faith - How do you communicate to voters (who seem to care about this stuff a lot) you have faith without sounding like a shill. While I love Obama, I'm not sure I want all my politicians to give props to "their awesome God." Maybe it's the Mennonite in me, but prefer the adage, "Speak the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words." Oh wait, that was by a Catholic saint...

(See the movie "The Big Kahuna" for related themes.)

So, how do they meet the perceived needs of the voters who want "politicians of faith"? I don't know, I guess I wish the electorate would wise up and, those who are Christian, remember Jesus' admonition to go pray in your closet rather than in the public square.

I know what you're saying ... good luck with that.

[marketsquare.livejournal.com]

Were I in New York for the long haul, I'd probably bite the bullet, bury the '69 hatchet, and pull for the Mets. Queens is a nice scrappy borough. (Did you notice how Uncle Ben seemed to be the only Yankee fan in Spider-Man, and all the other decent-face-of-New Yorkers had Mets caps? Granted, it was a Red Sox fan who pointed that out to me . . . .) I do give Yankee Stadium props for having an elevated train running past it, though. It's a classy touch.

I feel like the trick for politicians is, tell the truth from day one. If you've got the faith, never be ashamed to talk about it. If you don't, don't pretend like you do. Then you won't be a shill, and that's the important thing.

Not that a guy like me saying "Just tell the truth!" is going to win points with the political pros, but I do feel like it's the most effective policy in this case. People can tell when they're being hoodwinked. The real question is whether they want, for other reasons, to go along with it. And that's a whole 'nother story.

[bona.livejournal.com]

Yes, but what if you've "got the faith" but it's not one that encourages you to be politically vocal about it? What if it's one that says "do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God." What if it's one that says, like I quoted earlier "pray in your closet ... not in the square"?

There are politicians of genuine faith out there who just don't talk about it because they don't want to use their faith for political gain and because they don't want to hurt the wall b/w church and state. There are, on the other hand, those who preach their faith from day one who know it'll help them win votes. There are those in between too, who are genuine and have spoken it from day one.

It's not as simple as "If you've got it, flaunt it ... as long as you flaunt it consistently."

[sarahjrhee.livejournal.com]

i must be a mennonite or catholic at heart cus i agrees with the bona...if i remember correctly, when daniel's jealous colleagues tricked king darius into issuing his 'don't pray to anyone but me for the next 30 days' edict, daniel didn't go around condemning anyone for their idolatry but simply did his usual of praying quietly in his home...of course, when asked, daniel wasn't ashamed of talking about his god either...

when all is said and done, i like jimmy carter.