In a few weeks, I will discuss my faith journey with the congregation of my church. My presentation will constitute one of what we call our Insight Services, in which a speaker shares his or her perspectives on a specific topic, religious or not. The concept of faith journey seems rather foreign to me, in that my journey has been not one of faith but of doubt and disbelief. My conversation with the congregation will permit me to explore why I fit with them, in the aggregate, and vice versa.
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The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis.
~ Dante Alighieri ~
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In my opinion, Fox News is a Republican propaganda machine. Any “news” reported from that network appears to me, at the very least, to have been scrubbed to remove any traces of nonpartisanship. My Democrat neighbor agreed with my assessment of Fox, though she goes a bit deeper into the mire by calling the network “evil.” My neighbor’s agreement with my perspectives ended when I offered my opinions about both CNN and MSNBC; they are just as biased as Fox, only on the opposite side of the political spectrum. I am skeptical of every word spoken by a CNN or MSNBC anchor because their scripts seem pristine, too, with no evidence that they wish to seem unbiased.
Unapologetically raw bias from both ends of the political spectrum. I further disturbed my neighbor when I classified all politicians, from locals vying for votes to become county clerk to candidates for President of the United States, as variants on the same form of vermin. I will admit I went a tad too far there; I feel sure there must be one politician, somewhere, whose aspirations rise from her generous spirit and commitment to the public good. But, generally, they are self-serving rodents trained to please audiences by prevaricating in return for money and votes. I wish I did not feel that way; yet the only memorable news I ever hear about politicians seems to revolve around chronicling their cheating, thieving, devious, demonic practices. So, it’s no wonder I am just as biased against the bastards as they and their mouthpiece “news” agencies are about their opponents.
Philosophically, I tend to lean far to the left of the Democratic Party’s platforms (though I take issue with certain elements, tending to be more centrist and, occasionally, I lean right). Obviously, then, my political philosophies are at odds with almost every shred of Republican ideals. But I find both Democrats and Republicans (I’m referring here to party loyalists who operate and/or oil their parties’ political machinery) offensive, intellectually. Both seem to me insistent on manipulating facts to suit them and, not infrequently, distorting facts or abandoning them altogether in pursuit of morally questionable political goals.
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The modern conservative is engaged in one of man’s oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
~ John Kenneth Galbraith ~
I have dilly-dallied too much this morning. I’m back at the keyboard just about the time I need to leave for church. So much for writing what’s uppermost in my deeply hidden thoughts. I suppose you’ll just have to come query me about what’s on my mind. I’ll be right here.
