Letters to the Editor
bostonMA
Published Letters: 39 Editor's Choice: 22
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Why am I not surprised?
[Read the article: Corporate profiteering against Iraq vets?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Why am I not surprised? This is just the vertical integration of the corporate war profiteering that has been the hallmark of this administration.
While I would not argue that select privatization of government functions is necessarily any more certain to failure than a completely incompetent government, few would argue that the relationship between the administration and numerous firms from the military / industrial complex pass any kind of smell test. This is big business, no doubt. I've seen numerous college course offerings directly on this topic, as if this is just another form of venture capital that can only run out when the printing presses stop. Yet, this remains largely unchallenged by our political leaders or much of the general public, as if people are resigned to open corruption being just a natural part of the way society works.
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Rule by a higher power?
[Read the article: Huckabee: God wants us to fight global warming]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I'm glad to see the strength of Huckabee's convictions on global warming. I'm sure they're divinely found, much like the inspiration for George Bush's convictions on Iraq, stem cell research, and the abstinence education policy contributing to thousands of worldwide AIDS deaths. Yes, these tenets are compatible with the teachings of a religion that brought us everything from the crusades through to the creation of a modern army of pedophiles. Religion is the ultimate embodiment of irrefutable power, and it's demonstrably corrupt. One needs real conviction to see past that.
I look forward to a day that faith is not a prerequisite to run for the Presidency, nor even a characteristic that voters see as compatible with rational thought. Like "patriotism"-driven silence to executive power in wartime, those in power who presume to exercise the mandates of their god effectively silence dissention in our society. It's time to wake up to this tactic.
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The Wrong Speech
[Read the article: Romney to speak about his Mormon faith]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]How about the question that should have been asked for this speech: "Governor, your belief in religion concerns many people, I would like to get your response."
For some reason, a vast majority in the United States believe the application of religious beliefs to government policy is both desirable and good, unless perhaps it might be taken up by Muslims or Mormons. We stand in stark contrast to the rest of the modern world in this regard. Although no examples should be necessary to detail the suffering caused in the name of religion, allow me to cite the millions who have died in the AIDS crisis because of influence of religious dogma on domestic AIDS miseducation. This is compounded abroad where "abstinence and fidelity" is preached to tens of millions who will hear no other message. I do hope the orphaned and dying children of Africa might live long enough to ask us why.
Look at it this way: at least Romney doesn't share the same end times prophecies that seem to be the genesis of policy for the current administration. To some extent, I'd almost prefer a President who knows the public is alert to the role of religion in his decisions. Our current President is a man who sees himself as divinely guided by some Messiah, and has the certitude of convictions to prove it. This delusion is fully enabled by a public that is conditioned to be silent to moral crimes committed in the name of Christianity, and people across the globe are paying the price.