I don't know where you get your delusions, laser brain.
It motivated me to delineate how MY political views were formed. This may be an exercise solely for my benefit, but I'd be surprised if you didn't find it helpful to examine YOUR political leanings and trace back why they are the way they are.
As best I can tell, there are 4 main influences that have shaped my political perspective (and subsequent voting patterns). I share them in chronological order:
1. Living in England during the Reagan Presidency
- I developed a deep sense of national loyalty to my country.
- During this "Cold War," I became keenly aware that there were many places in the world quite unlike the USA, some of which help a deep-seated hatred of the USA.
- Consequently, I've always been a fan of ensuring our national defense and military were top notch.
2. Reading the Bill of Rights
- I realized that we needed the first 2 amendments (i.e., freedom from government involvement in religion, freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of press, and freedom to take up arms) as a grass roots form of checks and balances on the government itself.
- I realized the 10th amendment, contrary to what's transpired post-Civil War, put the vast majority of governing power in the hands of the individual states, not the federal government.
3. Reading Barry Goldwater's The Conscience of a Conservative
- I gained an appreciation for smaller government, especially in the face of encroaching Socialism.
- I also realized that rather than ensure liberty, governments by nature tend to be the chief instrument to thwart it.
- I also solidified and developed some of the thoughts I'd stumbled upon in the Bill of Rights (e.g., States' Rights).
- FYI - HERE are some pertinent quotes from the book.
4. Converting to Christianity
- I became pro-life, and consequently anti-abortion, seeing it as the murder of one made in God's image, with this being my political issue which trumps all others in evaluating candidates/parties.
- I shifted my confidence to the triune God who controls (Prov 21:1) and raises up and takes down governments (Rom 13:1-7), rather than in government itself.
- Thus, I added prayer as one of the duties a citizen has toward his/her country.
Labels: Abortion, Conservatism, government, military, politics, Reagan, war
posted by GUNNY @ 16:30
5 comments
5 Comments:
My political leanings are also informed by my faith:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html
High up on the "brilliant blogpost title" list.
My Dad told me (after I had voted for Jimmy Carter - still embarrassed about it), "Son, if you're 18 and don't vote for a Democrat, then you don't have a heart. But if you are 25 and you're still voting for Democrats, then you don't have a brain."
Thanks for the feedback!
@Dave, I figure even if the rest of the post is rubbish, at least I can make it worthwhile with a classic line that Leia's.
@Steve, I can see something like that being passed around in my family tree as well.
@Christiane, I'll give a look. I'm reminds of a quote I saw recently: "A politician who says his faith has nothing to do with his public policy is either a liar or a shallow follower of his faith." ~Tony Evans
I'm guessing that most of my thoughts stem from conversations I had with my dad growing up. Living in a left-leaning island (Lewis) in a left-leaning part of the UK (Scotland), it was unusual to hear Scripture and thoughts of 'never envying' (which equated to 'never be a Socialist); 'we don't talk about stuff unless it directly relates to our family and God's cause', (which, for me, came to mean Family comes first after God - not what the State or what others are doing).... so Think For Yourself!
I guess that's why we are homeschooling and doing so much differently from almost everyone else we know. God has been very gracious to us.
(now off to read more of your blog!)
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