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    Claiming Beliefs

    Filed Under politics, rants 

    One of the reasons I left Islam was because there were important beliefs within it to which I could not say, “I hold this to be true.”

    It’s my opinion that I need to be this way about all things. Now, I try not to get into partisan politics, because I think it’s generally just a way to divide people with common interests (kind of like racism), but I just read the Oregon Republican Party platform, and, while there are some items that I would say are reasonable and that I agree with, there are a lot of parts that strike me as illogical, appealing to a particular “special interest” group, and self-contradicting. I read the Texas Republican Party platform recently, and it’s quite similar.

    The Oregon Republican Party came into news recently because last month it passed a resolution (without debate) that would deny citizenship to US-born children of legal and illegal immigrants who were not citizens.

    Is this what Republicans believe? Do they hold these points to be true? Or is this just something on paper that people kind of believe, maybe (kind of like the idea of that everyone will go to Hell except those who accept their God) but wouldn’t really want to claim in public?

    A few highlights that gave me cause for concern.

    First of all … from the section on Crime and Punishment -

    Oregon has a rich heritage crafted by our pioneer founders to include progress, liberty, and freedom under God.
    [Whose Oregon are they talking about? Surely, this is not the same Oregon that had dozens of racial exclusion laws, such as the one that promised 600 acres to every married man and woman who came to homestead - unless they were black. What offends me about things like this is that they are dismissive, exclusionary, and false.]

    From The Preamble
    We honor such, as well as believe in equal justice, rights, and opportunity for ALL.
    [See all notes about "homosexuals" below.)

    We believe that free enterprise and individual initiative have brought this nation the opportunity, economic growth and prosperity that we currently enjoy.
    [Again ... not representative of reality ... dismissive, exclusionary, and false.]

    Family Protection
    We recognize that there is a severe attack upon the traditional family unit. Therefore we wish to define what we are referring to when we say “family”. A family is brought into existence when one man and one woman join in matrimony and includes children (if any) brought into that family. We also recognize the difficulties faced by single parent families. We support and encourage these individuals.

    We do not consider so-called “same sex marriage” to be “marriage” nor so-called “civil unions” to have any equivalency nor right to legal standing. Nor do we believe so-called “same sex marriage” or so-called “civil unions” worthy of legal standing for adoption or parenting purposes.

    We believe government intervention in matters regarding the family should be kept to an absolute minimum. However, we recognize circumstances under which the government must intervene to protect the physical or mental well-being of individuals.

    Individual Rights
    1.1. We believe all authority flows from The Creator to the parent and family. Parents have the inalienable right as well as the responsibility to form the character of their children, including but not limited to, correction, religious instruction and expression, general values and education. We believe it is the role of the parent and family to direct topics of education in sexual matters, sex related diseases, birth control, ethics and moral values. Governmental or public agencies shall obtain parental permission before discussing sex-related subjects with minor age children.

    1.13. We believe that it is an inalienable God-given right of a child to have a loving, permanent family of his or her own. We support adoption as a loving solution to unwanted pregnancies and encourage streamlining of the adoption process.

    [But wait!]

    1.19. We oppose the Children and Families Division practice of adoption and foster parenting by homosexuals as a moral transgression against the child.

    1.30. Tax dollars are a precious resource of government. We oppose the use of revenues to fund programs which promote homosexuality. We believe all forms of homosexuality and the so-called homosexual agenda are morally wrong and damaging to society in the long term. We believe that the practice of homosexuality is a matter of personal choice; and efforts to teach, promote or present homosexuality in public schools are inappropriate. Laws which grant minority status, create special consideration or protection based upon a behavior are equally inappropriate and thus opposed.

    1.31. Laws promoting, condoning or establishing legal status for same-sex marriages or establishing benefits normally attributed to heterosexual marriages shall be opposed. We support the exclusion of homosexuals from the military service in order to maintain an effective fighting force and preserving the morale and dignity of the Armed Forces.

    [How ironic that all of these are listed under "Individual Rights."]

    Education
    Republican Assumptions For the Rebuilding of a Sound Educational System

    Authority: All authority flows from our Creator and is delegated to parents who may in turn delegate, at their discretion, education to a professional educator.

    Economic: Education is a matter of choice, the more diversified the choice, the greater the chance for a thriving competitive marketplace of ideas ensuring excellence in education.

    Morals: Inculcation of United States of America cultural values including natural law and Judeo-Christian values must be basic to curriculum, legislation and institutional policy.

    2.5.c. Science shall include scientific creationism.

    2.5.d. U.S. History shall include a thorough mandatory study of the U.S. Constitution, and the inclusion of our religious heritage. Emphasis should be placed on teaching from original historical documents and quotes of historical figures not just editorialized commentaries about those events or figures.

    2.9. Mindful of our country’s rich Judeo-Christian heritage, we believe that this heritage, this culture, should be given its just and rightful place in our public educational establishments. 76% of all Americans are of Christian persuasion and should have, at least, equal representation.

    2.12. We support the abolition of the United States Department of Education and the Oregon Department of Education. Education is best administered at the local level.

    2.18.c. The government should permit public schools to be independent of school districts

    2.24. The Ten Commandments are recognized as accepted by the people of Judeo-Christian faith as well as many other faiths. They are as much a part of our moral values and civil law as they are part of any specific church or religious doctrine. Therefore the Republican Party believes the Ten Commandments should be on display along with other great documents of our society wherever appropriate in schools, courtrooms, and public places. We support the public display of the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Pledge of Allegiance in our public schools.

    Health Care
    [3.14. Republicans oppose:]

    3.16. Barry Goldwater, explaining his vote against “Medicare” (Senate, 1960): “We have learned that socialism can be sneaked over, against the wishes of the majority, through the simple device of expropriation by taxation and the creation of an all-embracing welfare program which effectively robs the individual of all control over his more basic and fundamental human freedoms and the right to regulate his own personal affairs as he may see fit.”

    3.20. We support a “cap” on medical malpractice claims to help reduce the cost of medical care in Oregon.

    3.21. We reaffirm our conviction that life begins at conception and ends at death, that any deliberate taking of an innocent human life between these two events amounts to killing. The Oregon Republican party reaffirms and applauds President Ronald Wilson Reagan’s Personhood Proclamation of January 14, 1988 in which he declares: “the inalienable personhood of every American from the moment of conception until death.” We further urge the Congress of the United States to use the powers granted to them by the United States Constitution to enforce this proclamation.
    [I do not like abortion, but what evidence do they have that "life" begins at conception? The same evidence of "scientific" creationism?]

    4.33. We strongly support actions based on environmental science. We oppose political environmentalism which only serves to reduce the rights and privileges of people and expands the role of government.

    4.35. The Endangered Species Act should not be used to prevent beneficial use of our waters.
    [Could this be more vague?]

    4.43. Minimum building density should not be mandated by governmental agencies.
    [Who should it be mandated by? No one?]

    And there is more … but I do not have the space here to go into all of it.

    You see, I don’t mind that these things are in here. It’s good to know what Republicans in Oregon actually believe. My question is, to each and every Republican in Oregon, are these the things that you actually believe? The resolution passed last month is drawing negative attention to the Republican Gubernatorial candidate, Ron Saxton, and he is distancing himself from the resolution. But it seems that it’s only because he needs the Russian and Hispanic vote. Even ultra-conservative Kevin Mannix is saying it’s dumb - not because it’s unconstitutional - but because it makes the Republicans look bad to moderates, and it’s not a smart political move to pass resolutions “against babies.”

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    Comments

    One Response to “Claiming Beliefs”

    1. powderblue on August 8th, 2006 6:11 am

      Hi,

      You mention that a lot of parts of the Oregon Republican Party platform strike you as illogical. They strike me that way too, although an article in the last UU World, “Making Sense of the Conservative Worldview”, helped me better understand the basis for some conservative views. I’d recommend it if you haven’t read it. It’s here: http://www.uuworld.org/2005/03/bookshelf.html

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