My Inspiration

(from SDA_Matt)


That was the day I thought to myself, "I should make a blog."

Jimmy Carter and Anti-Semitism

I'm reading Jimmy Carter's new book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. I've only completed the first few chapters but I don't see what all the outrage is about; it's been pretty mild so far. I don't see why people are calling Carter an anti-Semite. Then again, endorsing anything that shows Israel in a less than positive light qualifies as anti-Semitism. Critics of Israel and of people who happen to be Jewish are silenced and accused of anti-Semitism. It's not just racism. It's worse. Anti-Semitism. Charges of anti-Semitism can ruin your career. Just ask Mel Gibson. Of course, other religions and countries are made fun of all the time. But they don't matter. They didn't go through a tragic genocide that now allows them to be blameless for whatever they do (I have no intention of belittling the horrors of the Holocaust but, quite frankly, it does not excuse Israel's murder of others).

...And I guess that rant makes me an anti-Semite too. If it does, then that just proves my point. But honestly, can we not have an honest discussion without the fear of being branded anti-Semites? Enough of the oversensitivity and paranoia!

The other side of illegal immigration

I oppose illegal immigration. I truly do. I dismiss illegal immigration advocates' claims that opponents like me are racists. I believe that an illegal immigrant, whether he or she comes from Canada or Mexico or elsewhere, is committing a crime regardless of his or her race. So I'm just as likely to oppose a Canadian illegal immigrant as I am a Mexican illegal immigrant. I don't oppose immigration itself. Immigrants are great, just come here legally.

Unfortunately, right-wingers are using this debate as a platform for their broader xenophobic views. Curbing immigration in general gets swept under the same banner as curbing illegal immigration. For example, the Federation for American Immigration Reform is against illegal immigration but at the same time also advocates "a temporary moratorium on all immigration except spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens and a limited number of refugees." While it has been around for over 25 years, it didn't become well known and didn't come out in the media much until around 2001. Illegal immigration was becoming a hot topic, so why not bring regular immigration into this and campaign against both? It's like killing two birds with one stone. I guess there are really 3 sides you can take on illegal immigration then. Be against both kinds of immigration, be against illegal immigration only, or support all immigration. Organizations like FAIR are gradually erasing the middle group.

The Minuteman Project sounds like a good idea. And their site says they're 25% non-white and 55% women, so the stereotypes aren't entirely true. What bugs me about them is they don't seem to read their "Hate Mail." A section of the website is devoted to "email, articles, and comments sent to The Minuteman Project [that] are filled with loathing for Americans and our culture." The majority of the emails go along these lines: "[EXPLETIVE] YOU [EXPLETIVE]-ING RACISTS!!" But there are some that make valid points, or at least offer good, honest questions that deserve good, honest answers. For example, Linda Christine Darian wrote:

"I would like to know why you do not spend your time stalking the owners of companies that hire the illegal immigrants instead? Why don't you hang outside their offices and call the police on them when they are using illegal workers.
I live in Mexico and your group is just another attempt of trying to show off your American muscle. Why not go after your own people, or would that be un-American? Of course it would be..."

I hope they did reply to this lady. She does go on to call them racists but I don't think this qualifies as hate mail. It doesn't seem like she loathes Americans and American culture. It just seems like she has some questions she would like answered.

Looking over this post, it just looks like a bunch of unrelated thoughts. That's all it is, I suppose. All they have in common is they look at the illegal immigration debate from the other side.

...this might get some people mad

Disclaimer: I do not support incest. Like most of you I think it’s just plain GROSS!

All manners of arguments have been used to justify same-sex marriage. One of the most common is the “If two people love each other and want to get married, they should have the same rights as anyone else regardless of gender” argument. Who are we to object? Why should we even care? Heck, if a guy wants to marry his sister, why can’t he? Just play along with me. They’re in love and it’s not just brotherly love. What’s so wrong about them getting married? How about two sisters? How is that any different?

Now don’t jump to any emotional arguments. Just think logically and factually. The one problem that jumps out is inbreeding can bring out harmful recessive traits. But who says the couple will procreate? Same-sex couples can’t have kids, biologically speaking. So if they should still be allowed to marry, we’ve established the idea that marriage is not all about procreation.

While gay people have been around for ages, homosexuality was never as talked about as it is now. Fifty years ago, it wasn’t as socially acceptable as it is now. Sure, there are many people who oppose it and many people who discriminate against homosexuals today. But that people are able to discuss it shows we have come a long way, whether for better or worse. Today, incest is not socially acceptable or openly discussed. It is just plain wrong, gross, and unnatural. But who knows, maybe fifty years from now, brothers and sisters will be fighting for their right to get married. It may seem unlikely, but if you went back in time and told someone fifty years ago that Congress would be deciding whether or not gay people should be allowed to marry each other, they just might think you were crazy. If you think a woman marrying her brother is wrong, why? Think of a rational reason, not one based on emotions or preconceptions. And whatever reason you come up with, does it apply to same-sex marriages as well?

I’m not writing this with the intention of advocating incest or discouraging homosexuality. But if you oppose one, how can you accept the other? Is there not a double standard in that type of thinking?