https://lastchancedemocracycafe.com/?p=669 Home of the Liberal Burger Thu, 9 Nov 2006 01:23:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0 https://lastchancedemocracycafe.com/?p=669#comment-3426 Mon, 06 Nov 2006 04:11:42 +0000 https://lastchancedemocracycafe.com/?p=669#comment-3426 Isn't it enough that he lied three times about this, before he finally came clean...which he may never have done, had he not gotten caught! Isn’t it enough that he lied three times about this, before he finally came
clean…which he may never have done, had he not gotten caught!

]]> https://lastchancedemocracycafe.com/?p=669#comment-3425 Mon, 06 Nov 2006 03:51:36 +0000 https://lastchancedemocracycafe.com/?p=669#comment-3425 will poor pastor haggard finally get it through his thick skull that it's not a choice? he can fight it all he wants, but it's not going to change because it's who he is. surely the religious zealots are going to get this. if anyone could have changed using all available tools coupled with a raging desire to do so, i'd think it would have been this poor guy. but he admits he's fought his urges all of his life. so the natural conclusion ~ to a sane person ~ would seem to be that he is simply fighting his nature, not the urge to sin. hoping, hoping, hoping that this wakes up the fools who believe gays are corrupt sinners choosing a lifestyle of debauchery. the hypocrisy is absolutely stunning. i am saddened for good people of faith with this most recent in such a long string of hypocritical blowhards being outed. will poor pastor haggard finally get it through his thick skull that it’s not a choice? he can fight it all he wants, but it’s not going to change because it’s who he is. surely the religious zealots are going to get this. if anyone could have changed using all available tools coupled with a raging desire to do so, i’d think it would have been this poor guy. but he admits he’s fought his urges all of his life. so the natural conclusion ~ to a sane person ~ would seem to be that he is simply fighting his nature, not the urge to sin. hoping, hoping, hoping that this wakes up the fools who believe gays are corrupt sinners choosing a lifestyle of debauchery. the hypocrisy is absolutely stunning. i am saddened for good people of faith with this most recent in such a long string of hypocritical blowhards being outed.

]]> https://lastchancedemocracycafe.com/?p=669#comment-3411 Sun, 05 Nov 2006 06:39:07 +0000 https://lastchancedemocracycafe.com/?p=669#comment-3411 Many people cannot tolerate the loneliness of their own thoughts. They feel they must belong to something: a group, a church, a cult, a clan. Without this base, they feel adrift in an ocean of change and uncertainty. The big picture of humanity and planet earth must be reduced to a more manageable size. Feeling included becomes of utmost importance, even though the "group think" may be negative, destructive, bigoted, and ultimately self-defeating. It is self-defeating because the person denies any need for self-examination. The group gives them a set of rationalizations and excuses, vindications and justifications for those destructive, cruel acts that are produced, and their own insecurities. Many groups are positive, of course, and do not go down a negative, destructive route. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with wanting to be a part of something bigger than self. But, each of us needs to examine our motivations for being part of any group, and realistically look at what kind of influence the group will have and the true nature of the goals of the group. We need to be as objective as we can, and be our own devil's advocate. In doing so, we are able to grow as individuals and not be zombie-like followers. Once a person has become involved in a group situation, it is difficult to overcome the human tendency to "fit in," hence the success of many cults. It comes from the evolutionary need to survive. I just watched two documentaries on the History Channel about the Ku KLux Klan and the Skinheads. These groups are fueled by rage, bigotry, and paranoia. Most Americans want nothing to do with them. Yet, in the last 6 years, many of their grievances have found their way into mainstream society, dressed up in Brooks Brothers Suits, so to speak. And the Far-Right, under the tutelage of men like Karl Rove, have played to homophobia and fear, racism and bigotry, allowing them control of our government. It may give meaning to the rank and file Republican to be a part of that group, or the woman in pew 6,793 to follow blindly her fallen angel, but by refusing to look at the consequences of extremism and hypocrisy, they fail themselves and they fail humanity. Many people cannot tolerate the loneliness of their own thoughts. They feel they must belong to something: a group, a church, a cult, a clan. Without this base, they feel adrift in an ocean of change and uncertainty. The big picture of humanity and planet earth must be reduced to a more manageable size. Feeling included becomes of utmost importance, even though the “group think” may be negative, destructive, bigoted, and ultimately self-defeating. It is self-defeating because the person denies any need for self-examination. The group gives them a set of rationalizations and excuses, vindications and justifications for those destructive, cruel acts that are produced, and their own insecurities. Many groups are positive, of course, and do not go down a negative, destructive route. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with wanting to be a part of something bigger than self. But, each of us needs to examine our motivations for being part of any group, and realistically look at what kind of influence the group will have and the true nature of the goals of the group. We need to be as objective as we can, and be our own devil’s advocate. In doing so, we are able to grow as individuals and not be zombie-like followers. Once a person has become involved in a group situation, it is difficult to overcome the human tendency to “fit in,” hence the success of many cults. It comes from the evolutionary need to survive. I just watched two documentaries on the History Channel about the Ku KLux Klan and the Skinheads. These groups are fueled by rage, bigotry, and paranoia. Most Americans want nothing to do with them. Yet, in the last 6 years, many of their grievances have found their way into mainstream society, dressed up in Brooks Brothers Suits, so to speak. And the Far-Right, under the tutelage of men like Karl Rove, have played to homophobia and fear, racism and bigotry, allowing them control of our government. It may give meaning to the rank and file Republican to be a part of that group, or the woman in pew 6,793 to follow blindly her fallen angel, but by refusing to look at the consequences of extremism and hypocrisy, they fail themselves and they fail humanity.

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