Bruce H's Blog

Pastor Wright

Bruce H — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 15:48:00 EDT

Ask - did this man wallow in and promote victimhood, racism and division, or did he seize every opportunity he had to improve himself, his nation and his community?

It's the People, Stupid

Bruce H — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 02:59:23 EST

While Barack IS an "inspirational" orator, he does talk of things like hope and dreams and change and all that, there is a palpable quality to his approach that I knew I was going to see as soon as I read "Audacity of Hope" right after he declared he was running.

Here it is: It's the People, stupid.

He realized while running in Illinois that when he connected one-on-one with as many people as possible, looked in their eyes, listened to their dreams, their fears and their challenges, when he made sure they knew he heard them, they carried him to victory on their shoulders. He sees us as individual people. He listens to us, as much as possible above the clamor, as individual people. And we know this. We see this. We feel it. It's all most of us have ever wanted, really. To have a voice in our government. To know we are seen, heard, understood, cared about. And he sees us, he hears us, he understands us, he cares about us. We know this. The opposition can't understand it.

Why don't they GET it?

Bruce H — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 23:48:15 EST

I saw a short segment on CNN today that some (fairly shallow) research had been done on how heredity affects political leanings, and how the decision-making processes of liberals and conservatives DIFFER (according to differences in brain activity per PET scan).

It occurs to me that (being a liberal, a lefty a person who employs logic for a living and having a 155 IQ) there is a REASON why certain people seem impenetrable to logic, preferring to cleave to prejudice, alarm and suspicion, and others are open to new ideas. The different ends of the political spectrum approach decision-making and problem-solving in entirely different ways.

One of the most corrosive and degrading concepts rigid thinkers have introduced into the modern social lexicon is that of the "cult." No one can define the word reliably, but most people who are against them know one when they see it. Generally, it's "strong devotion to something/someone you'd have to be an idiot to believe." Or, "believing in stuff I don't believe in."

There are now murmurings on the web and in the media of an Obama "cult." We supporters are, by the mere application of the label, reduced to mindless sycophants who are devoid of analytical powers and unable to think for ourselves.

Oops! Sorry I burned down your house.

Bruce H — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 11:57:09 EST

I mentioned in earlier posts that one way to control another person is to lie to them.

An example of this is the lie told to deflect blame or avoid punishment - for instance, do harm to another on purpose, and then misrepresent the whole thing as a big mistake, a tragic accident.

It is quite likely the most common defense of white-collar criminals. They lost the file, they didn't know those records were supposed to have been preserved, they transposed a number, they meant for the transfer to to into the client's account rather than their own. Meet Hillary.

Obama or Clinton?

Bruce H — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:08:30 EST

If you really care about a government OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people, the most critical factor is not the ENDS, (policies, plans, programs) but the MEANS whereby a given candidate is likely to pursue their agenda. Both candidates have thoroughly mapped-out policy positions, programs and plans, and in substance these are quite similar in many respects. But which one is more likely to vest power in the PEOPLE, and which in themselves and their administration? There are ways to tell.

Where on the spectrum?

Bruce H — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:09:42 EST

Whether or not our founding fathers had my "givers" vs "takers" paradigm in mind (I rather doubt it), they could hardly have devised better barometers for which end of the spectrum a government honored than life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. While these tendencies may be difficult to measure objectively, a perceptive and thoughtful person can see in which direction any government proposal or policy tends- toward these goals, or away from them. More importantly, the perceptive and thoughtful person can tell the difference between the SYMBOLIC striving toward these goals, the the ACTUAL striving toward them.

On competing concepts of government

Bruce H — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 17:09:49 EST

Republicans see government as a "necessary evil," an attack dog, to guard the homestead and to set upon the wicked, but to be fed no more than absolutely necessary. The chief beneficiary of its protection is seen, first and foremost, as commerce - and secondarily, the citizenry, to the degree they can benefit from commerce. The right-wing ideological base of the party imbues it with the additional charter of enforcing morals - a natural extension of its function of falling upon the wicked and sending them straight to hell. As government is evil, Big Government is BAD, and Limited Government (preferably just cops and soldiers) is GOOD.

Democrats see government as the servant of the people, in that it is the coordinated means whereby the people care for themselves and for each other. In other words, it is not a danger to the people, for it is OF the people. The clearest statement of this principle is within the very first founding document of our United States, the Declaration of Independence.

Why not McCain?

Bruce H — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:29:58 EST

John McCain has served this country honorably, and continues to do so. I do not agree with his philosophy, nor most of his politics, but I have no quarrel in the main with his methods. Why would he be an unwise choice for president?

I Just listened to a healthy portion of his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, and was reminded again of the many ways in which he makes me uneasy, and of the many ways in which his candidacy is a continuation of the divisive and destructive political path into which our nation has fallen.