I don't actually know if the sign above is from Texas or another Southern state but regardless I assume that Texas has its share of Rednecks supporting Barack Obama as well; the real reason for this post is to share this nugget:
Barack Obama's religion has been the subject of much discussion in the media. Though Obama is a practicing Protestant, well-publicized emails and word of mouth campaigns inaccurately identifying him as a Muslim have been circulated since the early days of his candidacy. In order to gauge public awareness of Obama's religion, we asked respondents, "What do you believe Barack Obama's religion to be?" A plurality, 45.5%, chose the "Protestant" option, and 28 % couldn't say. Twenty percent, however, said that Obama is a Muslim.As I've said before, I wish there was less focus on Obama's religion and on religion in politics in general but having said that: twenty percent? What the fuck? I know Texas is a big state and that a lot of people aren't concentrated in the big media centers so I can understand that they might not be that informed about some things but if that's the case: how are they being polled? The only other conclusion I can come to is that 1 in 5 Texans is keeping themselves either blithely or willfully ignorant on this topic, which doesn't really surprise me but I'm still disappointed; Texas, it's a good thing your food tastes so good or else I'd have a hard time speaking well of you sometimes.
3 comments:
I voted today.
I know why you wish there was less focus on religion in politics and that there's a "separation" of church and state, but if your life and worldview are shaped by a religious philosophy then you're going to be interested in the beliefs of your elected leaders. Religion is more than where you go when you die. It's really no different than your socially libertarian ideas.
That said, many bad decisions have been made in the name of religion and many people have used religion as a way to gain favor.
Firstly, bravo for voting; if I remember correctly you had decided on Obama when last we discussed it but I would have given you a bravo either way.
I agree that your religious philosophy is the same as my Libertarian-Socialist philosophy in that they are both ideologies and belief systems we try to live our lives by; I just think that a lot of the nuts and bolts (practical) aspects and beliefs of religion are antithetical to reality, and that many politicians who claim to possess these particular beliefs seem to have anathema to reality in some cases, and science and facts in particular.
And while I agree with what you said about the negative aspects of religion, I will also say that many bad decisions have been made in the name of science as well; the main difference as I see it is that science and the scientific method are inherently organized to learn from and not repeat those bad decisions, when followed correctly.
Ditto for religion. Unfortunately it's not easy.
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