Wednesday, May 27, 2009

"Prayer" Will Not Suffice

Unfortunately my uncle had taken ill and I went to visit him in the scenic eastern Wisconsin town of Menasha. This necessitated a much loathed drive literally across the heart of Wisconsin because the most direct route goes through the middle-of-freaking-nowhere. Towns such as "Curtiss" and "Seymour" and let's not forget the bustling metropolis of Wausau. Yes, you have your choice of

McDonald's
A&W
and
Subway

for the entire trip in terms of sustenance.

But even more limited is your choice of radio stations, for while there are many radio stations, they all fall into two distinct categories;

Country

or

Jesus stations.

I literally heard a song called "That's Not My Truck in Her Driveway."

Only to change the channel and hear a southern-accented man (of which there are none in Wisconsin) yelling, "Jeeeeeeezus, will saaaaaave yeeeeeeew!"

And there's only so many games you can play to entertain yourself. Games like "count the number of strip clubs" (4 of them - Shooters, Chubby's, The "Rear End, and Up North, NONE of which suggested anything less than metric tonnage on the stage), "Cows and Graveyards" (pick a side, north or south, one gets cows, the other gets graveyards, whichever side gets the most WINS!) and "Pull Over and Go to the Bathroom A Lot Even Though You Don't Have to Go But Really Just Need a Break from the Mundacity."

Regardless, I'd get intermittent reception of Rush Limbaugh or talk radio so I was able to make it, but I heard three things on the radio that made me think and thought this worthy of writing.

The first thing I heard was on the news, this nut job woman who essentially killed her child because when he daughter went into a coma instead of taking her to the hospital, had A PRAYER RING so that God might save her.

The second thing was the on-going saga of the nutjob "naturalistic" parents in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota who made a run for the border so that their son Brian may avoid chemo-therapy and enjoy death-inducing cancer.

But the third was the one that did it. It was a Jesus station I had temporarily tuned into and the radio show host, who was a pastor, was calling on his listeners to PRAY FOR THE COUNTRY SO THEY MIGHT OVERCOME THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION.

Now, it is no secret that I am pretty much anti-religion. I think religion is essentially just a hold-over of ancient forms of government, becoming obsoleted as science proves more and more of their beliefs incorrect, which essentially makes them just cults of brainwashing or "clubs" people join to make themselves feel better. But what particularly irks me is that this displays the "spectator sport" attitude of what I think infects most of the people on the right. They think "praying" is somehow going to help bring about the end of the wave of socialism sweeping the nation. It also makes it incredibly difficult for conservatism, capitalism, or libertarianism to mount a counter-offensive in that the religious right, with inane statements like this, is intertwined, particularly with the Republican party.

Now I know people on the right don't want to hear this, but right now, in the midst of the worst recession since the Great Depression and as the country IS leaving its historical, constitutionally founded past and RAPIDLY pursuing an anti-freedom, socialist agenda we have REALLY got to shed these irrelevant battles for/against social issues such as gay rights, abortion, etc., and focus on the one that is most pressing and most relevant and that is the economic issue.

The Republican party is delusioned with ancillary arguments and causes that are frankly irrelevant to the future of the nation. It needs to realize the immediate threat is economic. And, being the economist, I will argue that if economic freedom is THE MOST IMPORTANT freedom in that if it is lost, then all other social freedoms will be lost. It is the "key stone" freedom that ensures and guarantees all others (which is why if I am king I will make a constitutional amendment that the governments, state federal and local, cannot confiscate more than 25% GDP). Furthermore more, the Republican party has got to grow a pair and make a clear distinction between them and the democrats. Oh I know the country wants socialism, but look how well you've done for yourselves capitulating to their desires and leaving true republican standards becoming "socialists light." You lost everything. The best thing for the Republican party would be to instead of looking at the next election (which is short termism) start looking long term which means making a clear distinction between them and the socialists, which means standing on principle and STICKING TO IT REGARDLESS OF THE IDIOCY/PARTICULAR MOOD OF THE NATION, and the reason why they should do this is that when the country is suffering in the throes of socialism they will have a clear and distinctly different alternative. Not just "socialism light" which I'm sure will become the next fad in about 15 years or so, but it would more or less guarantee a "reign" of sorts that would last more than 4 years, not to mention complete control of the congress. Heck, to help expedite this, the Republican party could actually become more moralled than the Democrats. The Republican party could go so far as to make it a party by-law that no republican shall have more than three terms in any government office...

Of course I'm just dreaming, but that is certainly more feasible than anybody's prayer being answered to get Obama out of office.

15 comments:

Kitty said...

Admittedly, I am an evangelical Christian. (Meaning that I'm only anti-religion in the sense that I don't think any list of rules will help anyone without a change of heart as well.) Oh, and a Canadian. But I think you dismiss as 'irrelevant issues' things that really will make a difference.

For example, if abortion were not as widespread as it is, or - boy, radical thought - illegal, how many more people would be alive today, working and contributing to GDP? It's not a matter of one single issue.

I do enjoy your posts, however.

Ryan Fuller said...

I'm extremely skeptical of anyone who makes money off of religion in any way, so I share your scorn for Jesus Radio.

That said, I value the opinions of the non-religious on religion about as much as I value the opinion of non-scientists on science.

Anyway, the party you described already exists. It's called the Libertarian Party. The Republicans are structured to capture the median vote and nothing more. They're doing a shitty job at it, but that's their goal. If they wanted to adopt libertarian principles in a country loaded with leftist morons, they'd be about as popular as the Libertarian Party.

Milton Hayek said...

Humans will not get us out of this, not without a total economic collapse or other catastrophic event derailing the socialists' plans for this country. America's main problem isn't economic, it's spiritual. Our economic problems stem from a lack of obedience to God.

Romans 1:18-32, an apt description of the modern Western world.

Anonymous said...

Amen!

Ryan said...

Seriously Cap'n, get an Ipod. Then subscribe to whatever podcast you fancy. What's a podcast you ask? It's basically free internet radio geared toward whatever you find interesting. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of podcasts available so you will definitely find something worthwhile. You can even download mp3 file lectures from online and put them in your Itunes to sync with the Ipod if that's something you desire.

Depending on your car's stereo setup, you may be able to use a standard auxiliary cord to plug the ipod into the radio. If that's not possible, I highly recommend upgrading your car's system to something Ipod compatible.

You will never be subject to hours of useless talk radio, obscure jesus stations and, most importantly, NO MORE COMMERCIALS!

duncandancer said...

Hi,

Just wanted to touch bases to let you know I really enjoy your blog, Captain Capitalism. Great entries, interesting ideas. Keep up the great work.

Also wondering if you have heard of FreedomFest, the largest gathering of free minds on liberty? It's this July 9-11 in Las Vegas. It's truly a terrific conference, very dynamic, where people who are concerned about liberty issues meet to discuss real, important issues. I think you would love it!

You can visit www.freedomfest.com for more information.

Have a great day, and keep up the awesome work!

Thanks!
Valerie Durham

Hot Sam said...

Radio, television, and big-church preachers are mostly oafs, bigots, hypocrites, and financial opportunists.

They use the verse, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. Render unto the Lord what is the Lord's." as a call to tithe. Bullshit! That verse says exactly the opposite.

Gold coins bore the likeness of Caesar - money belongs to Caesar. God wants you and only you. He has no need for money and neither do his priests or churches on Earth.

Jesus gave this quote when the Pharisees tried to trap him into defying Roman authority to tax. This would have gotten him arrested for treason. Jesus saw right through the trap and evaded it with his seemingly cryptic answer.

If we are to live by Jesus' example, we preach from hillsides in the open air to people who freely gathered. We do not herd them into expensive churches and extort money from them with collection plates.

I was raised a Catholic and evolved into a part-time evangelical Christian, part-time religious skeptic.

One thing that always bugged me about Protestants is how they babble endlessly in prayer.

"God, help heal Sister Kate of her brain tumor."

"God, help Nora find a job."

"God, help Jake find a new car."

To me, this is treating God like a genie in a bottle. Rub the lamp and make your wishes. If you get it, then "Hallelujah, praise the Lord!" If you don't get it, it wasn't in God's Will.

When I was in Kosovo, if you asked a Muzzie to do something he didn't want to do, he would respond "Insha'Allah" which means, "If God wills it." Well, when you heard that, you could bank on it that God wasn't going to will it.

The Bible tells us precisely how to pray in the verse right before the Lord's Prayer.

It says (and I'm paraphrasing):

When you pray, don't babble like the Pagans do. God already knows what you want. God already knows what you need. God's Will is already planned for you.

The Lord's Prayer is the only prayer I pray.

- It acknowledges the Divine rule of the Creator and our duty to seek and accept his Will.

- It requests only essential needs to be met.

- It requests strength in times of hardship and wisdom to recognize and avoid doing stupid things

- It requests forgiveness for our misdeeds.

Nothing more needs to be said.

Oh, and get an iPod, satellite radio, or a cell phone with an MP3 player. Jesus, join the 21st century, Cappy!

Dr Bob said...

I can see where the Capt is coming from - there's a wise saying that you don't fight battles you cannot win. Some of these issues the Republicans are pushing are issues they cannot win.

One of these is abortion, another is prayer in schools. These are more or less "dead" issues which cannot be advanced, the best you can hope for is to continue the stalemate.

Why pick these issues on which you can't win, when there are other key issues such as:

a) less government intrusion/more personal freedom,

b) limiting the size, scope and power of the federal government, including getting out of the business of the taking over companies,

c) Reducing federal spending,

d) Nominating judges that believe in the constitutional separation of powers and thus interpret law, not create it.

e) True welfare reform by changing the emphasis of welfare from a subsistence program to the emphasis of getting people off welfare permanently.

Those are five issues that the Republicans could win with.

Hot Sam said...

@Dr. Bob:

I agree that banning abortion is a losing political issue, but reasonable limitations are clear winners.

Parents want to know about and consent to their daughter's abortions. A 14 year old girl can't get her ears pierced without permission, but she can get an abortion - ridiculous!

Banning late-term abortions, certain types of abortion, and requiring counseling are all winners.

Prayer in school is a certain loser, but religious clubs in school on par with other clubs is a winner.

You're right that those should not be the vanguard of a political strategy and all the things you list should be. Returning to those core values and staying there is how we won in the past and how we will win in the future. Bush screwed up by leaving those issues. Republicans in Congress screwed up by becoming greedy, arrogant, corrupt sleezeballs like Democrats.

Bob said...

I lost my religion when I was about 5 years old and I asked my Dad: "Who was Jesus." He looked at me and said... I will never forget this:

"He was just a guy who stuck his head up over the hill once too often."

Krig the Viking said...

Cap'n: If the Republican party drops social issues entirely, they will lose the Evangelical vote. It's that simple. Social issues are as important to Evangelical/Christian Right/Social Conservative voters as economic freedom is to you. You wouldn't vote for a party that abandoned capitalism in order to get more votes, would you? Then why would a committed SoCon vote for a party that abandoned social conservatism?

The day the Republican party abandons social conservatism is the day it dies as a national party. You can't just abandon a huge chunk of your loyal base and hope that the cool kids will vote for you now that the embarrassing hicks are gone, not if you want to win elections.

I do agree, however, that economic freedom and a smaller, more federalist government should be the Republicans' main focus at this point. But you can focus on a thing without tossing everything else overboard.

Anonymous said...

Very interesting discussion. However, I suggest the captain look up the word "mendacity".
Cheers

Anonymous said...

Captain,

Occasionally I make long drives across areas where the radio station choices are very limited. I solve this problem by listening to audio books.

Many audio books and short stories may be downloaded for free from
http://literalsystems.org/abooks/index.php

It is somewhat "hit or miss" regarding the quality of the narration.

However, I do recommend these (the narration is outstanding):

Cat And Mouse (Ralph Williams)
http://literalsystems.org/abooks/index.php/Audio-Book/CatAndMouse

Incident On Rt 12 (James Schmitz)
http://literalsystems.org/abooks/index.php/Audio-Book/IncidentOnRt12

The Owl Creek Bridge (Ambrose Beirce)
http://literalsystems.org/abooks/index.php/Audio-Book/TheOwlCreekBridge

To Build A Fire (Jack London)
http://literalsystems.org/abooks/index.php/Audio-Book/ToBuildAFire

The Heathen (Jack London)
http://literalsystems.org/abooks/index.php/Audio-Book/TheHeathen

dtrum said...

The American political system is dominated by plurality voting. That makes it easy for parties to neglect small parts of their voter base and push for the middle voter. This is exactly what happens with the libertarian Republicans. However, I don't think that a change in the voting system will make it better. The only way to change the perception of economics in the public is to push for educational reform. And the current crisis can be cited as a perfect reason for teaching more economics in schools.

Besides, I would limit the chunk that the government chops off of the economy to 10%. That would be a divine rule!

Alex said...

"For example, if abortion were not as widespread as it is, or - boy, radical thought - illegal, how many more people would be alive today, working and contributing to GDP?"

So your argument is, essentially, "hey, let's turn all dem wemenz inta breeders! It'll fix dat dere durn eekonomy thang."?

Stupidest ... argument .... EVER! Congratulations, sir, you win the brainfart of the year award.

Even if we ignore the complete long-term impossibility of such a plan, and the moral repugnance of it, the real question becomes "how many more people would be alive today sucking in the welfare and medicare dollars".

On a side note, I didn't think we had any evangelicals here in Canada. I always thought that it was a strictly American disease. I guess there are exceptions to every rule.