Americans are stupid. Seriously. If you invest 4% of your income, as Bush is proposing, and get a very reasonable 11% return (which is pretty low if you ask me), and you have an income 2/3 the size of the median income in America, and you NEVER GET A RAISE, you’ll have just over 2 million when you retire. That gives about $6,000 a month to live. Hmmm. Let’s see. At least $6,000 a month or my social security check? Hmmm.
Now, this program doesn’t even affect me. I get 15% of my income put into mutual funds. Like the Democratic members of Congress that are arguing against Bush’s plan, I don’t pay social security. I’m also a Democrat. I’m just not stupid, and I don’t have a desire for Americans to die poor.
I don’t think watching 24 has been helping either because all of the characters on there are stupid Americans. And all the youth are even dumber. Seriously America. Wake up.
I got it! Let’s make the rich people pay for us to retire. Where’s Robinhood? Hmm, how bout the liberal version of The Ant and the Grasshopper. (I actually found that while looking for the original story.)
February 8th, 2005 at 10:09 pm
Every time I read this you say “I am a democrat but ___” and then agree with the GOP. Are you *really* a democrat??
The thing with all these debates -like every other argument- is that people have motivations that go way beyond just facts or whatever. They may be motivated by fear of GOP rule for the next 50 years, or giving Bush credit, etc etc. It’s like in theological argumentation: I like to ask why am I arguing? do I care about the truth or do I just want to win? MOTIVATION is so important.
February 8th, 2005 at 11:10 pm
How does one ‘not’ pay social security?? Are you unemployed?
February 9th, 2005 at 7:19 am
No, see the great state of Louisiana allows state employees to elect out of paying social security to privately fund their retirement in really good funds. An excellent perk. They also have pretty good healthcare. Why am I in private industry?
February 9th, 2005 at 9:14 am
Yeah, you’re decision to “become” a Democrat is very weird, since you don’t seem to share any common ground with them on specific policy issues that I can tell from your blog. It sounds like you were just trying to be strategic for cultural apologetic reasons, and not because you necessarily believe them to be the party more in line with your beliefs.
February 9th, 2005 at 12:53 pm
At least he’s not a liberal democrat.
February 9th, 2005 at 1:28 pm
Scott,
Right. I teach at a state university. It gives me ins that I would never have were I not. People actually listen to me when I say, “Believe me; I know. I’m a Democrat, but you see…”
I do agree with Democrats on a lot of stuff…just not economics and certain moral issues.
February 9th, 2005 at 1:58 pm
That might work. But, usually, it’s the shared ideology, not the party, that gives one the in - at least in my experience. Which is fine if you do share that ideology. Friends of mine are christian and democratic, but they are pretty passionate about very specific issues, which I would associate with general economic progressivism. If you take out the moral issues, and the economic issues, then I don’t see what exactly makes the Democratic party distinct. The environment, maybe? The war? Support for labor unions? It’s not clear to me what exactly the Democratic Party peddles outside those things you said you disagree with them on (economics, morality).
February 9th, 2005 at 2:03 pm
I respect the desire to make inroads into you professional community, but I imagine in the longrun, you’ll find (a) that taking the name of the party isn’t as beneficial to your desire to share the gospel and serve them as you’d hoped and (b) you’ll feel frustrated that you’re supporting a party that opposes the party you probably do have sympathies for, in a more fundamental sense. While strategic thinking in a cultural apologetics/missional context is vital, I’ve become somewhat cynical about doing external things personally. It seems like I can have an impact on the people in my life - my friends, my students, my faculty, my colleagues, my family - if I have the courage to love God publicly and privately in a way that is honest to who I am. Not that you are not doing that, necessarily, but reading your discussion of being a Democrat, I haven’t yet mdae any connection as to why you actively like the party, except for your belief that it can help facilitate relationships better than an independent or Republican badge could.
February 9th, 2005 at 2:09 pm
Now, ask yourself this - if Condi ran, how would you vote? That’s an interesting candidate to consider in your mind. As a deeply committed social conservative and Christian, she would seem to be a cakewalk in the Republican primaries and in attracting the base. But, as a black woman, she’d open up the margins for women and blacks. Apparently, three groups gave Kerry his sizeable number of votes - Hispanics, single women, and African-Americans. Someone like her would capture the base, as well as move past the median voter into some of the Democratic base itself. She’s got my vote - I adore her.
February 9th, 2005 at 2:43 pm
Scott,
Well the facilitation of relationships is vital in the context I am in.
I am well known by my colleauges as being a conservative and a devoted Christian. In fact, last week, as I was taking a prospective facutly member to lunch, someone from financial aid walked up and said, “Listen, I just want you to know that we’re not all conservatives like this guy.” I mean, the knowledge of who I am extends all over campus.
But by being a theologian of the cross (one of the things I find attractive about Lutheranism), I make a special effort to meet people where they’re at. All the conservatives and Republicans I have contact with know me. They’re not going to think I’ve gone liberal.
But in finding common ground with Democrats and liberals (yes, you pegged two areas 1) the war, to some degree 2) the environment), I am able to extend my sphere of influence.
Let’s just put it this way. I don’t want to influence people that are my friends, family, or in my church. I want to share God’s love by only alienating people with things that I need to alienate them with. Politics is not something I want to use to alienate. The gospel does that enough.
Honestly, I follow politics. I enjoy knowing what’s going on in the world. But I don’t have a love for it, and I think, generally, it’s fairly useless.
You can’t change people’s hearts without sharing the gospel, and the most effective way I’ve found to share the gospel is to befriend a person. And to be a friend means to share common ground and focus on your similarities.
There are plenty of people that want to forward a cause. There aren’t very many people that want to love the loveless.
February 9th, 2005 at 3:57 pm
I just have doubts that switching parties will provide much in terms of facilitating relationships. I respect the attempt, though.
February 9th, 2005 at 5:31 pm
I really don’t see the point in joining either of the two primary parties.
February 10th, 2005 at 6:58 am
Yeah? Why?
February 10th, 2005 at 9:21 am
Scott,
I was never a Republican, so I didn’t “switch.”
But let me say, it has produced a lot of results already. I get to argue a lot about Bush’s policies on things like “gay marriage” and abortion.
By being a democrat, people start to think, “Democrats are concerned about this too,” so they’ll listen to my point of view. If I were Republican, they wouldn’t give me the time of day because they don’t think Republicans really care about people.
I get to have debates with other Democrat faculty and grad students as well as show a conservative side of the Democratic party at College Democrat meetings.
February 10th, 2005 at 9:53 pm
So you are just pretending to be a democrat to open doors?
BTW Scott, I’m for Santorum in 08, I think he would advance the culture of life the most.
February 11th, 2005 at 9:53 am
Scott:
Remember that it is Christ that saves us and not politics! I think if a lot of Christians would stop worrying about the politics of the land and focus on the politics of the Cross(much more powerful), we would be seeing the moral changes that we profess to be so dear.
Go Rick!
February 11th, 2005 at 10:13 am
Thanks for the tip Forrest. I wasn’t aware that politics couldn’t “save” us, which is entirely why I am a Republican!
February 11th, 2005 at 10:14 am
Joel, I don’t know who that is. How will that person advance the culture of life the most, just out of curiousity?
February 11th, 2005 at 10:26 am
Scott,
He’s a conservative Republican from PA. He’s a Roman Catholic. Very pro-life. 3rd ranking Republican. Awesome, really. He has Presidential ambitions. He may be too conservative to get elected though. He sticks his foot in his mouth occasionally, but I agree with Joel. He’d be great. And his wife is a Garver, so he’s obviously related to the other Joel, though Joel is hiding the connection for political reasons.
Santorum drove quite a few people crazy with this interview here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/04/22/national1737EDT0668.DTL
where he said,
“And if the Supreme Court says that you have the right to consensual sex within your home, then you have the right to bigamy, you have the right to polygamy, you have the right to incest, you have the right to adultery. You have the right to anything. Does that undermine the fabric of our society? I would argue yes, it does. It all comes from, I would argue, this right to privacy that doesn’t exist in my opinion in the United States Constitution, this right that was created, it was created in Griswold — Griswold was the contraceptive case — and abortion. And now we’re just extending it out. And the further you extend it out, the more you — this freedom actually intervenes and affects the family. “
February 11th, 2005 at 9:30 pm
Right on Rick - thanks for the quote.
If he runs I will actually work for him in whatever capacity I can.
February 12th, 2005 at 1:06 pm
Oops…I don’t think I gave the context…”consensual sex” was referring to sodomy. Though hey, why not take it a step farther?
February 15th, 2005 at 7:51 am
Rick,
Are there any Democrats that line up fairly close to your views?