Previous editions: Change In Politics#3, Change In Politics#2, Change In Politics#1

With the new Congress coming into power shortly, what types of new legislation would you like to see happen? I know you can think of a ton of things you would personally like to see, but what are your main ones that would benefit a lot of people?

Here’s my forth proposed change that I would like to see happen with the new government in power. The change that I think will happen naturally is less religious involvement in political affairs and legislation.

Bush and the rest of his conservative posse didn’t really have the whole “separation between church and state” thing down. They brought in a lot of Christian values that ended up warping a lot of legislation. Personally, I think the new Congress will allow the Democrats to tip back the scales to a more neutral ground. Hopefully they won’t influence it so much that it will end up making the government totally unmoral. Bush’s religious views, even if they are morally correct, should not have impacted his legislation on gay rights, abortion, and stem cell research.

What do you think??

Comments(2)

Let’s just dive into this with some controversial topics: religious freedom and women’s rights.

The Dutch announced this week that they are considering a ban on women wearing burkas in public. Geert Wilders, the MP that proposed the bill, feels that the burkas are a medieval symbol, a “symbol against women.” Quite frankly, I can’t help but agree. While I agree to the freedom of religious expression, I can’t help but feel that there is something insidious and repressive about the burka. After all, it essentially robs the woman of her identity and makes her place in society one of anonymity, and to be anonymous in life is really to deprive you of the most basic human dignity.

But is it a legitimate thing for a government to pass laws on? There is a fine line with government and religion. I think that the distance between the two should be vast, and although I believe strongly that faith, in whatever form, should be part of everyone’s lives, I don’t believe that government should step in and mandate or forbid religious practices. This, coincidently, is what makes Bush’s recent appointment Eric Keroack of the head of family-planning so hard to swallow.

I had high hopes that the recent democratic win (actually, really a republican loss) in congress represented a rejection of polarized political views by the American people, and I hoped that having a bipartisan government would force Bush to walk the middle road and would force some accountability on his part. And he promised he would. But appointing someone who is currently employed as the head of a Christian non-profit, a Woman’s Concern, a group that feels that birth control is degrading to women seems rather partisan and entirely misses the point, don’t you think? Step back into reality Mr. Bush.

While abstinence until marriage is a noble idea, it’s not an effective way to prevent teen pregnancies (or STDs) in this country. And in any way denying access to birth control is degrading to women. But then again, so is the burka.

Comments(1)