Quote:
|
1 - do you support the right for gay couples to legally marry?
|
yes.
Quote:
|
2 - do you support the death penalty?
|
no
Quote:
|
3 - do you believe that freedom of speech should be absolute, or are their some limits on what people should be allowed to say?
|
i support an expansive freedom of speech.
there are some limits that are required: the example of yelling fire in a crowded theater comes to mind.
Quote:
|
4 - do you believe that part of the role of taxation is to redistribute resources more equally?
|
this is obvious: part of the function of (modern forms of) taxation is the redistribution of wealth. i don't see this as a question of belief. it is a simple fact.
Quote:
|
5 - do you believe that people should be forced to learn the official language of a nation if they want to emmigrate to it?
|
why have an official language?
i see nationalism as a collective mental disorder and an "official language" only rational as a variant of nationalism.
on the second part: i lived in france for 5 years. based on that experience, i dont see the function of *forcing* people to learn the dominant language--i would think that being able to operate day-to-day would do that on its own.
any idea of *forcing* emigrés to learn an "official language" seems to me neurotic, a redundant ritual that serves mostly a therapeutic function for others.
Quote:
|
6 - do you believe that prayer should be prohibited from schools?
|
baraka raises the sticky point about this one above.
i would make a distinction between school-endorsed/required prayer (including a pledge of allegiance) on the grounds that a school is public (if applicable) and that public spaces are governed by the separation of church and state.
but i do not support any suppression of kid's rights to pray independently.