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levite · 09-26-2008, 10:06 AM

Yeah, I gotta say, I kinda side with Will on this.

Legally, of course I would tolerate Conservapedia: maybe it's hate speech, and maybe it isn't, but until there is direct proof that the speech has resulted in actions taken, they are protected by the First Amendment.

That doesn't mean what they say is either moral or ethical: only legal.

My problem with them is not simply that I am not a conservative, and I dislike their disagreeing with me. My problem is the form their conservatism takes. A huge problem I have with modern conservatism. I had no problem with a conservative agenda when that meant you wore an "I Like Ike" button, and believed in curtailing public spending. I still didn't agree with it, because many of the social programs those Republicans of yore disagreed with I believe are important. But I respected the view: it was educated, carefully thought-out, and propounded because of sincere and informed beliefs about how best to run the country.

But so much of today's conservatism revolves around religious fundamentalism and fanaticism, or the deliberate embrace of ignorance on many levels, combined with a glut of fear and narcissistic interest in appearing tough. It results in a political discourse which is no longer about how to run this country most efficiently in ways that ensure freedom for all, nor with any compassion for those not wealthy and powerful, but instead with an agenda toward suppressing knowledge, taxing the poor and lightening the load on the rich, and securing ever more power for those who already have too much, all under the banner of "patriotism" and "family values."

I won't lie, it's the philosophy displayed in Conservapedia that makes me toy with the idea of moving to Canada or England, or even Israel, where at least everyone acknowledges what the political problems are. I don't, only because I still believe in America, and I think that someday, if we work together, we can help this nation find its heart and soul again.

But as much as I support the legal notion that Conservapedia has the right to spew its filth, Will and I also have the right to denounce it for the ignorant, cowardly, cold-hearted, monstrous perversions of truth and compassion that it is.

09-26-2008, 10:06 AM	#23 (permalink)
levite Minion of Joss Location: The Windy City	Yeah, I gotta say, I kinda side with Will on this. Legally, of course I would tolerate Conservapedia: maybe it's hate speech, and maybe it isn't, but until there is direct proof that the speech has resulted in actions taken, they are protected by the First Amendment. That doesn't mean what they say is either moral or ethical: only legal. My problem with them is not simply that I am not a conservative, and I dislike their disagreeing with me. My problem is the form their conservatism takes. A huge problem I have with modern conservatism. I had no problem with a conservative agenda when that meant you wore an "I Like Ike" button, and believed in curtailing public spending. I still didn't agree with it, because many of the social programs those Republicans of yore disagreed with I believe are important. But I respected the view: it was educated, carefully thought-out, and propounded because of sincere and informed beliefs about how best to run the country. But so much of today's conservatism revolves around religious fundamentalism and fanaticism, or the deliberate embrace of ignorance on many levels, combined with a glut of fear and narcissistic interest in appearing tough. It results in a political discourse which is no longer about how to run this country most efficiently in ways that ensure freedom for all, nor with any compassion for those not wealthy and powerful, but instead with an agenda toward suppressing knowledge, taxing the poor and lightening the load on the rich, and securing ever more power for those who already have too much, all under the banner of "patriotism" and "family values." I won't lie, it's the philosophy displayed in Conservapedia that makes me toy with the idea of moving to Canada or England, or even Israel, where at least everyone acknowledges what the political problems are. I don't, only because I still believe in America, and I think that someday, if we work together, we can help this nation find its heart and soul again. But as much as I support the legal notion that Conservapedia has the right to spew its filth, Will and I also have the right to denounce it for the ignorant, cowardly, cold-hearted, monstrous perversions of truth and compassion that it is. __________________ Dull sublunary lovers love, Whose soul is sense, cannot admit Absence, because it doth remove That thing which elemented it. (From "A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning" by John Donne)