Meditation 1186
Not a basis for morality;
Not a basis for a Presidency;
But a sound basis for a sanctimonious and hypocritical prudery
by: John Tyrrell
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The 2016 race for US President is already underway. Once again, Mike Huckabee who campaigned in the 2008 contest as The Christian Candidate [see Meditation 654: Religion and the 2008 US Presidential Race, II: The Christian Candidate] is in full pursuit of the opportunity once again, still thinking his anti-evolution, anti-gay rights, and anti-abortion stance coupled with a not very subtle Islamophobia and a newfound willingness to appear to be a racist throwback (see his crude criticisms of the singer, Beyoncé, and of President Obama for allowing his daughters to listen to her) will garner him sufficient votes to win.
He has been gloating over the fact that there is no dirt to dig up on him to besmirch his candidacy, because nothing worse can be found on him than what he wrote in a Baptist newspaper at age 17. And he's still proud of what he wrote.
“I strongly recommend that Christian teens stay away from dancing, mainly because some people would just not be able to respect a person who attended dances.”
Right - don't dance because some people would not be able to respect you if you did.
That's the basis for a moral decision? Because some ignorant prudes would not respect you? Who wants the respect of such people? Other than Mike Huckabee of course.
Take dancing out of the equation. Leave it blank.
Don't __________ because some people would not be able to respect you if you did.
Does it matter what goes in that blank space? It is the same baseless argument whatever you put in there. Restrict your activities because some people won't respect you otherwise.
But let's face it. There will always be some people who won't respect you if you choose not to dance - or whatever other activity may be involved. You cannot win either way by making decisions based on what some people might think.
What some people think is not a basis for morality. And making a choice based on your fears about what some people think amounts to moral cowardice.
Huckabee is mounting a campaign for President. And he apparently still concurs with his views as a 17 year old that decisions about what to do and what not to do can be made - not by analysing options, not by thinking logically - but by deferring to what some people think!
This is not what anyone should want in the so-called leader of the free world - and not what any American, right wing, left wing, or moderate, should want in a President - someone who cares more about what the most narrow-minded and bigoted elements of his Southern Baptist faith think than he does about the needs of the vast majority of his fellow citizens.
His base is made up sanctimonious, judgemental, hypocritical prudes. And that's all he is fit to lead. Or more correctly all he is fit to follow. Because their respect is what matters to Huckabee.
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