tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113442.post993526970758768713..comments2023-04-25T22:16:30.004-07:00Comments on Gray Matter: I Hate PoliticsSusan Isaacshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03091876617022681671noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113442.post-78509961190229632112008-09-21T21:23:00.000-07:002008-09-21T21:23:00.000-07:00Maureen and Steve, thank you for your comments. Po...Maureen and Steve, thank you for your comments. Points taken. The culture of meanness seems to gain ground every political cycle. That meanness saddens and frightens me, more than any political error. I fear the worst: that we will be brought to the gutter before we bother to look upward and humbly ask for help. May God have mercy. But not so much mercy that we don't learn from our folly.Susan Isaacshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03091876617022681671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113442.post-70536429764213742992008-09-21T20:50:00.000-07:002008-09-21T20:50:00.000-07:00I just want to say a big 'Ditto' to Bryans comment...I just want to say a big 'Ditto' to Bryans comments; he said everything I was thinking, better than I ever could have. I would like to add one thought tho. It seems to me that this Christian writer is doing the very thing she accuses Sarah Palin of doing....presuming to know God in such a way that she can interpret how He would react to a given situation or person. It's wrong on either side.Maureenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13716619994168402985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113442.post-23855588455706963322008-09-21T20:11:00.000-07:002008-09-21T20:11:00.000-07:00Susan,Thank you. Thank you for thoughtfully consi...Susan,<BR/><BR/>Thank you. Thank you for thoughtfully considering what Maureen and I have said. And for responding to most posters. That is a refreshing difference to the usual. I don't listen to Christian radio much because I find too much negative.<BR/><BR/> Thank you for reminding us of what has happened in the past. I pray to a loving God that the Old Testament isn't repeated. <BR/><BR/>Though we both know that is not how it will happen this time.<BR/><BR/>Vaya con Dios,<BR/><BR/>Steve in Central CAStevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14202410717147326787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113442.post-73738252864752879672008-09-21T19:31:00.000-07:002008-09-21T19:31:00.000-07:00Maureen and Steve made excellent points. You're ri...Maureen and Steve made excellent points. You're right, I love anne lamott but her piece does get a bit mean ... Only a fraction to what I've heard on conservative Christian radio. But still. And you are right, Maureen. Lamott does presume to know how God might feel about a person or a situation. <BR/><BR/>I guess I have heard so much from the Christian Republican camp already, that when I hear something decent from a Christian Democrat I am thrilled. Thrilled that a secularist liberal site like salon even publishes her. But no she doesn't have all the answers.<BR/><BR/>I voted Republican for every presidential campaign since I was 18. I did so because the Republicans told me they represented my Christian beliefs. But in the past couple of years I have discovered lying (over Iraq), cronyism (Haliburton, Big Oil), misuse of power (presidential signing statements that avoid congressional oversight). Greed (dissolving antitrust laws so we're bulled by big corporations, deregulating stocks in the name of profit; bankrupting our treasury over oil and war and wall street. The only thing Republicans still claim to share with me is that they're pro-life. What have they done to that end? And what kind of life are we living? <BR/><BR/>Of course the fruit we are reaping now is not just form the past 8 years. Our culture has become mean and greedy over time. It's not just the fault of one administration or one political party. As the late, great Alexsandr Solzenistyn said, <BR/><BR/>If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. <BR/><BR/>You know Mike I think you're right, maybe what we deserve is two parties who will bring us to ruin, financially politically and spiritually. Maybe that's really what we need. It sure happened a LOT in the Old Testament.Susan Isaacshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03091876617022681671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113442.post-49561845737240544432008-09-21T13:33:00.000-07:002008-09-21T13:33:00.000-07:00Susan,I agree with you that in this modern world "...Susan,<BR/><BR/>I agree with you that in this modern world "service can quickly turn into serve us." I enjoy your writing and your insights into people and their actions. I like your humor and satire that sheds light on human folly. I just don't see how the Anne Lamont article "serves us" in a positive way. Not "Us" the collective of mankind.<BR/><BR/>In a world of Frank Pastores, Sarah Bernhards, Right-Wing talk radio, Liberal Media and anonymous comments; how does the article differ? In intensity? Searching the German lexicon for words to describe "doom and disbelief?" Equating a person's name to "an oozy cold sore?" And then mocking Christians? "(I say that with love)" <BR/><BR/>Somehow we need to come together and have a civil discussion of our problems. Christians are reminding me more of Shites and Sunnis than followers of the Son of Man. We just use words instead of AK-47s.<BR/><BR/>In this society of moral degradation and complacency, maybe a political system of two bankrupt parties is what we deserve. I am truly seeking to find the path, and the place that a merciful God desires for me and my kind.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14202410717147326787noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113442.post-81147170262887340422008-09-20T16:34:00.000-07:002008-09-20T16:34:00.000-07:00Funny, I didn't read a bunch of hate in this post ...Funny, I didn't read a bunch of hate in this post at all.<BR/><BR/>Politics right now? Ugly. Getting uglier.<BR/><BR/>I'm tired of being told how a 'real Christian' would vote. I'm tired of the twisting of truth. I know real people suffering real problems right now and I'd love to figure out what on earth I can do to make a difference this November.<BR/><BR/>That's what I got from this post, and from Lamott's article. I'm vowing to make a difference in my world, to be kind and serve my community regardless of what happens during the election.Lisa Wheeler Miltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07386193798727387546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113442.post-38120571196578285282008-09-20T00:04:00.000-07:002008-09-20T00:04:00.000-07:00Hey there, Anonymous. I'm sorry you aren't brave e...Hey there, Anonymous. I'm sorry you aren't brave enough to tell me who you are. There, in Pennsylvania. I didn't say I hated Sarah Palin. Did you read that into what I wrote? I said I hate politics. And I hate how she's already played into the politics of manipulation. Tonight my husband just forwarded me some video editing McCain's contradictory statements. I think it's bulls#@*t. You can edit sound bytes to make someone say whatever you want them to say. If the Obamas have gotten kick backs, bring on the truth. <BR/><BR/>Sarah Bernhard's comments were reprehensible. I heard a pile of hate speech from Bill Maher and Janeane Garafolo as well. But I expect it from angry hollywood grunts. But on Christian radio? It's disgusting. <BR/><BR/>I'm sorry you are angry, you're probably really frustrated because you feel that only one side of the story is being told. But please, don't put words in my mouth and say I hate Sarah Palin. I don't know her to hate her. You don't know me.<BR/><BR/>I think we get meaner when we have one-sided conversations or when we can hide behind anonymity. I appreciate you leaving your honest comment, but please introduce yourself. I'm sure you'll find out I'm balanced and amenable to hear what you have to say. Which is why I published your comment. But it's the last ANONYMOUS comment I'll publish. Okay?Susan Isaacshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03091876617022681671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113442.post-14184261715345594402008-09-19T21:40:00.000-07:002008-09-19T21:40:00.000-07:00I'll be avoiding your blog until the I Hate Sarah ...I'll be avoiding your blog until the I Hate Sarah rants are over. I'm sure Anne Lamott is just great with Jesus, but the baby name generator is simply mean spirited. Condescending. I'm all for normal names, but who are you to judge? Really? And speaking of fascinating reading, how about that Sarah Bernhardt promising Palin's gang-rape if she went to New York? I heart New York! I know, I know, McCain said as much when he said he'd can the SEC director. <BR/><BR/>By the way, while you're reading overweening authors using old quotes as its big, hilarious devices, maybe you should also spiff up on what exactly Obama has done. As in nothing that hasn't been sealed from the public's eye. Well, the outdoor teleprompters can't be hidden, so not everything. Think Freddy and/or Fannie payouts of 126K, kickbacks for Michelle when her husband gets elected as state senator, and the sealed tight as a drum 150 million Annenberg Challenge. I'm SURE it helped lots of Chicago children.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113442.post-56019861281100721332008-09-19T08:01:00.000-07:002008-09-19T08:01:00.000-07:00Bryan I totally agree with you, I DESPISE the vitr...Bryan I totally agree with you, I DESPISE the vitriol with which people attack the other side. I heard people tearing apart Palin just two days after she was chosen. COME ONNNNNNNN. Janeane Garafolo destroyed her. Okay, you can hate her politics but don't rip her apart personally. And then say that "democrats are the only decent people out there." <BR/><BR/>Maybe you'd expect that from a standup comic. But there's a Christian radio station out here, KKLA, The afternoon host, Frank Pastore, is a huge purveyor of hateful, ridiculing, snide, self-righteous HATE speech. On a Christian. Radio. Station.<BR/><BR/>THAT is disgusting.Susan Isaacshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03091876617022681671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113442.post-61300424369808166542008-09-19T05:05:00.000-07:002008-09-19T05:05:00.000-07:00I too, hate politics. Can't wait until we have a p...I too, hate politics. Can't wait until we have a president and we can move on. <BR/><BR/>I love Anne Lamott. I plan on reading Bird by Bird every 18 months of my life.<BR/><BR/>But honestly, I don't understand the hating on Sarah Palin. Yes, I do understand how one can disagree with her politics...and I understand how one can not like her speaking style...and I even realize that because she is a politician, truth is playdoough...something to be molded into whatever one likes. <BR/><BR/>But the vitriol that I am reading for her all over the internet makes me nauseous. Actually, it doesnt make me sick, it just makes me sad. And it makes me hate politics more, because politics makes us think it's okay to slam other people and call them names and treat them like crap. (I'm not accusing you of this Susan, just making more of a general statement here). <BR/><BR/>The next person who can tell me why they are voting for a candidate without slamming the opposition will be the first. I'm so tired of it.Bryan Allainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13996005100947225868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5113442.post-35895027640543167812008-09-18T23:34:00.000-07:002008-09-18T23:34:00.000-07:00Thanks for posting that... I love Anne -- I mean, ...Thanks for posting that... I love Anne -- I mean, Krinkle Bearcat.<BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/>Rot Pipeline PalinMadleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00071964420488251454noreply@blogger.com