Here in Arkansas red reflects not only fealty to the Razorbacks but the color of many residents’, both native and transplanted, conservative politics and unflinching-to-the-grave conservative social thinking. With the passage of the health bill I am already seeing Facebook references to the defunct USSR which is the original red thinking. We are a rather oddly voting state in that we tend to vote for Republican presidential candidates while frequently electing Democrats at the state level and as our Senators and Representatives. Although I do not think Blanche Lincoln has served us well from my liberal way of thinking.
Labeled one the top five religious states the bible-quoting, church-going, moral overseers tend to speak up in strident tones against the terrible things coming because of reform. The contradictions for me in the fabric of their beliefs are simply incomprehensible. Well I get it, but in a purely logical and intellectual evaluation mixed with a healthy dose of compassion the sense of it gets lost to me. In my personal experience (my first twenty-three years) religious in this state tends to mean Christian, conservative or fundamental protestant, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, choir practice, revivals and lots of AMENS uttered throughout lengthy sermons against anything deigned against God’s will.
From my past experience this includes dancing, most secular music, divorce, alcoholic beverages, homosexuality, snogging, Harry Potter, and Halloween. It is more important to save someone’s soul than to provide food, shelter, medicine, safety, justice and freedom. If you don’t have experience of that type of thing read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.
It all falls short from my way of thinking because my understanding of what Jesus taught is that we are to care for the ill and try to provide food, shelter, medicine, safety, justice and freedom to those who lack these basics of fruitful life. So when these folks who are more concerned about how it may affect them and some unfounded concerns about socialism do not do the work Jesus and Buddha and Mohamed and many other spiritual sages, seers, teachers, and prophets asked of us that leaves only the government to do our work for us.
So once again people are ranting against government take-over when in fact it is happening only because we the people as individuals, families, and communities have abrogated our responsibilities to our fellows.