God, Guns, and Gays

Since I touched on the subject of "moral values" earlier, I thought I might expand my take on it a little. The following is a summary of what I saw as right-wing Christian "values" during the election cycle:

God - Republicans believe their God is the one true God. If you aren't a Christian, you're goin' to hell. If you are a Christian, but don't vote Republican, you're goin' to hell. If you are an elected official and don't shape policy according to the exact text of the King James translation of the Bible, you're goin' to hell.

Guns - Republicans love their guns. By voting for Bush, you could rest assured your right to own assault rifles would never be in jeapordy. Republicans love their guns so much they strive to export guns to the rest of the world (usually with young American men and women attached to them).

Gays - Gays are evil. Homosexuality is a sin (except for the vice-president's daughter, she was granted an indulgence by Pope George II). A gay man in California threatens the moral fabric of the family in Kansas that have never met a gay person. Republicans flocked to the polls November 2nd to ban something that didn't exist.
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Progressive Moral Values

If you're still wondering about the "moral values" issue that supposedly cost Democrats dearly this election cycle, read some George Lakoff. His recent book don't think of an elephant! examines the use of language by the radical right and presents ways for progressives to bring their own values to the forefront.

Here is a link to a recent article from The Nation which will give you a "nutshell" version of the book:

http://www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20041206&s=lakoff

Go check it out. It might come in handy the next time you sit down to dinner with your right-wing brother in law.

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