[extropy-chat] No Joy in Mudville

[Olga Bourlin]

From: "Sahyinepu" <sahynepu at concentric.net>

> My faith has married
> several members who are gay, that is our choice...if Baptists don't
> want to do it, that is their choice...no one is being forced to marry
> anyone...but the state should give the same legal protection and
> recognition to gays as it gives to non-gays.

Choice.  There's the magic word.  It implies a certain amount of freedom.
To choose.  To decide certain things for oneself, or not.

You know, I was thinking about this very thing today ... this "great divide"
that is pulling Americans apart is about freedom and control.  Loosely
speaking (yet seriously speaking) ... Republicans in office today want
*control* over people, and Democracts want more *freedom*.  Of course, many
Democrat politicians sadly are destined to compromise on many issues just to
be elected or just to stay in office - and so it's often difficult to tell
who's about what.  But, over the past half century, especially, generally
Democrats have led the way in overturning many changes that resulted in more
people having more freedom.

I know, I know - Mike will disagree because (for example) if he owns a house
he is no longer able to "discriminate" against certain people - so I will
guess that Mike will define these kinds of societal changes as an invasion
of *his* freedom.

Olga