From: tedr@athena.cs.uga.edu (Ted Kalivoda)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
Subject: Re: Buchanan's speech
Date: 20 Aug 92 15:05:22 GMT
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Georgia, Athens

In article <37047@sdcc12.ucsd.edu> pvanmeur@sdcc3.ucsd.edu (Pim van Meurs) writes:
>In article <1992Aug19.134553.9460@athena.cs.uga.edu> tedr@athena.cs.uga.edu (Ted Kalivoda) writes:
> 
>>Don't confuse Buchannan's cultural supremism with racism.  There is a big 
>>difference.  How could he be racist if he embraces black republicans, the
>>many that we have seen the past two convention days?  No, he thinks that
>>Western ideals (the good, the honest, the eternal) are what everyone in
>>America should strive after.  Sometimes he makes crude analogies, such as
>>the one about the English immigrants and the Zulu, but such arguments are
>>not against a people because of their race, but because of their culture. 
>>
>So culteral rascism is ok ?

Cultural supremism I said, not racism.  Cultural racism is not a logical
phrase because many different races can be within one culture.  For example,
the United States.  But, some cultures are better than others.  For example,
Western culture is by far superior to the tribal cultures in Africa and to
this millenium's culture in Indian, especially when the caste system was
instituted.

> If your culture is not what my culture
>thinks it should be you are wrong and evil ? Again, are we going to
>judge people on what they are or what they represent ? It seems that
>Buchanan's idea of reedom is limited to the cultural elite. As long
>as one embraces the ultra conservative interpretation of the bible
>and one refuses gay and lesbian people the same rights as everyone
>else,

Even very liberal biblical scholars will tell you that the writers of the
Hebrew Bible and the New Testament saw homosexuality as against the ways of
God.  Perhaps I could recommend a few liberal scholars to you?

Practically, to say that homosexuals can marry and adopt children is
political suicide.  Maybe not for moral reasons, but it is sad to say that
the election could very well be decided on such non-intellectual of an
issue, barring that Clinton does not slip out of his pledge to uphold gay
rights.

>as long as one ridicules women for wanting to play an active
>role in combat, equal pay. As long as one is a member of the
>cultural elite, you have all the priviliges that come with it. If
>one does not think like them you are an outcast and freedom does not
>apply to you.

You are right, women in battle should not be rediculed.  If it is necessary
that they fight, then they should be honored.  But we have the privelage of
allowing them not to fight because there are plenty of men to shoot. 
Women flying figthers is a good idea though and should be granted.


>
>>The Bible clearly says that homosexuality is wrong.  If others take  this as
>>an excuse to hate, then surely they are walking further in to the darkness. 
>>Hating people is never encouraged in the Bible;  although, hating particular
>>actions that people do is encouraged, for the simple reason that certain
>>actions are understood to go against the divine will.
>>
>But how literally should the bible be taken. I argue that the bible
>teaches love and understanding, the fact that some people have added
>their own ideas about women, gay people etc should not deter us from
>the real message of the bible.>

It should be interpreted as the writers intended it to be interpreted.  In
other words, the aim of bilbical criticism is to get at accuracy of the text
in terms of its original manuscript and to understand what the author meant. 
No scholar who has ever published in academic journals has suggested that
the authors did not mean what they said about homosexuality and that
homosexuality was not forbidden in Hebrew and Christian culture.

======================================================
 Teddy Kalivoda  ------------> tedr@athena.cs.uga.edu 
   University of GA Computing & Network Services       
     Inst.of Higher Education               
=====================================================                                                                          
	"The sleep of reason gives rise to monsters"
				        (Goya, Caprichos)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh