tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790882626996657428.post7269168348950889629..comments2023-07-25T07:45:30.200-07:00Comments on The Housetop Proclamations: Irreconcilable DifferencesBorn Conservativehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03829539198253205453noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790882626996657428.post-19430961485414993792010-07-17T19:36:41.916-07:002010-07-17T19:36:41.916-07:00It was an interesting talk. Thanks for checking o...It was an interesting talk. Thanks for checking out the link. <br /><br />Certainly there are different denominations that gather for weekly or nightly services, but most do not resent intermingling and interacting with others. Most (many, at least) understand that those not within their circle of denominational fellowship are still fellow-citizens. <br /><br />I would hope that different groups can have their socializing, without seeking the fragmentation of the country.Brian Patrick O'Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15639736132613257646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790882626996657428.post-13383415484525381302010-07-16T23:09:40.677-07:002010-07-16T23:09:40.677-07:00Brian, I just listened to her talk and it was inte...Brian, I just listened to her talk and it was interesting. I do not know if the phrase "cultural ghettos" is original with her; but, after thinking about the concept, it seems that we already have such a thing in many aspects of our various cultures. Adding the word "ghetto" seems to be an attempt to imply a negative connotation. What if we called them, instead, "cultural communes" or "social sanctuaries"? Now, for the same setting, we imply a postive connotation.<br /><br />I also wonder just what all she meant by the quote you included, "communities of the like-minded" are "one of the greatest dangers of today's globalized world." I assume that "communities of the like-minded" are "cultural ghettos". So, what are they, in reality: Georgetown, posh neighborhoods in San Francisco, small Southern towns, Indian reservations, prisons, skin-heads, FLDS communities, Black hoods, Hispanic barrios, Hell's Angels gangs, Muslim neighborhoods, Unions, seminaries, Bible studies, etc...<br /><br />We have communities of like-minded people in various levels of the present society. I do not believe we can have society without "likes" being attracted to "likes". This is a natural process in various areas of our normal lives. <br /><br />I guess that I would have to disagree with her statement, that groups of like-minded people present a dangerous situation.Born Conservativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03829539198253205453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790882626996657428.post-10015246763364469992010-07-16T06:13:04.676-07:002010-07-16T06:13:04.676-07:00I do not wish to categorize this interesting talk ...I do not wish to categorize this interesting talk by a novelist who tells her academic audience about the importance of spirituality, or about transcending the politics of identity (a concern of both yourself and this author), but she does briefly come to the point that "communities of the like-minded" are "one of the greatest dangers of today's globalized world." I thought of your posts, and this thread, in hearing that remark.<br /><br />Thank you.<br /><br />http://www.ted.com/talks/elif_shafak_the_politics_of_fiction.htmlBrian Patrick O'Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15639736132613257646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790882626996657428.post-42285798160210283142010-05-25T22:00:39.142-07:002010-05-25T22:00:39.142-07:00I have heard of those same surveys, but cannot cit...I have heard of those same surveys, but cannot cite them off the top of my head--but I affirm I have also heard of that survey finding. <br /><br />I will suggest that the right does not believe exclusively in voluntary support of faith-based charities & schools, but has a longer recent track record of supporting tax support for private education. This was in fact taxation in the name of helping the needy, the usual pretext for vouchers. Sadly, liberals have jumped on the faith-based wagon. <br /><br />Yes, I know of and applaud many faith-based programs. I prefer that support for faith-based schools remain, as you say, the voluntary choice of individuals.Brian Patrick O'Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15639736132613257646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790882626996657428.post-25811148102109428522010-05-25T21:39:17.229-07:002010-05-25T21:39:17.229-07:00The Left seems to believe that the government is a...The Left seems to believe that the government is a good vehicle to assist the needy and do so by taking money from others and then selecting who to dole it out to. The Right believes that they should have the choice of who they help and, from what I have heard, the statistics show that Republicans typically donate more to charities.Born Conservativehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03829539198253205453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790882626996657428.post-75732333314719730082010-05-25T21:24:15.051-07:002010-05-25T21:24:15.051-07:00On higher taxes: In his book, "Albion's ...On higher taxes: In his book, "Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America," Brandies historian David Hackett Fischer wrote that patterns of public spending "have remained relatively the same for three centuries."<br /><br />Fischer explained, "In the mid-eighteenth century, levels of taxation for state and local governments were roughly twice as high in New England as in Virginia," with levels for the Quaker-influenced Delaware Valley resting in the middle, and the Scots-Irish interior South having the lowest tax rates and least government activity. "Relative levels of taxing and spending by region have changed remarkably little in many generations."<br /><br />The higher tax rates in Massachusetts are not marks of liberalism, but sign of Puritanism. Interestingly, New England towns spent most of their taxes on schools and established churches, while Southern parishes spent most of their taxes on poor relief. <br /><br />I think most Americans, and people around the world, will wish to support and assist the hardworking people of the Southern coast as they face the oil spill.Brian Patrick O'Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15639736132613257646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790882626996657428.post-80569258235181644802010-05-25T21:11:58.647-07:002010-05-25T21:11:58.647-07:00"Clearly, there would be an initial populatio..."Clearly, there would be an initial population shift...."<br /><br />Like the "population shift" when (at British instigation) an independent India fragmented into majority-Hindu India and majority-Muslim Pakistan? That was, from the little I know of the initial event, a blood-soaked mess, not seamless and tidy process you seem to imply. <br /><br />Fundamentally, this also implies unanimity, the bogeyman of Founders like James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. <br /><br />Your reference to "like minded" people shows the growing popularity of the idea that people should "move to San Francisco" if they don't believe in torturing terror suspects. (I have literally read this in response to anti-waterboarding articles, when in fact it was a Texas jury in 1983 that found a sheriff guilty of violating inmates' civil rights because he used essentially the same technique. It was a federal judge--from Texas--who sentenced that sheriff to ten years in prison, along with the fine of $12,000.) <br /><br />Aside from discomfort (if you will permit that mild phrase) that I feel at the suggestion of secession, it is the particulars as well as the principle that merits scrutiny. It is not only secession, but the object aimed at: Seceding in order to obtain uniformity of opinion. I cannot cheer for the objective, or the proposed means of obtaining it.Brian Patrick O'Malleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15639736132613257646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790882626996657428.post-51499504076311234842010-05-12T12:53:31.645-07:002010-05-12T12:53:31.645-07:00"If the Left wins, the Right will know they c..."If the Left wins, the Right will know they cheated." Yeah, you're not a biased writer at all, are you? Totally objective. (:<br />I know, I know...it's YOUR blog. That just made me laugh.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com