Atlanta Unitarian

I want to start writing about politics again. Certainly, I do not consider myself an expert on political matters. But I see a deep and yawning need for respectful dialogue across the political divide. So much political discourse these days is about score-keeping, or rallying the troops, speaking within an existing political circle to bolster anger and outrage at the other side. I cannot pretend that I am either non-partisan or unbiased. I am a strong progressive and I have been that way as long as I can remember. However, I genuinely want to understand people with alternative points of view better. I genuinely believe that I do not know all of the relevant information and I am open to having my point of view change. I genuinely believe that even if we disagree passionately, we can find other areas of agreement for our mutual benefit and protection. I believe that people can be respectful and honest to each other even when they disagree. What I want to address in this essay are the reas...

The trend in this modern world is towards continually greater complexity. In a world where the choices that face us are ever more complex, there is a great need for regulation and a variety of mediating institutions that can provide citizens with meaningful information and useful judgments and evaluations. Some examples of the increasingly complex choices we face include the wide variety of financial decisions consumers are faced with, with regard to savings, borrowing, and mortgages; The environmental and social impacts of our lifestyle choices; Our choices with regard to philanthropic activities and their effectiveness; political choices and exercising political influence at the state, federal, and local levels; career development and educational choices; choices relating to the raising of children and managing a family; choices with regard to food consumption, cooking, and dining; choices with regard to physical health, medical treatment, and physical activity. I know that I mys...

I just reviewed the president's candidates positions in a helpful summary by the New York Times here . I find the Republicans constant call for tax cuts disingenuous. If taxes are always too high no matter what their current level is, then the optimal level of taxes would logically be zero. Yet no Republican has come forward proposing to shut down the government entirely yet. It's easy to be for tax cuts, because no one likes paying taxes. But it's intellectually and morally dishonest unless you can explain what level of taxes you would find justified or supportable. I find it morally dishonest because I believe it feeds into today's mentality of something for nothing - that I ought to be able to benefit from government services without having to pay for them. In civil society, where so many of our investments require common payment and provide common benefit, this self-centered thinking is corrosive. It feeds into cheating the system and promotes the attitude tha...

I include below my statement on " Moral Values for a Pluralistic Society " to be compared to UUA's which can be found here . I admit that I have an unfair advantage of writing as an individual versus UUA which is forced to write as a committee through a political process. However I found UUA's statement so lacking in support for the concept of moral values (we are Unitarian Universalists, not Nihilists!) I felt it would be better to start from scratch than to comment on it. Tell me which statement you prefer! AU's Statement on Moral Values for a Pluralistic Society: -Freedom, Moral Values, and Civil Society We live in a country and a world defined by diversity, a diversity of peoples, races, religions, creeds, ages, and cultures. In our country, the US, we have a history of respect for different religious and political beliefs. Freedom of expression of belief and freedom to worship the faith of our choosing are core values enshrined in our Constitution and our cul...

Yes, you read me right. The search for the most pure anti-war candidate among the Democrats is an exercise in futility, backward thinking, and self-defeat. Yes, the Iraq war is wrong. Yes, the Iraq war was always wrong. Yes, it would have been great if someone had stood up to President Bush at the time he was planning this ass-backward, imperialist invasion. But the problem is this is not 2003, or even 2004. This is 2007. The Iraq problem now is how do we leave their country in a way that minimizes the threat of expanding into a possible regional civil war. It does not matter what various Senators wish they had done or might have done in 2003. George W. Bush was the president in 2003 and he was going to find a way to go to war and invade Iraq one way or another. It's doubtful that one or two or even ten principled senators could have done much about that. The debate about which candidate was or is the most anti-Iraq war, to paraphrase John Kerry, is the wrong debate about t...