2255 Nine questions

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Glenn Beck, a radio talk show host (I think, I don't know, the closest I get to talk radio is "Car Talk") has put out a list of nine questions, and has asked that if you agree with at least seven of them, that you send your photo (and those of any of your children, spouse, friends who also agree) to him. It's the February 4 post at his website, the story with "surround" in the title. The reason: "When one caller said he was ready to unplug because he was so frustrated, Glenn asked him to give him a few weeks to prove that he wasn't alone."

Ok.

I agree with at most four of them, maybe only three if I thought about them harder. My reasons for disagreement with the others might be considered picky, so let's take the most obvious one: Question #4, about the family, that ends with "I answer to God", the implication being that where the family is concerned, the parents should not have to answer to anyone else, including the government.

I cannot agree with that, because there are parents who think that they have the right and duty to beat the living crap out of their kids to keep them in line, to put fear of authority and instant obedience into them. There are parents who torture, imprison, and starve children, "for their own good", who marry off 13-year-old girls to old men. I damn well do think that "answering to God" is insufficient!

Too many people interpret God's will to fit their own beliefs.

So, ok, maybe what he is really referring to is things like schooling requirements, vaccinations, medical choices, and so on. But that's not what the statement says, and I'd have a serious problem with anyone who agrees with it blindly just because it sounds nice.

I know too much about the history NOT taught in school to agree with #1.

What's with the last phrase in #2? Read the old book - God never was all sweetness and light.

Isn't #8 in direct conflict with the first amendment? It is not un-American to disagree with anything, including the Constitution and interpretations thereof. In fact, it's almost one's patriotic duty to at least question. (Who wrote #8? Cheney?) If you agree with this one, then women should not be allowed to vote. That certainly was not in the founders' plans. Every one of those amendments, including the first 10, came from someone objecting and raising "un-American" hell.

Laws are government, so #9 conflicts with #5.

...And so on.

I don't understand.

I also find it annoying that he wants to hear only from those who agree with at least seven. Not that any of it really has any meaning. Every person who sends a photo is admitting to an inability to think critically. It's not a proof or demonstration of anything positive. It's an indictment.
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