apriori
12-13-2011, 08:25 PM
I'm happy to report that after many vain attempts to convince my Southern Baptist neocon mother to vote for Dr. Paul, I finally had a breakthrough.
As a mail carrier, she regrettably clocked many hours listening to Rush and Beck each day. Talk radio had her convinced that upon Paul's inauguration, Mexican Islamosexuals would pop out of every American's closet and start selling heroin to fifth graders, who would then turn to prostitution to afford the heroin. And gays would marry their dogs and cats and join the Army. After none of my arguments managed to relieved her fears, I turned to the Socratic dialectic:
Mom: "We need a strong Christian leader who will fight to preserve the Christian values of our country."
Me: "Why do you figure that Jesus defended a prostitute from being stoned, and allowed her to leave with dignity and a gentle suggestion, when he could've simply lobbied Caesar to lock all prostitutes in jail, thereby limiting their influence on society and punishing their sins? In the context of scripture, aren't Dr. Paul's positions more Christlike than, say, Santorum's or Bachmann's?"
At this point, I could tell her mind was blown. She had no response, so she shifted subjects:
Mom: "Well, if our government doesn't preserve the sanctity of marriage the family will fall apart!"
Me: "Given that marriage is a covenant established by God between a man and woman, what right does a bureaucrat have to license and regulate God's covenant? Aren't government regulations on marriage sacrilegious?"
Mom: "...okay, you may have a point, but if we abandon Israel our country will be doomed!"
Me: "Does welfare have a good or bad effect on its recipients?"
Mom: "Well, bad -- people on welfare lose their ambition and become dependent."
Me: "If welfare engenders dependency, doesn't foreign aid make Israel dependent upon handouts? Is making Israelis dependent upon welfare supporting them?"
Mom: "..."
Me: "Did you know that a number of Israeli economists have argued that free money from America is stunting economic growth in Israel, and so should not be accepted?"
Mom: "..."
As a result of our conversations, she decided to vote for Dr. Paul. I had similar success with an uber-liberal Aunt who works as a public school social worker. Even though she literally marched on the White House lawn with NOW in the 60's, she's going to vote for Dr. Paul. If my Mom and Aunt can be convinced, ANYONE can.
As a mail carrier, she regrettably clocked many hours listening to Rush and Beck each day. Talk radio had her convinced that upon Paul's inauguration, Mexican Islamosexuals would pop out of every American's closet and start selling heroin to fifth graders, who would then turn to prostitution to afford the heroin. And gays would marry their dogs and cats and join the Army. After none of my arguments managed to relieved her fears, I turned to the Socratic dialectic:
Mom: "We need a strong Christian leader who will fight to preserve the Christian values of our country."
Me: "Why do you figure that Jesus defended a prostitute from being stoned, and allowed her to leave with dignity and a gentle suggestion, when he could've simply lobbied Caesar to lock all prostitutes in jail, thereby limiting their influence on society and punishing their sins? In the context of scripture, aren't Dr. Paul's positions more Christlike than, say, Santorum's or Bachmann's?"
At this point, I could tell her mind was blown. She had no response, so she shifted subjects:
Mom: "Well, if our government doesn't preserve the sanctity of marriage the family will fall apart!"
Me: "Given that marriage is a covenant established by God between a man and woman, what right does a bureaucrat have to license and regulate God's covenant? Aren't government regulations on marriage sacrilegious?"
Mom: "...okay, you may have a point, but if we abandon Israel our country will be doomed!"
Me: "Does welfare have a good or bad effect on its recipients?"
Mom: "Well, bad -- people on welfare lose their ambition and become dependent."
Me: "If welfare engenders dependency, doesn't foreign aid make Israel dependent upon handouts? Is making Israelis dependent upon welfare supporting them?"
Mom: "..."
Me: "Did you know that a number of Israeli economists have argued that free money from America is stunting economic growth in Israel, and so should not be accepted?"
Mom: "..."
As a result of our conversations, she decided to vote for Dr. Paul. I had similar success with an uber-liberal Aunt who works as a public school social worker. Even though she literally marched on the White House lawn with NOW in the 60's, she's going to vote for Dr. Paul. If my Mom and Aunt can be convinced, ANYONE can.