[讨论]USC还是UT?

千寻的神隐

to #49: libertarian party? haha. i lived with a whole bunch of "libertarians" last summer and couldn't stand it.
do you like Ayn Rand by the way?

Expert123

Why can't you stand them, I am curious?

I like some of Ayn Rand's ideas, but not all of them. I find some of her positions disturbing, and some of her followers' actions ironic.

千寻的神隐

libertarians are economically conservative (like the republicans) and socailly liberal (like the democrats), which i probably agree to in theory. but when they take their freedom to an extreme with no regard to the responsibility one bears to the society, it got on my nerves. there are several sub-divisions in that party, such as anarcho-capitalists and anarchists, whom i found most difficult to come to terms with.
Ayn Rand is worshipped among libertarians, at least quite a few of them. but i can't finish atlas shrugged. it's merely moralizing in my opinion.
Ron Paul is running for the president. you might want to check it out if your vote is going to the libertarian party.

Expert123

Thanks for the suggestion. But I would never vote for any Liberitarians in major elections  because they have no chance of winning. I would rather vote for a moderate candiate who has a reasonable chance of winning, provided I agree with most of his/her positions on issues

Lilac29

以下是引用Expert123在2007-5-4 6:31:00的发言：
Thanks for the suggestion. But I would never vote for any Liberitarians in major elections  because they have no chance of winning. I would rather vote for a moderate candiate who has a reasonable chance of winning, provided I agree with most of his/her positions on issues

我觉得，仅以这点而言，美国就比中国民主。来美国之后，我就觉得对政治有兴趣多了。在这儿，ballot question确实很贴近日常人的生活。去年，麻省的其中一个问题就是超市可不可以卖葡萄酒。支持方从公平竞争和方便人民生活而言，反对方认为一旦同意卖酒，可能无法限制街边小店也卖酒，这样会增加酒后驾驶。这种问题每个人都可以衡量利弊。像每次大选的热点问题，也挺亲民的。呵呵。我觉得自己倾向于民主党，因为我支持堕胎（这一点我很极端，我认为所有反对堕胎的人根本不尊重女人），支持同性恋婚姻 （结婚真的主要是爱和承诺，如果人家同性恩恩爱爱，举案齐眉一辈子，我觉得没什么不好的。）， 痛恨战争 （就光这一点，我就希望布什同学赶快下课。）还有，我觉得，布什把宗教引入政府太多，这可能是违宪的（Expert123，你是学法律的，可不可以给解释一下）。

千寻的神隐

"支持堕胎": is an embryo or a fetus a form of life?
"结婚真的主要是爱和承诺": is marriage, as opposed to civil union, a religious institution and thus strictly between a man and a woman?
"把宗教引入政府": some of his decisions are based on his religious belief but it's not against the constitution. it's the voters that brought religion into the congress. don't blame G.W.
i am actually on your side on abortion and gay rights but there are some more questions for us to answer.

Expert123

About these issues:

1. Very tough issue. There is no medical conclusion on this and it is the heart of the debate, especially since fetus are able to live on their own (with medical support) at 6-7 months of "age."

Supporters of Roe v. Wade view abortion as

a. women's bodily integrity

b. the inequity of gender roles/power struggle

c. government's interference in private affairs

Dissenters view abortion as

a. killing of a human being (unborn=human)

b. implicit assumption that women who seek abortion are sexually immoral, irresonposible, and selfish

2. Same Sex Marriage

Supporters: view it as an issue of state, not an issue of religion

Also see it as homosexual's freedom to enjoy the legitmacy and benefits (tax credits, pension, etc) heterosexuals have always enjoed

Dissenters: view it as an issue of religion and morality. Their argument: if "loving" is enough, what if 1 man and 2 women..(or 10 women) honestly love each other? Can they get married if homosexuals can?

3."In God We Trust"

That is on the US currency and in courtrooms

However, here is one debate about freedom of religion:

It has been argued that separation of church of state meant all branches of *Protestant* beliefs are treated equally. e.g. a Lutheran cannot decide that all Baptists are *wrong*.

At most, that means members of major religions are treated equally, e.g. Jews and Catholics

However, some would argue Atheists, Budhists..or even Muslims were not conceived as "legitmate" religions in the late 1700's. And since majority rules, and US is over 90% Christian, those "Fringe religions (or lack thereof)" simply mean immorality and should not be treated equally.

[此贴子已经被作者于2007-5-5 2:45:34编辑过]

千寻的神隐

"In God We Trust"
it reminded me of a post on my professor's office door: in God we trust, all others pay cash.

Expert123

In my opinion, all these debates center on one issue: whether the government should embody and promote any "moral" values, even if these values are held by the majority of the population.

[此贴子已经被作者于2007-5-5 5:10:56编辑过]

Expert123

神隐小姐 ;) 你的教授应该是蓝州的吧.