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Guns, god, and gays will be as relevant in 50 years as the Temperance movement, Suffrage, and Prohibition.

keep the change on January 22, 2013 at 8:53 PM

Oh, oh … history lesson time! I love this. The temperance movement and prohibition were started by the religious AND the progressives. Both were a result of a combination of New England puritanism (Southern religious groups had much less problem with booze – hence the combination of moonshine, fast cars and Southern Baptists that birthed NASCAR) and progressives who saw drunkeness as a blight on “civilized society” – kind of like how progressives today want to restrict what you eat or if you can own a gun. The New England puritans who were most enthusiastic about temperance and prohibition were the Congregationalists (today known as Unitarians) and Northern Presbyterians (today known as Presbyterians USA) – you know, the liberal groups.

As for the Suffrage movement, that too was a combination of religious and progressives … and they won. The arguments against womens suffrage came from intellectuals as much as from religious conservatives. Women weren’t thought to have the mental capacity to vote or were too emotional. These weren’t religious reasons – in fact, they were backed up by the “science” of the day. So, come back when you have a better grasp of history.

studentofhistory on January 22, 2013 at 9:39 PM

There is a way that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is death.

Our nation is slouching into technologized paganism. If America thinks that unborn children are not human unless they are wanted, how long before that particular class of sub-human becomes chattel for slaughter? We sacrifice them to our convenience; why not sacrifice them to science and progress?

spmat on January 22, 2013 at 10:04 PM

That is the direction that most “progressive” nations go. Once the masses simply become numbers without value, they can be disposed of for the convenience of those who are of “value.” Hence the Nazi disposal of “mouth breathers” (i.e., infirm, mentally retarded, blind, etc.). I noticed on Drudge that Sir Attenborough is accusing humanity of being a disease again. Such an enlightened man … . The funny thing is that many people support such nonsense because they think they will be in the “valued group.” Many intellectuals thought that when Russia became a soviet state. They found out that when we only value specific groups, the groups valued are apt to change. Lenin and Stalin killed many an intellectual and university professor because they were not “valuable” to the state. Today, it’s the unborn. Tomorrow, infirm, the old and the sick. Then the politically undesireables. The absurdity of it is that it has all happened before, but profressives like KTC never seem to learn.

studentofhistory on January 22, 2013 at 10:28 PM

I went to the nearby upscale French restaurant where a country music band was singing songs in praise of gay marriage. I went up to the singer and said Happy Roe v Wade day. I’m not sure he knew what I was talking about, but I’m pretty sure he would have agreed. This is what is positive in America in 2013. The microbrew beers were excellent.

thuja on January 22, 2013 at 10:41 PM

I’m a little confused by your statement. I think your saying it is positive that in 2013 we have gay marriage being celebrated by a country music band in a restaurant and that we have Roe v. Wade. Is that correct? Well, I think the reaction of the singer was more aproposo to our day in age. The singer was uninformed about what you were talking about and probably would have “agreed” with you only because it is the in thing to do, not because he had heard the pros and cons and come to an informed decision. That to me, is the hallmark of our “age” and it is anything but positive.

I’ll agree with you, however, that the microbrew beers have improved. Not sure I would use the word “excellent,” but they have improved.

studentofhistory on January 22, 2013 at 10:47 PM

I agree with your negativity about people being thoughtless, and that thoughtlessness is not any less common now than in Athens at the time of Socrates. Where I disagree with you is that I do think the singer understood the issue of gay marriage fairly well. He did not write lyrics mindlessly about this issue. But I suspect he would write lyrics mindlessly about economic issues. I fear that what I’m writing here is not poetic, and couldn’t be poetic. I suppose Ann Coulter could find some way to make the observation that singers tend to be completely clueless about economic issues amusing. But what if not? Perhaps these dull factoids are important, but can’t be made entertaining? How do we fix the situation?

Dude, I had excellent beers tonight.

thuja on January 22, 2013 at 11:04 PM

I was referring more to the Roe v. Wade issue. As to the beers, do tell which were excellent. It’s not a microbrew, but if you haven’t had a Tripel Karmeliet (great Belgian – I had one on Saturday), you haven’t lived.

studentofhistory on January 22, 2013 at 11:30 PM