|
Korean Job Discussion Forums
"The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
|
| View previous topic :: View next topic |
| Author |
Message |
Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
|
 Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 3:01 pm Post subject: Values Voter Summit 2013 |
 |
|
The Values Voter Summit was held recently. Ted Cruz won the Presidential straw poll.
| Quote: |
Cruz, who appears to have presidential aspirations, took 42 percent of the vote, with Dr. Ben Carson and former Pennsylvania Sen. and GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum each getting 13 percent.
Though the 2016 race is years off, the annual summit in Washington is considered an early indication of how conservative voters are leaning. |
Bottoming out the list was Senator Rand Paul, who decided to tackle foreign policy and cultural values. The Daily Beast was particularly critical of Rand Paul's speech.
| Quote: |
Paul quickly made it clear that the war on Christians is being waged by Muslims. How did he support this theory? He would cite isolated actions by a few Muslims in various countries. In fact, in the cases of Boston and Zanzibar, Paul noted the actions of two Muslims in each location to support his thesis that there are up to a “100 million” Muslims who want to slaughter Christians.
Of course, there was no mention by Paul of the Muslims in Pakistan who recently gathered by the hundreds, locking arms and encircling a church to protect Christians from radicals. Nor did Paul mention that these so-called Muslim terrorists overwhelmingly slaughter more Muslims than people of other faiths. Indeed, Muslims have been the victims of “between 82 and 97 percent of terrorism-related fatalities over the past five years.” |
Rand Paul's trope is disappointing, and even conservatives were disappointed by it. Discuss. |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
geldedgoat
Joined: 05 Mar 2009
|
| Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 3:39 pm Post subject: Re: Values Voter Summit 2013 |
|
|
| Kuros wrote: |
| Rand Paul's trope is disappointing, and even conservatives were disappointed by it. Discuss. |
Did you listen to his speech? The entire speech? He was trying to appeal to Christian solidarity to further his non-interventionism, which is almost certainly why he did so poorly in the final results.
This was not an anti-Muslim hate speech. Watch past the five-minute mark (well, he really starts to push his point closer to minute thirteen), and you might have a different opinion. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
geldedgoat
Joined: 05 Mar 2009
|
| Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 5:56 pm Post subject: |
|
|
I just read through that Daily Beast article:
| Quote: |
| But then Paul’s rhetoric truly became alarming. He warned the audience that while we wait for Muslims to return to being peaceful: “Christians should be prepared for war…” He did also add that they should, “pray for peace,” but that seemed secondary to his literal call to arms. |
This author either wasn't paying attention to the speech or is counting on his readers to trust his opinion rather than listen for themselves. This quote does not at all accurately represent the content of Rand Paul's message. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Fox
Joined: 04 Mar 2009
|
| Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 6:27 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Quote: |
Some politicians hear of this war on Christianity and argue that we must fight a conventional war against Radical Islam.
There are times where that has been, and will be true.
We were right to go to War against Afghanistan after 9/11. There are times when military action is both justified and necessary.
I believe we must always be willing and able defend ourselves against jihadists.
But we must also re-examine our policies because military action can, at times, actually enable and empower Radical Islam. In Egypt, Libya and Syria it is still unclear whether war brought us regimes that are more friendly or less friendly to America.
To me, it doesn’t make any sense to send American arms, American planes or American troops to aid the Syrian rebels, who are on the same side of that war as Al Qaeda!
In the future, I see less and less likelihood that conventional wars and armies will defeat 50 million Muslims spread across the planet. Make no mistake, we should actively defend ourselves but the ultimate answer must come from Islam itself.
These Islamic Republics see us as invaders and infidels. They will never accept us through force of arms. Somehow, though, they must come to understand that they must police themselves, that they must root out and destroy the sadists and killers who distort and contort religion to justify killing civilians and children.
Islam needs to remember and recreate the good in their history. For centuries, the Middle East was home to the cultural and intellectual centers of the ancient world. Math and science flourished. Tolerance and sophistication were the norm.
The great medieval physician, Rhazes, identified smallpox and measles, while the Persian mathematician, al-Kwarizmi, made advances in algebra.
Islam carried the light of learning through the centuries. They paved the way for the Enlightenment. Innovation in the Muslim communities developed the magnetic compass, mastered pens and printing, and understood better than any other culture the diagnosis and treatment of disease. |
I'm pretty much on Paul's side here, excepting the support for the war in Afghanistan. I suspect the overall tone of his speech was colored by his venue, but the underlying message isn't unreasonable at all. The Muslim world needs to improve on its own initiative, and to the extent that we have a role to play, it is first and foremost to stop destabilizing regions through our own violence and tax dollars. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Kuros
Joined: 27 Apr 2004
|
| Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 6:50 pm Post subject: |
|
|
You're right, the Daily Beast article does not seem to entirely represent what Rand Paul is saying. But that's because his speech is internally dissonant. He says Islam is at war with Christianity, but then limits the number of Islamics at war with Christianity at 40 million (out of well over 1 billion).
Its not true. There's no war with Christianity. There is a Western strain of subjugation towards the Middle East, however. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
geldedgoat
Joined: 05 Mar 2009
|
| Posted: Tue Oct 15, 2013 7:09 pm Post subject: |
|
|
| Kuros wrote: |
| He says Islam is at war with Christianity |
You really should listen to his speech. He took great pains to limit his attacks to the minority, the radical fringe. He even *gasp!* praised Islam, which, combined with his call for non-interventionism, is likely what repulsed so many attendees to the conference. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
yodanole
Joined: 02 Mar 2003
Location: La Florida
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
