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<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Dick, et al,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>I think the country will continue to be
deeply divided. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>It is the underlying world views/approach
to life of different people that fuel this division. Unlike scientific
disagreements, which can be solved by experiementation and observation,
political, religious, and values disagreement so far have not been overly
amenable to this approach. Facts sometimes help solve these kind of
problems, but not always and generally not. [Nor is there any real
agreement between the various Christian sects on high profile ethical/political
issues.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Example: Take the gay-marriage
issue: It seems to me that the state has a very strong and real interest
in promoting stable, responsible, and happy martial relationships and also
allowing persons as much freedom as is compatible with overall social
order/stable organization (as opposed to social disoprganization).</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Current research seems to show that same
sex partnerships (as opposed to causal affairs) are more stable than
heterosexual couplings of the same type. I fail to see how committed
couples express themselves sexually is any real concern of the state -- in fact,
the sexual practices that are hypocritically condemned by critics of homosexual
relations are widely practiced by heterosexual couples without such
condemnation.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Shoildn't the state encourage rather than
discourage good citizens to spend their lives (or part of their lives) with a
partner or partners they love and enjoy being with?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>Of course, much opposition to gay-marriage
as well as other practices and actions is generated by religious/superstitious
beliefs. Unfortunately, there is no guaranteed way to tell at this point
in history which religion of tens of thousands, if any, is the "true" one.
It appears that over the course of record human history, religious/superstitious
belief has been one the major causes of human strife. People don't
generally kill and main over what they believe is the cause of measles;
they certainly do all of these things and more horrendous acts propelled by
unverifable religious/superstitious beliefs. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4><STRONG>It is particularly frightening when
the leader of a country proclaims that he/she is carrying out the alleged
will of some alleged god(s).</STRONG> How can you really tell if such
assertions are actually true? -- Especially when the assertions of
different leaders and their rleigious/superstitious underpinnings are
contradictory to each other?</FONT></DIV><FONT face="Verdana Ref" size=4>
<DIV><BR>Wayne</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Art Deco (Wayne Fox)<BR><A
href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">deco@moscow.com</A><BR></FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>