Sarah Heath Palin
Is it me, or does the McCain/Palin campaign look more like some warped and demented cartoon? First, the pregnant teen, then Palin's promise to help Special Needs families and now she advocates the conversion of gays through prayer and Jews to Jesus because Jews suffer from religious amnesia. Wait, correction: her church and pastor advocate for these conversions, Palin's just an obedient member of Wasillia Bible Church who has never said one contrary word about it or its associations.
Now I didn't say much during the Reverend Wright and Obama controversy. Although a bit grandiose in his delivery, it was clear Reverend Wright was speaking from a marginalized experience that has endured institutional racism and segregation and had a lot to say about it. But the real issue was Obama's so-called tolerance of such so-called "horrid" information. But this Palin and Reverend Kroone stuff sounds like an issue of folks believing they're moral surgeons, ready to do spiritual surgery on the wicked, you know, in the name of God. I want to laugh, but this is serious.
First off, let me just say, the idea of "converting" someone's primal desire is ludicrous [and hey, I'm no psychotherapist, but I'll step out a limb here and I say it's humanly impossible]. A person can certainly choose the type of life they prefer, or who they prefer in their life, but to convert what's primal or emotional, is insane. That's like converting a dog to a cat. You can switch up the dog's food, but you can't change the dog.
Secondly, where is it written that Jesus Christ MUST BE the messiah for everyone? OR... if not, those non-believers are destined for a meaningless, immoral life? And here's something revolutionary! There are actually Jews who are okay with not believing Jesus was their personal savior, AND there are some Jews who don't believe anything. And here's something even more radical: why do these conversion-seekers care? Why can't they turn that moral finger back toward themselves and let their religious/spiritual life be a personal one? And I'm not just talking about those who attempt to convert, I'm also talking about those who sit in these circles and encourage the audacity.
I look forward to hearing Palin defend her church and this unfortunate relapse in humanity. If she doesn't, well, I don't know whether to laugh or cry. Ultimately, if McCain is elected and she becomes the VP it's highly likely she could quickly become president [come on, we're all thinking it] and I'm cool about the Special Needs crusade, but the rest of the 2000 year old moral rubbish she can keep locked away in Wasilla land.
