American Clarity Essays political, philosophical, and theological from an American romantic.

29. June 2009

King County to possibly become a safe haven for illegal immigrants

Filed under: cultural/racial,politics — admin @ 15:49

Every time liberals want to pass legislation about something, newspapers and television reports fill up with stories about a kind-faced and law-abiding person who just wants to be able to live their life if it only wasn’t for you: the American public, because you’re calloused and won’t extend “human rights” to them (known to sensible people as “extending the right to break legal/moral barriers and then get benefits”).  The reason for your callousness, of course, because you’re selfish and racist and bigoted.  This treatment is especially applied by the media in the argument over illegal immigration.

Before getting started however, it should be known that this writer has personally known and enjoyed the companionship of an illegal alien before. His name was Armando, and he was one of the nicest, most polite, charming young men I’ve known in my lifetime.  He couldn’t speak English worth a damn, but it was clear to me that the kid just wanted to work hard to support the family he’d left back home.  Back then, his friends have me over for carne asada in the rural Californian town of Bonsall, we’d listen to music, and enjoy each other’s company.  He was my buddy.  I’m even willing to assume that–at that particular time and place–he was a better person than I was.  (more…)

27. June 2009

Chopping off your wife’s hand: why Christians don’t follow Deuteronomy

Filed under: politics,Theology — admin @ 17:48

Earlier this week I had a conversation with an old friend of mine who doesn’t believe in Christianity. The discussion was over the French government possibly banning the burkha, which my friend found to be a gross violation of civil rights, most notably the choice of what to wear, as well as the separation of church and state (kind of an American thing, eh?). His friends–since I must note that this took place on Facebook–all joined the band-wagon, suggesting that the French government was taking an immoral stance against individual liberty, and that France should stay out of religious matters.

But most importantly, we came to a point in which I quoted the Qur’an, which stated that a man could beat his wife if she were acting out of line, and I asked both Eric and his friends if they thought the French government should have any say in practically ritual wife-beating.  His response?  A quote from Deuteronomy, which stated that a woman’s hand should be chopped off if she intervenes in a fight and grabs a man by his genitals. (more…)

24. June 2009

Economic info every American needs to know

Filed under: economy,politics — admin @ 17:35

A lot of people are being told that Americans are getting screwed by our government’s rescue plan, but most Americans don’t really know how.  To give the reader a good example of why this bailout reeks of “mismanagement,” all we’d have to do is look at banks and their excess reserves.

Now, as a little background information, every US bank dealing with more than $43.9 million is ordered by the Federal Reserve to have roughly 10% of their deposit money as reserves on hand (12).  This means that if people put $100 in the bank, the bank has to have about $10 on hand and can lend the remaining $90 to other people.  Allowing banks to hold only a fraction of their loaned amount on hand is known as fractional reserve banking, and it essentially allows banks to create money (something that you and I would be thrown in jail for.  Check that last link out)(1)(2). (more…)

16. June 2009

A conversation with a terrorist-defending, leftist bigot

Filed under: philosophy,politics — admin @ 20:02

Last week I happened to come across a leftist’s link on Facebook, and this link was to an article which argued that the talking heads of the Right were responsible not only for Tiller’s death, but also for the murder of a guard at a Holocaust museum.  It went on to blatantly suggest that Christians and their intolerant worldviews are responsible for the hate we see today, and that these talking heads and other hatemongers should be held accountable for the actions of unrelated assassins. As such, I felt the need to comment.

This conversation is important because it highlights some very common beliefs and “logical” stances of the Left, as well as double-standards and the appropriate responses to them.  It’s highly recommended that the reader take the time to peruse the original article that spawned this conversation, and the reader should know that there was a final reply from the young, bigoted liberal I was talking to, but it was omitted because it basically involved backpeddling about his support for terrorists (!) and plenty of foul language. (more…)

6. June 2009

Where does evil come from?

Filed under: philosophy,Theology — admin @ 15:27

Throughout human existence, many have asked themselves where evil came from, and most end up more confused than before they asked.  Let’s look at some great examples of futile thinking about evil (the titles provided in bold for easy memorization), and then proceed to some truth.

1) Authority and Situation

Philip Zimbardo, elected the president of the American Psychological Association in 2002, would say that evil comes from a combination between authority and situation, citing the Milgram experiments, the incidence at Abu Ghraib, and the suicides at Jonestown as prime examples.  But if you look a little closer, all Zimbardo and his psychologist friends are saying is that circumstances give an ability to express the evil that already exists within the human mind.  And what’s so “intellectual” about that?  Of COURSE evil can present itself when given a chance: without the situational potential to commit physical evil, you can’t commit evil.  Just like when you don’t have a car, you can’t drive into a tree.

2) Culture and Tradition

Some would blame culture and tradition as the source of evil, claiming that our corrupted cultures–and religions!–are polluting our minds and making us incapable of reaching forward into an intangible utopia.  Unfortunately for them, they didn’t ask themselves where the cultural corruption came from.  (more…)

4. June 2009

All the abortion info you need to know

Filed under: politics — admin @ 17:55

With Tiller’s recent murder, there’s been a whole lot of slandering of the pro-life crowd.  But whether or not anti-abortion activists are peaceful (and I assure you that if they weren’t, Tiller’s assassination wouldn’t have made the front-pages), I think most media outlets aren’t just missing the point of the abortion debate: they’re purposely using this event as a red-herring for propaganda purposes.  So here’s a little information that everyone should know about abortion itself.

American women have abortions for all kinds of reasons, but according to ABC news, the most frequently cited–and taking up an overwhelming majority of cases–are “not being ready for a child right now,”  already being a single parent, and “unfulfilled educational goals (1).”  So where does this place rape and incest?  Less than 1% of all total abortions (1).  Mostly, children were aborted for convenience.

Furthermore, people need to know that over one in five children are aborted in the US, but that this isn’t due to teenage pregnancy (2).  Actually, teenage pregnancy rates are incredibly low, with most abortions being had by women of color, generally in their 20′s and 30′s (3).  Actually, teenagers only comprised 6% of all abortions in 2004 (3).  So the reader needs to understand that abortions aren’t being committed by reckless kids crossing state borders out of fear, but rather being committed by older women who almost always cite factors of inconvenience. (more…)

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