4 Comments

Peg
February 21st, 2012 | 9:03 am

thanks for linking Paulsen’s essay—it is not at all what I expected when I saw the “pork” reference. Obama’s mandate has put comparisons to mandatory emperor worship in my mind (“where’s the presidential altar? I need to burn incense!”) but I had not remembered the story of Eliezer and Antiochus.

It gives a great example of the failure of many people to understand the religious conscience. Lacking that kind of mental furniture themselves, they are surprised by the offended reaction. They marvel at our vehemence about what ( to them) is a little thing—eat the pork, buy the abortifacients, they will even help us “save face” with hypocritical sleight-of-hand accommodations.

The Maccabees story is shot-through with parallels to our current sitation. There truly is nothing new under the sun.

Blake
February 21st, 2012 | 1:23 pm

Lacking that kind of mental furniture themselves, they are surprised by the offended reaction.

What a great way to think of it.

If only we could bridge the problem, so that people of good will (but no comprehension) could understand that religious people are not just being picky for the sake of being picky.

Peg
February 21st, 2012 | 3:35 pm

I think a lot of people are trying to bridge that divide by using analogies (all those scenarios involving Jews or Moslems and pork, etc.).

I would guess another tack is to focus on the real issues at stake, which are more fundamental than contraception or health insurance. If they don’t get fired up when fellow Americans’ rights of conscience and freedom of religious exercise are infringed (for insurance purposes, for crying out loud), how do they feel about the other First Amendment rights—is freedom of assembly up for grabs? How about freedom of speech, or freedom of the press? Is it OK if those freedoms are alienated from only some Americans, not others, and for no matter what perceived federal “need”? What happens when the White House passes another party with different ideological goals and the HHS mandate as a precedent. Does that matter? Would they get it now?

I don’t know.

Clare
February 21st, 2012 | 4:55 pm

Fantastic article on rape–I’m glad someone is finally pointing out that our facile assumptions and bromides about the cause of female rape make it harder for male victims to be taken seriously.