Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is spreading the Christmas cheer by posing as Santa Claus and handing out government programs to the taxpayer. Also, it looks like she is promising to deliver on the promised middle class tax cuts from the first Clinton administration. Universal health care and universal pre-K are part of her gift package. She’s certainly not a stingy Santa Claus.
I’m really proud of this essay. The history is very interesting; the philosophical and religious links are provocative; and the contemporary applications are important and wide-ranging.
Enjoy! eric We observed a dubious centennial this year. In 1907, Indiana became the first state in America to pass a eugenics law.
Eugenics is the study of the hereditary improvement of the human race by controlled, selective breeding. The word derives from its Latin components — eu meaning “well” or “good” and genics meaning “born” or “birth.” Eugenics, then, seeks the products of “good birth” or being “well born” (better human beings or a better human race) through selective breeding.
From there, two categories emerge: Positive eugenics is the study of “good” outcomes achieved through breeding; negative eugenics is the study of “bad” outcomes, when undesirable characteristics are lessened or eliminated through selective breeding.
Beyond mere study, eugenics typically leads to a set of recommended practices. Beyond mere science, eugenics has always been connected to various worldviews and related to other theories. And beyond what we knew about science a century ago, we now have a greater understanding of the extent to which genetics affect such outcomes. In sum, eugenics is a pseudo-science loaded with philosophical and ethical baggage.
For more on the history of eugenics and the current applications of eugenics, click here...
The Drudge Report yesterday featured a screen shot of a new television ad that’s playing currently in Iowa for presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. Next to the image was this quote from primary opponent Ron Paul: “When fascism comes it will be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross.” Paul said the Huckabee ad reminded him of the quote, which he attributed to muckraking novelist Sinclair Lewis.
Huckabee’s television ad steps back from politics, reminding the voters that the birth of Christ is the meaning of Christmas. Some critics and talking heads have attacked Huckabee for pandering too much to evangelical voters. In addition, a mini controversy surrounding the ad has emerged over what some are calling a ‘subliminal cross’ that appears on a bookcase in the background. Huckabee has dismissed the controversy with humor saying, “I was also signaling evangelical voters with Morse code, with all the blinking I was doing.”
Paul addresses the controversy by saying he wasn’t quoted correctly, and linked the comment to the war issue, criticizing super patriotism. He criticized Christians for not following the Just War Theory. He did not seem to adequately address the implied link he made with Christianity and fascism, which of course are polar opposites.
To his credit, Paul did talk about the opposition to free markets in this country, and the danger it imposes. Paul spoke about a kind of economic fascism, which he called “corporatism to the extreme.”
“Also, economically speaking this country is moving rapidly towards fascism,” Paul said. “We’re not going to end up with socialism of the old fashioned type. Like in medicine today, we don’t have free market medicine. We don’t have government medicine, we have corporate medicine. That is fascism in the economic sense.”
tom about The Christian Socialist Revolution Sun, 10/05/2008 14:27 Philip you speak the truth!
Jesus said pick up your cross
and fallow me. leave your
possesstions behind. Why did
He say [...]
Paul Van Stralen about Bible Across America Sun, 10/05/2008 00:05 Will the Green Bible feature a
15,000 mile tour also?
John Powers about Pols Behaving Badly Sat, 10/04/2008 19:02 Sure Roger,
But my point is that the
market is punishing enough
without the politicians
stepping in to kick the [...]
Jordan about The <em>Reductio ad Hitlerum</em> Sat, 10/04/2008 18:51 [i]Are you really more upsetby the comparison made in this
video to fascist propaganda
than the actual politicization
[...]
Patrick about The <em>Reductio ad Hitlerum</em> Sat, 10/04/2008 03:10 Reality check, Jordan: Are you
really more upset by the
comparison made in this video
to fascist propaganda than the
[...]
Sun, 10/05/2008 14:27
Philip you speak the truth! Jesus said pick up your cross and fallow me. leave your possesstions behind. Why did He say [...]