-----Original Message----- From: lbo-talk-admin at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-admin at lbo-talk.org]On Behalf Of Mongiovi Gary Sent: Wednesday, November 12, 2003 3:06 PM To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Subject: RE: [lbo-talk] The God Gulf
I especially liked the part in Kristof's column where he blames the Spanish Civil War on incivility:
"Anyone who isn't concerned by the growing political incivility in this country doesn't remember how the antagonisms in Europe became so caustic that they often blocked governance (not to mention triggered civil wars in Spain and Greece). Already, in this country the public vitriol discourages public service."
Gary
From: "Carl Remick" <carlremick at hotmail.com> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org Date: Wed, 12 Nov 2003 07:13:34 +0000 Subject: [lbo-talk] The God Gulf Reply-To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
[Dean got it wrong. The Dems don't need guys with Confederate flags in their pickup trucks; they need guys with "Jesus Saves" stickers on their
bumpers. Or so says Nicholas Kristof in his NY Times column today (below). For my part, Washington isn't worth a mass. If winning an election means toadying to this Greatly Awakened multitude of bible-packing zanies, I'd
take political marginality anytime.]
... The most striking cleavage [in US society today] is the God Gulf, and it should terrify the Democrats. Put simply, liberals are becoming more secular at a time when America is becoming increasingly religious, the consequence of a new Great Awakening. Americans, for example, are significantly more
likely now than in 1987 to say they "completely agree" that "prayer is an important part of my daily life" and that "we all will be called before God on Judgment Day to answer for our sins."
The Pew survey found that white evangelicals are leaving the Democratic Party in droves. Fifteen years ago, white evangelicals were split equally between the two parties; now they're twice as likely to be Republicans. Likewise, white Catholics who attend Mass regularly used to be strongly Democratic; now they are more likely to be Republican.
Since Americans are three times as likely to believe in the virgin birth of Jesus as in evolution, liberal derision for President Bush's religious beliefs risks marginalizing the left. ...
<http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/12/opinion/12KRIS.html>
Carl
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