Adding Politics to the Brew

I've decided to make a small change here on my blog.  From now on, every once in awhile, I will address current issues and events.

Politics, in other words.

No one need worry about this venue becoming a place where some one spews venom and hyperbole like it was going out of style.  While I can wax vitriolic as much as the next person, such is not my goal.  Nor hopefully is it my norm.

Rather I'd like to offer my own opinions on current issues, making valid observations as I see them.  I'll not be spouting conspiracy theories.  But holding a few up for ridicule is fair game.  Not steadily though.  Just as the focus on Night Tinted Glasses will remain history and certain genres of dramatic/literary art.  Only now and then will I venture in politics.

By way of a warning/disclaimer/introduction allow me to give a quick precis of where I stand on various issues--and why I call myself a moderate.  My views might seem somewhat more liberal than they are, mostly because (at least in my opinion) a very loud group of people on the far right are making so much noise these days.  When I was going to university, folks on the far left were making just about as much fuss.

Abortion - I believe it should be legal, safe, available and rare.  Restrictions on such make perfect sense to me, especially in the last trimester.  But I do not consider the so-called "morning after" pill to validly belong even in debate on the subject.

Capitalism and Socialism - One of the things so few of my fellow Americans seem to realize is that virtually all industrial nations adopted a blend of these two many decades ago.  Including this one.  We do not in fact have to choose between one or the other, any more than we must decide whether to eat meat or vegetables.  Folks can and often do enjoy both.  Neither one is going anywhere, by the way.

The Environment - Methinks it takes some seriously large blinders not to realize this is an important issue, especially in light of recent events.  Having grown up on the Gulf Coast of Florida, I am only too aware of what can and has gone wrong in our stewardship of this world's systems.

Faith - I am a quietly devout Christian of the Orthodox Church.  Theologically I am very liberal.  Like most Christians, my interpretation of the Bible is not literal.  My belief is that the Bible was inspired , but not dictated, by God.  And there is no genuine conflict between science and my faith, no matter what some folks insist must be the case.

Civil Liberties - Possibly the greatest glory of the United States was that we (at first a little reluctantly) enshrined into law the whole concept of "legal rights" and have ultimately proven their advocate.  Making that idea workable is an ongoing and deeply divisive process.  It is not a simple matter, nor should it be.

Some hopefully entertaining and (maybe) thought-provoking words may follow on these and other subjects.  Now and then.  You have been warned.