As usual Cranky Liberal has me thinking. (Still can’t link; can cut and paste; am eagerly looking forward to my next stupid can-only-happen-to-her-emergency.)
Will have all problems solved by January 3, when I will also figure out the answer to many of the world’s problems.
Not that Cranky liberal has me thinking about his rant on the Religious Wrong. Crankyliberal.blogspot.com I always think about that and how much easier life will be when I can link, oh enough about me….
He uses a term that I’ve been seeing often lately. “Moral values” It has never made sense to me. I understand that values is used as a quantifier, but somehow I don’t think the people on the religious wrong–great phrase–not mine but CL’s., view it as quantifying or measuring anything except for how many people said “happy holidays’ to them instead of “Merry Christmas.”
“values” is being used as a “principle, standard, or quality considered worthwhile or desirable,” by the Religious Wrong. And to me, and all us liberals.
“Morals” means to everyone, I hope; “principles of right and wrong.” We say that a person has good or bad morals, and that simple phrase defines them. We say the same things about values.
So moral values is a stupid redundancy that bothers people like me almost as much as the issue because in a real word-freak sense they cancel each other out.
It makes me crazy everything I see a professed Christian (or anybody else who thinks I have no right to talk about my views use the phrase “moral values.” It’s not even an oxymoron as there is nothing funny about it, and since I’m an expert at accidental humor I take my oxymoron’s seriously.
Think that people on the Religious Wrong take themselves and their views so seriously that they have inadvertently invented a meaningless expression.
But what do I know? I’m just a person who believes that words are the most powerful weapon an individual should own and therefore words should be used with much thought, and new expressions made that are actually meaningful. Such as “Religious Wrong.”
Have to say that I take morals and values very seriously. Since I have no idea whether or not there is a God, I have to live my life in accordance with a higher standard; the guilt meter.
My ever running guilt meter charges high prices for just about everything. Since I hate feeling guilty I try to live a good life. It might not meet your idea of moral (sex drugs and rock & roll have all played a part in it) nor might I have your idea of good values. I believe in abortion, gay marriage, sex outside of marriage, and a whole lot of other things, that the Religious Wrong snuffs their pristine noses at.
The more that I write the angrier I’m becoming. What kind of country have we turned into? Why are “God fearing” people any better than people who do good things because they’re the right thing to do, and fear no God, but maybe the Guilt God?
Why does the name God have to be invoked everywhere now?