In this thread there are people babbling about porn being a marxist plot. This is simply absurd. It is the marxist countries that MOST restrict the internet and the ability of citizens to see what they want.
I think you're entirely missing the point as to the tactic Marxists would use to destroy America. It is not the tactics that leaders would use in their own countries, but rather their goals for destroying one of our strengths.....our moral founding and nature.
I would recommend to you the documentary, Agenda: Grinding Down America, regarding the personal experience of Idaho legislator Curtis Bowers, at a meeting in the 60's in CA where the goals were set forth.
You know me (I think) well enough to know that I'm not a 'wingnut' conspiracy theorist, but you don't have to be a nuclear physicist to see that the goal of the left from the get-go has been to destroy every moral fiber of America's being - from abortion and eugenics, to porn and cultural decay, to destroying religious freedom, taking any discussion of God out of the public square, creating the welfare state, destroying the family, the rebellion against all authority, the huge growth of a central and controlling government - all those things are coming to being.
I know that there is a slice of conservatism that resents and rejects moral absolutes, but I think your comparison of Christianity and basic decency with Islamic fundamentalism is way, WAY off base. Our country was founded on moral principles and it depends on a moral people for its survival. I believe Rick Santorum recognizes that, and that the majority of conservatives agree with him.
I completely agree that he needs to work on steering the media away from the traps it keeps setting for him, but I think he's got time to do that (once he beats Mitt for the nomination! :) But I completely reject the leftist notion that he wants to set up some sort of theocracy, and I see it as coming from irrational fear, and not any substantive reality.
I am MUCH relieved to see you haven't fallen under the spell of the insane, Paul, and I appreciate your explanation regarding your humor and what seemed like an out-of-character sarcastic post. I have a long history of reading your posts, and I am relieved to find out that you haven't actually changed! I am glad to have been mistaken.
I am SO with you on being on the same side, which is why I get disturbed at what I see as irrational attacks on Rick Santorum and any who have chosen him as our best conservative option. I said it before, but I'll repeat it, that if it were Newt in the lead, I'd be cheering him on....not attacking his past, or my differences with him. Just stating that I have them.
Frankly, I'm going to work my tail off for ANY of the nominees who runs against Obama (I can say that because there ain't no way that goofy Paul is going to win it!).
We have a Marxist menace in the WH, and we need to work together to get him out of there!
(The documentary is worth watching, even if you don't agree with every word of it. It's well documented, and it's not difficult to see that the goals are being achieved, and one of America's greatest strengths diminished).
We are, but I don't consider strong criticism of Santorum to be an "irrational attack". If he wins the nomination, I will vote for him. In the end, most people here will too.
I know that there is a slice of conservatism that resents and rejects moral absolutes
There are indeed a lot of what some people were calling "South Park Republicans" for a time. Mostly young people adapting to the changing world. We are in the information age now, it's a world you just can't stop from rapidly changing no matter how much you wish you could. They are certainly more libertine, but largely agree with traditional conservatives on economic issues. Ron Paul has gotten the attention of some of these voters, but not most. Like it or not, the new generation of conservatives are going to be focusing far more on economic, foreign policy and defense issues rather than re-fighting long ago settled social value arguments over contraception and porn. Try to re-engage those battles in a political setting and you'll just end up alienating people.
but I think your comparison of Christianity and basic decency with Islamic fundamentalism is way, WAY off base.
You seem to be missing the point. Western Christianity has been successful, Islam has not. Christianity teaches right from wrong, but the societies it has molded tend to allow more free choice and free will. Islam has been stuck in place for centuries precisely because it tries to squelch free choice and free will. Without oil money, Islamic nations are a complete basket case. Even with it this is largely the case. It is no accident that the only really successful Islamic country has been Turkey, and it got that way by limiting the power of the Mosque and the reach of Islamic religious leaders.
The problem is, many of the people we call social conservatives are not small government conservatives at all. They are for small government only until it comes to the moral issues that really drives them to vote, then they want an intrusive government to attempt to solve the social issues they consider most important. Pat Robertson actually won some primary states in 1988 and got over a million votes before he dropped out. One of Robertson's campaign planks was to ban porn. Mike Huckabee did quite well in 2008 and he was most certainly not a small government conservative. There are a significant number of socon voters who are really focused on voting for who they deem the most God fearing, who can quote scripture best, etc. Many of these voters are simply not limited government conservatives at all.
While interesting from an intellectual point of view, the debate is largely pointless anyway. The information age we are now will, in the end, make it impossible to crack down on porn anyway. Governments will find it more and more difficult to regulate or stop people from seeing, reading and sharing what they want. They will try though, and I think you will find that the governments who attempt to do this are the very ones least interested in individual rights and most interested in state control of the populace.