Sam, I am glad to see someone willing to discuss points of view. How we see the world does influence how we feel about the issues.
I believe far too much of what we spend is wasted. Hence, our taxes are wasted. No one ever does a cost versus benefit analysis of most social programs. Also, I'd like to see more money returned to the states and local jurisdictions. Local government is usually more responsive to the people.
The people who joined the military, for the largest part, joined to get education and health benefits, not to control the country or the world. If Obama told them to take over America tomorrow, they wouldn't. If he told them to erase Iran from the face of the earth (in the absence of a nuclear attack) they wouldn't, because those are not legal orders. Short of those extreme cases, the President controls the armed forces and Congress appropriates the operational funds.
I don't see them that way.
I see abortion as murder for the convenience of the mother. The one exception is when it is life for life--either the mother's life is in danger, or a twin's life is in danger. These cases are tragic, and can only be addressed between a woman, her husband if she has one, and her doctor.
On abortion, I'd be willing to consider defining when life begins in the same way we define when life ends--presence of heart beat and brain function. In humans, the heart starts beating around 18 days, and brain waves have been recorded at 40 days. That should leave enough time to deal with rape victims and accidents, and would also end the courts jurisdiction over the issue.
We don't currently deny care to anyone.
The death penalty is Justice--pure and simple. My only reservation is the concern I have that an innocent person could get executed. I don't see the criminal Justice system as providing a deterrent. I believe the majority of my fellow citizens carry a deterrent from crime around in their heads--it's called a conscience. All I want is for people who commit crimes to pay an appropriate penalty, and for murder, that is paying with their lives.
If I felt the country had deteriorated to the point where most people didn't have a conscience, I'd support a dictatorship. Such a people are incapable of governing themselves.
As would I. I want to find a way to address the unjustified costs of health care, and to put more health decisions in the hands of the people. For instance, I'd like to see antibiotics sold like pseudoephedrine is today. I could save a lot of trips to the doctor if more drugs were available this way.
In a democratic society where people from different backgrounds view the same issues through differing world views this is only to be expected.
It's only when people are unwilling to talk that the alternatives to democracy start to rear their ugly heads--violence and civil war. We're not there yet.
