MD Moral values in the election

From: Platt Holden (pholden@sc.rr.com)
Date: Thu Nov 04 2004 - 15:06:43 GMT

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    Hi All:

    I’m I the only one who finds it interesting that moral values played an
    important role in the re-election of George Bush?

    Here we are discussing "Lila-An Inquiry into Morals," attracting
    contributors from all sides of the political spectrum. Now we learn that
    moral values was instrumental in the outcome of the U.S. presidential
    election, influencing the direction of policy decisions for years to come,
    much to the chagrin of those on the left.

    What I see from all sides is the assumption that moral values stem from
    religious faith. What attracted me to the MoQ was the complete rejection
    of that assumption.

    Instead, I learned and became convinced from Pirsig’s writings that moral
    values are the warp and woof of the natural world, "as real as rocks and
    trees." One does not have to rely on religious teaching to know the
    difference between good and bad. On that basis, we differentiate every
    moment of our lives.

    Thanks to the MoQ, what I detected in those who said they voted for Bush
    because of moral values was the conflict between social and biological
    values. Pirsig put it in a nutshell:

    "Vice is a conflict between biological quality and social quality. Things
    like sex and booze and drugs and- tobacco have a high biological quality,
    that is, they feel good, but are harmful for social reasons. They take all
    your money. They break up your family. They threaten the stability of the
    community." (Lila, 13)

    What many voters instinctively saw in current American culture was
    acceptance by many of the "If it feels good, do it" philosophy of the
    60’s Hippies. In Lila, Chap. 24., Pirsig describes how this desire for
    "freedom from social restraint" led to the current state of affairs where
    promiscuous sex is glorified and erectile function is a major concern,
    resulting in the backlash expressed in the election.

    There’s plenty of things that can be said about what’s wrong with
    religious faith, as many on this site have been eager to point out. Pirsig
    himself has nary a kind word for evangelicals. But, if those social
    patterns, as intellectually unappealing as they may be, are what’s holding
    back the socially destructive forces of biological values, then I’m
    thankful for them -- until the intellectual basis for morals, as set forth
    in the MoQ, catches hold among the general populace.

    Unfortunately, I won’t be around to see that happen – if ever.

    Best,
    Platt

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