My opinion of why conservatives hold nonsensically inconsistent policy positions

Original post:

Roe vs Wade proved that as a nation we no longer cared about human life.

Someone else's reply:
While I can ...almost, respect that you are coming from, what you believe is a "moral" place. You, and most of your "ilk"  completely undercut the validity of your stance by being pro gun, pro war, pro death penalty, anti child welfare, anti universal healthcare, anti women's rights, etc. etc. 
you are, in other words, complete fakes. You don't give a shot about children, or anyone else, you just care about beating the evil libtards. 
If you did care, you would be advocating for adoption, and contraception. And your party wouldn't be supporting pedophiles like Roy Moore and sexual abusers like DT.

My reply to them:

Fantastic rundown of all the stances conservatives support that are completely the exact opposite of pro-life. However, as someone who used to be one of those conservatives who accepted such political stances uncritically, I would like to take issue with one thing you said, "complete fakes." I agree that applies to the politicians, but that's not where you were directing it. I think most of the rank-and-file conservatives really do believe that all of these positions are the right way to do things, but if my personal experience is any indication, that's only because they 1) don't do enough critical self-examination of whether their stances on various issues are consistent, 2) don't allow themselves to be open-minded or accept the possibility that they could be wrong, instead embracing the simplistic mindset that liberals are just evil, sadistic, hateful monsters, so there's no point in hearing them out to understand why they hold the positions they do, and 3) uncritically and dogmatically accept heavily biased news sources or outright propaganda as unvarnished truth, fueling the confirmation bias of the closed-minded beliefs they already hold.

Why "we need the right to bear arms so we can resist a tyrannical government" doesn't work for me

At this point in the Trump administration, I have less fear of an overtly tyrannical government forcing its will on an unarmed populace, and more fear of an implicitly tyrannical government being actively helped by an armed populace. There have been multiple conservatives (and, for some reason, religious leaders) talking about how an armed revolt is going to break out if Trump is removed from office (which would only happen by due process of law, in the face of overwhelming evidence of criminal activity).

I don't actually think an armed revolt of any significant size is really gonna happen (I think people like that are probably "all talk, no action," just like Cliven Bundy's family), but if it does happen, the impact of it will be made far more severe for the fact that so many people who are ignorant enough to believe that "the Deep State is staging a coup, so we need to save the duly-elected government from the tyrannical shadow-government," have such powerful and dangerous weapons (without the wisdom to use them for the good and proper purpose that the second amendment intended).

My opinion on kneeling for the anthem

My opinion is that the message they are sending by kneeling for the flag and the anthem is that the reality of our country is not living up to the ideals represented by those symbols. That's not disrespecting the flag or the anthem, it's admonishing the country to honor the flag and the anthem by being what this country is supposed to be (equality for all), instead of just taking the easy way out and standing for the anthem and feeling patriotic because you do that, but not living it in your daily life.

If you're a religious person, think of it like this. In a lot of churches, the worship leader asks everybody to stand before the music begins. What's happening here is like if one member of the church decided not to stand because he was fed up with the way people in the church act all pious on Sunday morning, and then go out into their daily lives and treat other people like crap. By doing so, he's not disrespecting the worship songs, he's trying to remind people that it's more respectful to what they represent if you actually live it out in your daily life instead of just standing for the abstract representation of what you're supposed to be doing, and acting like that's enough.

Long List of Responses to Joe Arpaio Pardon

Here's a bunch of statements, articles, and op-eds which progressively reveal what a thoroughly disgusting person Donald Trump chose to pardon. I've organized them in order of shortest to longest word count, so you can attenuate your reading according to your current attention span (or, perhaps, how long you feel able to stifle the rising bile in your throat at the thought that such a terrible, monstrous person will avoid any consequences of his actions). This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive list, because if I tried to do that, I probably be here all weekend.

A massive list of Bible verses about fearing God

In an email debate with a Christian, I made the point that God, especially in the Old Testament, seems to have a great affinity to receive worship. The Christian replied, "Yes, but worship based in love, not fear." So, I began to assemble a list of verses which indicate that God has a great affinity for being worshipped out of fear. What's notable about this list is that I didn't consult any concordance or do a search of the word "fear." Instead, I simply started with one single fear that I recalled from memory (I believe it was Ecclesiastes 12:13), and I followed the cross-reference sidebar on BibleHub. If there was more than one verse about fearing God in a sidebar, I would open them all up in new tabs. The entire list that you see below comes purely from that chain, of following all the related verses that started with just the one verse. So, for all I know, there could easily be even more than this.

Now, I think it's important to address one likely objection. Lest you say that all the translators of every major English version of the Bible just messed up the translation (of every single one of these verses), and the word which is translated as "fear" actually means something like "respect" or "awe," I would argue that the context doesn't support that at all. Look at Deuteronomy 28:15-68. After a mere fourteen verses of God telling the Israelites how he will bless them if they follow him, he spends a whopping fifty-four verses telling them all the horrible ways he will curse them if they don't. That is, in the most literal sense, instilling fear. And it's not just a symbolic gesture, either. God does this over and over again throughout the Old Testament, so often that I don't even feel like I need to cite a specific passage. It's a persistent trope of the Old Testament that the people of Israel turn away from God and start worshiping idols, so God causes them to be conquered by some enemy, and that makes them eventually turn back to the true God. It's not because of love, it's because of fear. (And understand, I'm not saying that no one in the Old Testament ever worships God out of love. What I am saying is that the idea that God does not want worship based on fear is completely contradictory to pervasive themes of the Old Testament.)

And in case that argument based on general trends is not enough, I've put a few specific verses in bold which I think more distinctly indicate that the fear which is being talked about in those verses is not simply a poetic synonym for respect or awe. Out of all of them, I think Isaiah 8:13 is the most clear on this; it directly parallels "fear" and "dread," not "fear" and "awe" or anything like that.

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Genesis 22:12 - He said, "Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me."

Genesis 42:18 - Now Joseph said to them on the third day, "Do this and live, for I fear God:

Exodus 14:31 - When Israel saw the great power which the LORD had used against the Egyptians, the people feared the LORD, and they believed in the LORD and in His servant Moses.

Exodus 18:21 - "Furthermore, you shall select out of all the people able men who fear God, men of truth, those who hate dishonest gain; and you shall place these over them as leaders of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties and of tens.

Exodus 20:20 - Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him may remain with you, so that you may not sin."

Deuteronomy 4:10 - "Remember the day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, when the LORD said to me, 'Assemble the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words so they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children.'

Deuteronomy 6:2 - so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged.

Deuteronomy 6:13- "You shall fear only the LORD your God; and you shall worship Him and swear by His name.

Deuteronomy 6:24 - "So the LORD commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today.

Deuteronomy 10:12 - "Now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require from you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

Deuteronomy 10:20 - "You shall fear the LORD your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.

Deuteronomy 13:4 - "You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.

Deuteronomy 14:23 - "You shall eat in the presence of the LORD your God, at the place where He chooses to establish His name, the tithe of your grain, your new wine, your oil, and the firstborn of your herd and your flock, so that you may learn to fear the LORD your God always.

Deuteronomy 17:19 - "It shall be with him and he shall read it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, by carefully observing all the words of this law and these statutes,

Deuteronomy 28:58 - "If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the LORD your God,

Deuteronomy 31:12-13 - "Assemble the people, the men and the women and children and the alien who is in your town, so that they may hear and learn and fear the LORD your God, and be careful to observe all the words of this law. Their children, who have not known, will hear and learn to fear the LORD your God, as long as you live on the land which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess."

Joshua 4:24 - that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, so that you may fear the LORD your God forever."

1 Samuel 12:18 - So Samuel called to the LORD, and the LORD sent thunder and rain that day; and all the people greatly feared the LORD and Samuel.

1 Samuel 12:24 - "Only fear the LORD and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you.

2 Samuel 6:9 - So David was afraid of the LORD that day; and he said, "How can the ark of the LORD come to me?"

1 Kings 8:43 - hear in heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, in order that all the peoples of the earth may know Your name, to fear You, as do Your people Israel, and that they may know that this house which I have built is called by Your name.

1 Chronicles 16:25 - For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; He also is to be feared above all gods.

Nehemiah 5:9 - Again I said, "The thing which you are doing is not good; should you not walk in the fear of our God because of the reproach of the nations, our enemies?

Nehemiah 5:15 - But the former governors who were before me laid burdens on the people and took from them bread and wine besides forty shekels of silver; even their servants domineered the people. But I did not do so because of the fear of God.

Job 1:1 - There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil.

Job 4:6 - "Is not your fear of God your confidence, And the integrity of your ways your hope?

Job 28:28 - "And to man He said, 'Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; And to depart from evil is understanding.'"

Job 31:23 - "For calamity from God is a terror to me, And because of His majesty I can do nothing.

Psalm 2:5 - Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying,

Psalm 2:11 - Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling.

Psalm 22:23 - You who fear the LORD, praise Him; All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.

Psalm 33:8 - Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.

Psalm 33:18 - Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, On those who hope for His lovingkindness,

Psalm 34:11 - Come, you children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

Psalm 47:2 - For the LORD Most High is to be feared, A great King over all the earth.

Psalm 61:5 - For You have heard my vows, O God; You have given me the inheritance of those who fear Your name.

Psalm 66:16 - Come and hear, all who fear God, And I will tell of what He has done for my soul.

Psalm 67:7 - God blesses us, That all the ends of the earth may fear Him.

Psalm 76:7 - You, even You, are to be feared; And who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?

Psalm 76:11 - Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them; Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared.

Psalm 86:11 - Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name.

Psalm 89:7 - A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, And awesome above all those who are around Him?

Psalm 90:11 - Who understands the power of Your anger And Your fury, according to the fear that is due You?

Psalm 96:4 - For great is the LORD and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods.

Psalm 96:9 - Worship the LORD in holy attire; Tremble before Him, all the earth.

Psalm 99:1 - The LORD reigns, let the peoples tremble; He is enthroned above the cherubim, let the earth shake!

Psalm 102:15 - So the nations will fear the name of the LORD And all the kings of the earth Your glory.

Psalm 103:11 - For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.

Psalm 111:10 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments; His praise endures forever.

Psalm 112:1 - Praise the LORD! How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, Who greatly delights in His commandments.

Psalm 115:11 - You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD; He is their help and their shield.

Psalm 115:13 - He will bless those who fear the LORD, The small together with the great.

Psalm 119:120 - My flesh trembles for fear of You, And I am afraid of Your judgments.

Psalm 128:1 - How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways.

Psalm 147:11 - The LORD favors those who fear Him, Those who wait for His lovingkindness.

Proverbs 1:7 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 2:5 - Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God.

Proverbs 3:7 - Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.

Proverbs 8:13 - "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.

Proverbs 9:10 - The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 10:27 - The fear of the LORD prolongs life, But the years of the wicked will be shortened.

Proverbs 14:26-27 - In the fear of the LORD there is strong confidence, And his children will have refuge. The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, That one may avoid the snares of death.

Proverbs 15:33 - The fear of the LORD is the instruction for wisdom, And before honor comes humility.

Proverbs 16:6 - By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.

Proverbs 19:23 - The fear of the LORD leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.

Proverbs 22:4 - The reward of humility and the fear of the LORD Are riches, honor and life.

Proverbs 31:30 - Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 - I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him.

Ecclesiastes 5:7 - For in many dreams and in many words there is emptiness. Rather, fear God.

Ecclesiastes 7:18 - It is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them.

Ecclesiastes 8:12-13 - Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 - The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.

Isaiah 8:13 - "It is the LORD of hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall be your dread.

Isaiah 11:3 - And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear;

Isaiah 33:6 - And He will be the stability of your times, A wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; The fear of the LORD is his treasure.

Isaiah 59:19 - So they will fear the name of the LORD from the west And His glory from the rising of the sun, For He will come like a rushing stream Which the wind of the LORD drives.

Isaiah 66:2 - "For My hand made all these things, Thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But to this one I will look, To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

Jeremiah 5:22 - 'Do you not fear Me?' declares the LORD. 'Do you not tremble in My presence? For I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, An eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it. Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail; Though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it.

Jeremiah 32:39 - and I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me always, for their own good and for the good of their children after them.

Malachi 4:2 - "But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall.

Healthcare as a human right is not slavery

The following is a response I wrote on Facebook to this video, or more specifically just the first 13 seconds of it, because that's as far as I could get before I lost my ability to take him seriously...

Yes, I would absolutely and intensely argue that Rand Paul's "healthcare as human right = slavery" argument is not only wrong, it is pure grade-A bullshit. I know some libertarians, and they as individuals don't seem like selfish bastards utterly devoid of empathy or basic human decency, but boy, the standard libertarian arguments sure make them sound like they are.

Nobody I've ever heard who wants to treat healthcare as a basic human right says that doctors shouldn't be paid. Nobody says that doctors should be forced to work for free. Education is treated in America as a basic right that everyone has access to, and yet we don't force teachers to work for free, we don't come to their homes and conscript them. No one's saying that doctors should be enslaved, they're just saying that there should be a model in place where the payment for these services need not always come from the victim of the medical issue, because that person will not always have the ability to pay, but they should still have the ability to receive treatment (because healthcare is a basic human right). 

That might mean that the government regulates how much hospitals or pharmaceutical companies can charge for goods and services; it might be that people in the medical industry can't make as much PROFIT, but it doesn't (in any model I've ever heard of) mean that physicians would be forced to work for free. So when Rand Paul says "that means you believe in slavery," what I hear him saying is, "if I'm not making six figures a year, then I might as well be out on a plantation getting whipped if I don't work hard enough." That's why I say that their arguments make them sound like they lack empathy or basic human decency. The idea of universal healthcare and slavery are not even remotely similar.