Yeah... what he said

Alonzo Fyfe is a philosopher. Mr. Fyfe studied philosophy at Montana State University, Bozeman and then spent six years in graduate school at the University of Maryland, College Park. His primary focus is on ethics and moral philosophy.

Alonzo is atheist, and he writes the Atheist Ethicist blog, one of the top 30 (out of about 200,000) atheist blogs on the web, according to SocialRank.com. Though counted as an atheist blog, Fyfe points out that there is no such thing as 'atheist' ethics.

Alonzo doesn't write much on politics. His reasons for abstaining are pretty much the reasons MD&A concentrated on politics. We have differing opinions on the usefulness of my efforts.

Today, because someone asked, Mr. Fyfe shares a bit of ink on my favorite topic... and he does a most fine job parsing the problem. This is an excerpt...

"A couple of decades ago, there was a faction of the Republican Party that felt that it was very important to provide and support institutions that provided people with food, shelter, health care, security, and opportunities to live their lives as best they could. These were not government solutions - which were prone to corruption and bureaucratic inefficiencies. They were private solutions offered within a framework that guaranteed that people treated each other fairly and honestly and peacefully.

It is a faction that would look at Africa as a model of leftist aid and intervention where things have gotten no better in 30 years, and at China where the economy was freed up and hundreds of millions of people were lifted out if poverty, and say, "See! That is what I am talking about." It is a faction that would have celebrated the fact that hundreds of millions of people living in China had better access to health care, better access to education, more freedom, and opportunities than their parents thought possible. It would have told Democrats, "If you care about doing real good in the real world, that is how it is done."

It would not accuse Democrats as being evil or as wanting nothing but to destroy America. It would accuse Democrats as being naïve - as having good intentions but as failing to recognize that the good they are trying to do is being swallowed up by corruption and inefficient bureaucratic centralized planning.

That Republican faction probably still exists, but I have trouble seeing it.

Now, the Republican Party is the favorite of those who promote fantasy over reality. They deny the findings of science and, in doing so, promote policies that would may work in the fantasy world of their imagination, but that have no place in the real world.

I compare them to a person stepping out onto the street having faith that the truck heading their way does not exist. The person who steps out onto the street ignoring reality deserves what she gets. However, these reality-free Republicans insist on dragging the rest of us onto the street as well - and the effect on our children will be disastrous."

This is but a small clip. You should read the whole thing. It is a very eloquent and interesting disection of the reason I spend so much time shedding scorn on the Republican party... much to the chagrin of some of my close associates.

C'est la Vie.

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