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January 18, 2007
David Fowler's Pro-Family Agenda
David Fowler's Pro-Family Agenda
David Fowler is actively writing opinions on the Chattanoogan.com, the last being titled "The Prospect for Family-Friendly Legislation." David Fowler artfully hides behind two things-diplomacy and history. He is using his experience in the State Senate, and the recent news of the election of a new Lieutenant Governor, to support a religious right agenda-using diplomacy and history to advance his family friendly legislation. His agenda is political, not moral. His agenda is political, not religious. His agenda is not in the best interests of the people of the state.
A close reading of Mr. Fowler's pieces clearly show the readers that Mr. Fowler has one purpose; the purpose is to advance a right wing agenda relating to "family friendly legislation." Simply put, Mr. Fowler has an antiabortion agenda in the Legislature, and he is using his editorial pieces to advance that antiabortion agenda. More important, it is clear that Mr. Fowler has an agenda to advance a religious right view of morals and, a religious right view of how we should believe in God.
Mr. Fowler has his right to express his views, and to advance the agenda of the organization for which he works. However, Mr. Fowler should directly state his purpose-passing family-friendly legislation that comports with the values of right wing conservatives-he needs to openly admit that his agenda is based upon a conservative religious philosophy, a philosophy designed to impose a certain view of religion on the rest of us through the political process.
In viewing Mr. Fowler's positions, the reading public must ask several questions. First, Mr. Fowler since when did we start legislating family friendly legislation instead of letting our religious leaders talk about it in our churches? Mr. Fowler, are our churches failing us, creating a need for political leaders to pass a family-friendly legislation? Mr. Fowler, since when did we stop allowing our families to dictate family friendly values, and start letting people in Nashville dictate our family values? Mr. Fowler, since when did family-friendly legislation take priority over having our religious leaders, in our local communities, help us in defining our values? Mr. Fowler, since when did we want our leaders in Nashville, or even in Washington, DC, to pass legislation on our morals? Mr. Fowler, why would we, as a diverse society, want elected leaders in Nashville to dictate our religious beliefs by passing "family friendly legislation?" Mr. Fowler, why is religion becoming so intertwined with government that we are forgetting that our founding fathers believed in religious freedom without government interference or influence? Mr. Fowler, isn't family-friendly legislation on our moral values a Christian mission in the political world? Mr. Fowler, why would we want politicians passing family-friendly legislation when family friendly legislation starts with the family, in our communities, and in our churches? Finally, Mr. Fowler is your mission a religious one, imposing a conservative view of religion by using the term "family friendly legislation?"
Mr. Fowler, you have forgotten that we live in a diverse nation made up of the diverse people from diverse cultures and diverse religious backgrounds. Having your family-friendly legislation ignores that diversity, imposing the will of the few on the will of the many.
I think it is time for all of us to recognize what Mr. Fowler means by "family friendly legislation." Family-friendly legislation is a mask, a mask for a right wing conservative movement imposing a conservative view upon a diverse world, using the political process to obtain that goal.
Stuart James
| By sjames | 09:33 AM