The Progressive meeting and a response:

[elshiva]

Returned from a dreadful meeting tonight. A local "progressive" led by a former Kerry campaigner that is. We were supposed to talk about judicial nominees. We did a little bit, enough to say we should write letters to our senators. One member though would not stop speaking about how Democrats were losers and ineffective. Another member got talking about Christians and how stupid they were. She went as far as to say that they were "like Jews in that they have to wear the right thing and say the right thing to be secure." Another member who called herself a cultural Jew got really upset and talked about her grandparents dieing in the holocaust and left soon after. But it got worse they made fun of Muslims, Catholics, Amish, and Buddhists. The leader said she was neither Christian or Democrat because both groups are so corrupt. It just was too much for my father and I . I do not ask that people be religious or Democrat just have respect for one another, please. It was like a right wing stereotype of "liberals" come to life. But we have no organized agenda or party we are just in space....

So I wrote to the leader:
"Dear xxxx,
Thank you for the meeting. I will write to the senators by hand. However, I do not think that me or my father will return to your group.

My whole family is wholeheartedly opposed to the war in Iraq and the policies of George W. Bush. I want to be part of a group that opposes these issues, but a house divided cannot stand.

Neither my father nor I could stomach the religious-bashing and Democrat-bashing at this meeting. My father is Jewish and we celebrate the holidays with his family. Also, my grandmother taught nearly twenty years at your St. James . Episcopalianism is good religion and is officially welcoming of homosexuals like me. Episcopalians, at my parish and at camp, taught me respect towards homosexuals and liberal attitudes towards abortion. Our parish, Immanuel Episcopal at Glencoe, is trying to organize with Trinity in Timonium and others to launch a local progressive Christian movement to combat poverty. But you see that the rhetoric against religion at these meetings is demeaning. "Thinking is easier than believing," is insulting to someone like me who studied and earned a Bachelor's degree in Religious Studies at College of Notre Dame of Maryland. Those School Sisters of Notre Dame lead the picket line on school peace rallies and lectured us on respecting homosexuals (and they loved me for who I was and supported our lesbian group). Yes, you can find murderers in every faith and murderers among atheists too, but what is the point? What about siding with religious progressives, instead of making fun of religion?

As for the Democrats, the rhetoric is similar. Biden and Lieberman are excellent strawmen, I do not think they are good Democrats. Durbin may have apologized, but this is a trifle for a man with a good liberal voting record. There are good Democrats in government let us side with Dennis Kucinich who wants a department of peace or Barbara Boxer in her comments that young women's lives are at stake in this appointment to the supreme court. As you almost admitted Mikulski and Sarbanes are good people who vote mostly for what we agree on. As a homosexual, I also find the "Democrats are the same as Republicans" demeaning to my intelligence. There is a clear difference between a candidate who wants to deny civil rights to homosexuals and the one who does! Then to say these issues homosexuality and abortion are mere distractions to female homsexual is another insult.

I can bet you if I attended a conservative meeting, we would have come out for the Republicans and been a strong front. I detest Republicans and all they stand for, but I will give them that. We are divided between socialists and other third parties. Trust me you will never find the perfect candidate who has never gotten some corporate funding at sometime. Look for perfection in a human being is a waste. I would much rather get Duncan or Duck in office then throw my time and effort at some one who has little chance of getting any vote at all.

Well, I guess I said alot. Hope you read this. Really don't write my own stuff much, but I wish I could be a member of your group, but I cannot support religious bashing and Democrat bashing. I side with the woman who was so upset about the anti-semitism. I will always be a progressive, but a Progressive Jewish-Christian Democrat. Take a gander at these links:
http://pdamerica.org/people.php
http://www.dopcampaign.org /
http://www.christianalliance.org/site/c.bnKIIQNtEoG/b.5...

Through, e-mailing and letter writing, I will continue to work for progressive values. I could not suffer in silence. As Audre Lorde the great poet wrote, "Your silence won't protect you." It is too painful for my father and I to be silenced and sad in meetings.

Thanks for your time and patience.

Sincerely,

xxxx