I am against almost everything you have said. Can you even consider yourself a humane human being.
It’s as simple as this, I am so appalled at your opionions that I have removed links to your site from my bookmarks.

I suggest you sit down and seriously think about your current views on all these subjects.

I have to say I agree with Mike in this case, I really think you should think about some of your views, many of them seem small minded and arrogant, but then again you are an american.

Although I will still carry on reading your site as it has provided much insite in the past, my opion of you has changed slightly

Well, this is how I feel. I don’t see what is so controversial. And comments like “…but then again you are an american” sound pretty small minded and arrogant to me.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about these topics. This is how I feel about them. If you disagree, then alright. You can disagree. But if you want me to reconsider all of my views, then which ones should I reconsider, and why? I’m open to discussion, but not disrespect.

Hello Ryan Parman.

First i have to apologize for my not so good english. I’m not a native speaker of (american) english, in fact I am german. Also i hope that i will not step over the line to foul language, i promise i try not to.

There are people objecting against you and since you don’t seem to get the point ‘why’, I will try to make a few things clearer – from my point of view.

With the rape thing: You seem completely forget to consider that there’s not only a man and a child involved but – oops! – Hey! Totally overlooked, what is this WOMAN doin’ in between here? Do you really think that it doesn’t matter here that a woman/girl/perhaps a child is being inconsensually bodily penetrated by a man who polluted her from the inside of her body with his sperm, just to humiliate her? Don’t you think she’d be just a little disgusted, not to say traumatized, by the fact that the filthy seed of this scumbag is ripening in her womb? What about her feelings? That’s what bothers many people more than the upcoming feelings of a fetus (that’s it, not a child) yet unborn and unaware of it’s situation; more of a guess the turkey you ate for thanksgiving had more awareness than a fetus, which has been conceived a few days to weeks ago. You know the debate, i don’t have to go into more detail, but: DON’T FORGET THE WOMAN, MAN!

Religion: Come on, man. I really don’t think you are stupid enough to not being able to see that it’s a severe offense to everyone who doesn’t share your belief of “christianity” when you presume, he/she doesn’t because of a case of “hardened heart”. You have to concede people that they just see things different than you, and maybe they’re right, just like you or even more. Just because you believe in the christian god doesn’t mean your belief is justified. Your emissions about hardened hearts sound just arrogant, narrow-minded and plain stupid to people who believe in the freedom of thought (and belief), which is the root of all progress of mankind.

Gun Lawsuits: Here you forget to mention the children. You know how many die in the U.S. by gunfire every year. I don’t have to tell you. You also know that the american gun-making industry not just makes guns and sells them according to the law, but also backs and sponsors organisations which oppose the constitution of what you call “proper channels”. Clearly said, they fight it and want to defeat it. etc. pp. To deny this facts and just harp upon responsibility is a little bit flaw not to say obnoxious to people who care. Think about it, i don’t think you’re stupid. If you don’t get the point discuss with people who are pro gun-control and think again. Then try harder to think. Don’t forget to think of the real purpose of the lobby (you know, NRA and all the others i don’t know from Germany). They have their responsibility, too. And it seems they don’t care too much about it. Sad for all the shot people and their friends and families, isn’t it?

By the way: Can illegal kids go to school in your country? Wouldn’t anybody notice they’re illegal and bust their homes?

U.S. Troops: The sentence about smacking them on the backs of their heads from time to time is disgustingly arrogant formulated. Who do you want to provoke with that? (BTW: To me – and i think many others too – this IS foul language.) Or is it that this just doesn’t come through to your sensibility?

Now I’m bored with that, I need a little rest. If you want me to speak out on the other items too, just say so, I’ll check this page (» President Match) daily the next few days.

All I like to say to close this letter is that i tend to understand that you are not satisfied with the laconic and unaccounted postings from Mike and Richard. Maybe they are just too busy for writing detailed arguments. All I’d like you to is to not only think it over but to discuss your points with dissenters and come down from your pedestal. Get real! (Philip K. Dick said: “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”)
And it was Rosa Luxemburg who said, that “Freedom is always the freedom of the dissenters too.”

That for today.
Best Regards,
Daniel from Bremen, Germany, Old Europe.

A few Supplements to my previous posting:

I. “…your views, many of them seem small minded and arrogant, but then again you are an american.” I guess Richard wanted to say with this, that smallmindedness and arrogance are widespreadly ‘identified with/adjudged to’ americans and therefore in your case comprehensible.

II. It’s hard to believe you don’t see the controversialness of the statements you made. If you really don’t see it, i advise you to take every opportunity to discuss your points with dissenters, then think again, then discuss, and so on. One day you will see…

III. To add insult to injury, you might consider to read this: http://dandelion.gmxhome.de/ryan/point.txt … It’s a short text i once downloaded from the onion; funny, but also insightful, I’m not sure if it’s a joke or a cited serious article. (And it’s about being an american too, see the last paragraph.)

Cheers, Daniel again.

Well said Daniel, dispite being German I think you manage to ge the point over clearer than I could.

That said, you miss out on the point about Ryan’s apparrent homophobia, and you maybe overstate his religious beliefs.

And Ryan, although I disagree with many of your views, I still repect you for having them, it’s just that many to me seem silly for an intelliant person to have, and perhaps should think about them alittle more.

Your beliefs/views should always be open to change, as you experience more of the world you ‘should’ change them. Not just stick to what was drummed into when you were a kid by your parents and teachers.

P.S. this page seems to have alot of error 500 messages when trying to post.

Daniel:

“With the rape thing: You seem completely forget to consider that there’s not only a man and a child involved but – oops! – Hey! Totally overlooked, what is this WOMAN doin’ in between here?”

I absolutely agree. Rape is absolutely disgusting. I can only imagine how horrible it would make the woman feel to be degraded like that. It is a horrific experience that I pray no one would ever have to go through that… especially people close to me.

However, despite popular thought, a child is a child from the moment of conception. Abortion is murder. Period. You are ending the life of someone else. I completely stand by the simple fact that although rape is absolutely terrible, the child did not do the raping, yet the child’s life is being ended because of it. Just because the child isn’t born yet, doesn’t mean that it’s not a living human being.

I absolutely believe that women are equal with men. I also absolutely believe that women have the right to do whatever they want to their bodies. And although the child is living and growing INSIDE the woman’s body the child itself IS NOT actually the woman’s body. I believe in women’s rights, but I believe even more in human rights… including the right to be born in the first place. Besides, when do two (or more) wrongs make a right?

*************************

“Religion: Come on, man. I really don’t think you are stupid enough to not being able to see that it’s a severe offense to everyone who doesn’t share your belief of “christianity” when you presume, he/she doesn’t because of a case of “hardened heart”. You have to concede people that they just see things different than you, and maybe they’re right, just like you or even more.”

It’s not a matter of religion. It never has been. The Bible is not just a book of stories. The Bible is a true, historical document. Whether or not you believe it is up to you, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less true. This isn’t meant to be “arrogant” in the least. It’s just simply the truth. If I said that everyone has their own religion, and everyone is right, then I’d be lying to both you and myself. How can that even possibly be? Because if there’s more than one truth, then we’re doomed to search forever. I don’t believe that God, the real God, would ever do that to people that he loves.

I might tell you that I got a higher score on a college entrance exam than you. You might disagree, and I might try to convince you of the truth. It doesn’t mean I’m arrogant, nor does it mean that I’m wrong, just because I believe in the factual truth that my score was higher. You see?

*************************

“Gun Lawsuits: Here you forget to mention the children. You know how many die in the U.S. by gunfire every year. I don’t have to tell you. You also know that the american gun-making industry not just makes guns and sells them according to the law, but also backs and sponsors organisations which oppose the constitution of what you call “proper channels”.” … Sad for all the shot people and their friends and families, isn’t it?

It is very sad… extremely sad. Every time I hear on the news about people being shot and killed for no reason, it tears me apart inside. Why does this have to happen?

If you read the parts of the gun control section, although I’m for the second amendment right to “keep and bear arms”, I also don’t think that just any person, criminal or not, should be able to have them. They do need to go through the proper channels. I’m not necessarily for the NRA. Gun companies, just like any organization with too much power (like the RIAA for example), have to be stopped. People need to do the right thing, and not put people at risk by promoting loopholes in laws that the gun companies get get around.

On the other side of the same coin is this: People need to take responsibility for their own actions. If a 12 year old kid goes to school and shoots another kid, that kid needs to get the death penalty. Plain and simple. The 12 year old kid needs to take responsibility for his/her own actions. If they claim that he’s just a child, and that he doesn’t know any better, then the parents are at fault, and they should see some jail time. Teach your kids right and wrong, and be a good influence in their lives. That way, stuff like that is less likely to happen.

*************************

“By the way: Can illegal kids go to school in your country? Wouldn’t anybody notice they’re illegal and bust their homes?”

Many democrats (not all, but many) seem to be okay with illegal immigrants coming into this country. They say that we need to be humanitarians and help those in need. I agree with being humanitarian, and I agree with helping people in need, but it’s not my responsibility to, nor should I have to against my will. If I choose to, I will. If not, I won’t. THAT’s being “pro-choice”. Having a choice to decide where my money goes, and to whom. I’ll help someone who’s willing to help themselves as well. I’m not about to start funding the lifestyles of slackers — illegal or not.

They come into the USA, take jobs from legal workers (because they’ll accept less money), and then instead of contributing back to the US economy, they send their money back to their native countries — the bulk of these are from Mexico. I’m not bagging on Mexicans, that’s just the simple truth.

*************************

“U.S. Troops: The sentence about smacking them on the backs of their heads from time to time is disgustingly arrogant formulated. Who do you want to provoke with that? (BTW: To me – and i think many others too – this IS foul language.) Or is it that this just doesn’t come through to your sensibility?”

I don’t want to provoke anybody. That’s just how I feel sometimes. Do you ever get irritated with a sibling or a friend who’s just doing stupid things when you’re trying to help them? When I was a kid, and my brother would pester me, I’d pop him upside the back of the head. So what?

AMERICAN TROOPS ARE TRYING TO HELP THE IRAQUI PEOPLE! I don’t know what George Bush has in mind, but I know that the troops are trying to help. We’re trying to help them, and they’re bombing and shooting us. Does that not sound ungrateful to you? I get tired of hearing about people I know being wounded and killed in stupid miniature battles because they were trying to improve the Iraqui quality of life.

*************************

“All I’d like you to is to not only think it over but to discuss your points with dissenters and come down from your pedestal. Get real! (Philip K. Dick said: “Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”) And it was Rosa Luxemburg who said, that “Freedom is always the freedom of the dissenters too.” ”

I have thought things over. I spent several hours writing what I wrote. I thought hard about the issues involved, and this is where I stand. I hope that my response was a bit more insight. It’s not a matter of “stepping down from my pedestal”, unless you mean that I should stop believing in the things that I do, in which case, no.

Philip K. Dick’s Quote: I absolutely agree.
Rosa Luxemburg: I agree as well. In a world as liberal as this one, I’m often times the dissenter.

Thank you for the challenge, and intelligent discussion.

Richard,

“That said, you miss out on the point about Ryan’s apparrent homophobia, and you maybe overstate his religious beliefs.”

I’m not homophobic. Homophobia is a fear of homosexuals. I have no such fear. I’ve had friends in the past who were gay, and that didn’t bother me. But I am against gay marriages, and other types of related things. Just like sex, marriage is intended to be between a man and a woman. I don’t see what’s so small minded about that. Marriage and sex are (or at least should be) sacred things. They were intended to bee between a man and a woman, and so that’s what I believe. That’s why a penis fits so well inside a vagina… because it was intended that way.

“Your beliefs/views should always be open to change, as you experience more of the world you ‘should’ change them. Not just stick to what was drummed into when you were a kid by your parents and teachers.”

That is exactly what I’ve done. My views have changes tremendously since I was a kid. I don’t just believe whatever my parents and teachers told me. I stopped, thought about it, and decided for myself. As I experienced more, my views adapted to what I believe is best. Not what was easy to believe, or convenient for me, but what I thought was best. I’m open to change, even if I choose to not change.

“P.S. this page seems to have alot of error 500 messages when trying to post.”

I know. Movable Type has been giving me a hard time lately, so I might end up changing my CMS unless I get get this stuff worked out. If you post, only post once. Your comments will be displayed once I rebuild.

Ryan –

I didn’t agree with everything you posted – but that’s no big deal. Differences are what make the world exciting and – hey – this is America; everyone’s allowed an opinion here.

Let’s take a couple of issues, though and talk to some of the people who have commented on them.

• Gun lawsuits. I would no more support a lawsuit against a gun manufacturer than I would support the same tort against the manufacturer of baseball bats or kitchen knives. If you pick up a kitchen knife and fillet your next-door neighbor, it’s not Ginsu’s fault. It was your choice – you are the hand that wields it.

  Lawsuits against Gun manufacturers are a thinly disguised political campaign to eliminate the right all Americans have to keep and bear arms.

• I think a woman should have abortion as an option, but best have a damn good reason to do it after the first trimester. As far as minors having to consult their parents before an abortion is performed – it’s no different than any other medical procedure – parents must give consent. Any doctor of any kind who treats a minor without parental consent is breaking the law – period.

  Prayer in school – you know, some of this is getting ridiculous. Any person of any religion should be able to pray during school. Even organized prayer should be permitted – so long as NEITHER THE SCHOOL NOR ANY OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCY ORGANIZES IT. I think this is the one point most people don’t get.

  Okay – on to some people who need a reality check.

  Mike – so you’re going to remove poor Ryan from your links. Boo hoo. I’m sure that would bust me up inside. If you have a different opinion, express it. If you’re displeased at something said, say so. But the old, “If you don’t change your opinion, I’m going to hold my breath until I turn purple,” tactic doesn’t work past 3rd grade.

  Richard- a difference of opinion is just that. Listening to other points of view is what every thinking person should do. It does not necessarily mean that you should change your opinions and beliefs the instant a new one hits your doorstep. If you go around accusing everyone who disagrees with you of being small-minded and arrogant, you expose yourself as narrow and just as arrogant. Freud once said that (paraphrasing) those things that irritate us about others are most often those things we do ourselves.

  Another thing – American is not a dirty word. You may think it is, but throwing around a generalization like that points out the fact that you’re a bigot. Try that on for size and see how it fits.

  Ryan – I may not agree with everything you’ve said, but you’re out there talking to people brother, and allowing opinions on your blog. Good luck.

  - Keith

Well said Daniel, dispite being German I think you manage to ge the point over clearer than I could.

That said, you miss out on the point about Ryan’s apparrent homophobia, and you maybe overstate his religious beliefs.

And Ryan, although I disagree with many of your views, I still repect you for having them, it’s just that many to me seem silly for an intelliant person to have, and perhaps should think about them alittle more.

Your beliefs/views should always be open to change, as you experience more of the world you ‘should’ change them. Not just stick to what was drummed into when you were a kid by your parents and teachers.

P.S. this page seems to have alot of error 500 messages when trying to post.

Well Ryan, I agree wholeheartedly with almost all that you have said. Although, I think being armed is something which is a basic and natural right. I just wish my friggin liberal government (UK) shared my opinion!