Where's my flying car?

[labellementeuse]

Here's what I think about the inauguration: You know all those movies, usually vaguely crappy sci-fi/natural disaster movies, set somewhere in the indeterminate future? Like Independence Day and Deep Impact and stuff. Well, sixth_light and I realised some time ago (because we watched a lot of aforementioned vaguely crappy SF movies) that the President was always black. It's like it was a rule: In The Indeterminate Future, the President will be African-American. Putting This In Our Movie Makes Us Seem Liberal, Right?

So anyway. Welcome to the future, y'all.

Comments

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

However much we may come forward, however, no atheist is going to get elected in this lifetime.

This is funny because in New Zealand, politicians have been known to bend over backwards to *avoid* acknowledging religious faith, particularly politicians in majority parties - there is room for politicians in smaller parties to be overtly devout, but not so much for prime ministers. I certainly find your description of the attitudes towards atheists to be shocking, and very unlike attitudes here (except those held by, again, the very devout.)

For a similar reason your remarks about women leaders having to be attractive is amusing, because our first elected woman PM was... well, I love her to pieces but she's not the most attractive woman out there - a fact which did indeed get dragged through the muck. A lot. Calling her a dyke in casual conversation (despite the fact that she was married to a man, although childless) was not uncommon and referencing the fact that her voice was rather mannish was extremely common, even to be expressed in formal media.

[amarynth.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure things are quite as clear cut as you say. We've had some pretty devout Prime Ministers. Jim Bolger didn't talk a lot about his Catholicism, but it was obviously a pretty strong part of his identity. David Lange was much the same (although obviously not a Catholic). In fact I think Helen Clark would be our first avowedly atheist Prime Minister, although I could be wrong (I'm not sure where Geoffrey Palmer or Mike Moore stood on the subject)

But yes, I agree overall that generally people are accepting of atheist politicians. Even people who saw it as acceptable to attack Helen Clark for her (percieved) lesbianism didn't bother with her atheism.

[labellementeuse.livejournal.com]

Jim Bolger didn't talk a lot about his Catholicism

I think there's the rub, for me. I do not think we would be extremely tolerant of someone who spoke as often or as passionately about his religion and faith as Obama has. YMMV, of course.

[amarynth.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's probably true.

I think the consensus could be inelegantly summed up as "It's OK if you are religious and even if your religion informs your political views, but we are more interested in the views themselves than the way you formulate them"

Of course for somebody whose religion was outside those that are widespread, that might not hold true. For instance, a satanist.