Also, here's an interesting analysis of the way Obama tries to trick people into saying things, exposing a debater's strategy and mentality, not a search for truth.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/04/obamas_linguistic_trap.html
The Quaker Vote
As Pennsylvania prepares to vote, the Society of Friends hopes its long-standing antiwar advocacy will have an impact on the election.
Email To A Friend
Please fill in the following information and we'll email this link.
The British colony of Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, a Quaker, in 1681 as a safe haven for the Society of Friends—at the time a persecuted sect. And though Quakers currently number less than 1 percent of the Keystone State's population, they hope to have an impact far beyond their numbers in Tuesday's Democratic primary.
In the years after Penn founded the commonwealth, Quakers dominated local government and politics. "Pennsylvania does have a tradition of listening to Quakers," says Steve Gulick, who has been a Friend for 30 years. "We have been very instrumental in pushing certain causes along."
Key among those causes is opposition to violence and warfare. With opposition to the war in Iraq growing, the society's antiwar advocacy is increasingly in the mainstream—particularly among Democratic primary voters. The faith's strong views on nonviolence are rooted in the "Peace Testimony," one of the Quakers' most important beliefs.
"It is a way of manifesting respect for that of God in all people," says Peter Larson, a teacher at Morristown Friends School. "That respect can't possibly be manifested by any sort of regime or any sort of situation that inflicts violence or force on people."
This pacifist belief has often put the Friends at odds with U.S. foreign policy. "I don't really support all the policies [of the United States]," says Hayward Deniver, who attends Green Street Quaker Meeting in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood. "But I guess that's the dilemma Quakers have had for 300 years."
Traditionally, Quakers have been unified in their social activism but pluralistic in their political preferences. Two Quakers have been elected to the U.S. presidency: Herbert Hoover in 1928 and Richard Nixon 40 years later, both on the GOP ticket. But in 2008 most Pennsylvania Quakers seem to be voting for one of the Democrats.
David La Fontaine, who also attends the Green Street Meeting, volunteered for Barack Obama before the Texas primary, making calls to potential voters. His desire for peace has thus far prevented him from contributing to Obama, however. "I don't really believe in giving Democrats money before the general election," he explains. "I don't want to fund their fighting with each other."
- 1
- 2
- Next Page »









Discuss