Monday, October 15, 2012

The Duggars Are Displaying Both Ignorance and Immorality by Campaigning for Todd Akin

The Duggars are actively campaigning for Todd Akin in his bid to continue to represent his district in the U.S. House of Representatives. This is the same Todd Akin who stated that women rarely become pregnant through rape because the female body has ways of dealing with such indignities and can shut down ovulation or employ other measures to protect itself, thereby negating the need for any discussion concerning a woman's right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy that occurred as a result of rape. Since, in the words of Akin, the possibility of conception as a result of forced intercourse falls somewhere between highly unlikely and virtually impossible,  any discussion of   need to end a pregnancy that occurred as a result of rape is supererogatory.

This is the person the Duggars are publicly supporting.  if anyone thinks JimBob's and Michelle's brand of ultra-conservative religious fanaticism is harmless, he or she might wish to think again.  A person who even completed lower division high school science requirements should be too knowledgeable to offer such an ignorant assertion.  Even the staunchest of pro-lifers can, for the most part, recognize the ludicrosity of Akin's bizarre claims.

On the other hand, the Duggars have a devoted following. Some of the Duggars' fans will still recognize stupidity for what it is, and will, despite their fondness for the Duggars, vote according to their senses of logic and of right and wrong. Others, however, while they're not in overabundant possession of IQ points, might have avoided making dangerous choices in voting, but will be swayed by the Duggars' support of Todd Akin.

Segments of our population show stupidity when it comes to allowing themselves to be unduly influenced by the opinions of celebrities. This is true with regard both to liberal and conservative points of view. If a person wishes to buy clothing based on what bands or styles a celebrity wears because he or she admires the celebrity's sense of style,  that is rational behavior. Likewise, if a person chooses to use a particular toothpaste because a celebrity who happens to have nice teeth endorses the product, there is some logic to that course of action, although anyone who believes that the celebrity has beautiful teeth because of his or her toothpaste, and not because of the costly cosmetic dental procedures, he or she is, in my opinion, naive, but there would at least be a cause/effect relationship on which the person's reasoning was based.

On the other hand, celebrities are fond of injecting themselves into our nation's election process by endorsing candidates. While celebrities' first amendment rights, like anyone else's. allow them to express themselves politically or in virtually any other regard, people who are influenced by the political opinions of entertainers, athletes, or other celebrities positively scare me. why would anyone care, except as a matter of curiosity, who George Clooney or Ted Nugent  endorses in a political campaign? Why do we as Americans give celebrities credibility and a prominent platform for expressing their political views? Does anyone honestly believe celebrities have more knowledge than do average citizens in regard to which candidate is best suited to fill a public office? I can understand not watching an entertainer's television appearances, not going to see his or her movies, or not purchasing a musician's recordings if one is put off by the entertainer's brand of politics.  I'm not necessarily recommending this course of action, as I personally prefer to keep politics and entertainment separate and distinct, yet I could understand someone else making a choice to boycott an entertainer because of his or her political actions. The reverse, on the other hand,  makes no sense whatsoever. Why would anyone allow his or her vote to be influenced by how celebrities, who have no more and no less political knowledge than do the rest of us? It's unfathomable.

The Duggars are offering their time and fan base in support of a candidate whose knowledge of biology wouldn't get him as far as tenth grade. Some of Missouri's voters will undoubtedly be swayed by the Duggars' support of Akins and will vote accordingly. While I'm glad I don't live in Missouri, this gives me limited consolation. A member of the U.S. House of Representatives, can effect legislation that affects the nation as a whole/  People of Missouri, please use your brains when casting your ballots.

P.S. Todd Akin's parents are first cousins, once removed.

10 comments:

  1. Ick. I quit watching the Duggars some time ago because they've gotten pretty boring. I heard about their support of Akin on Television Without Pity. I can't say I'm surprised that they are supporting Akin, but I do think it's disgusting... And frankly, I think it's scary to have guys like him in the government. Glad I don't live in the Midwest, though after the coming election, I may wish I didn't live anywhere in America.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is absolutely terrible, I'm so disappointed in them.

    ReplyDelete
  3. That's the thing about politics. People go all or nothing. People act like they're sports teams, or something. There is no one on the face of this planet that will agree with absolutely everything one politician has to say. In the case of the Duggars, they don't care how the pregnancy occurred; they don't care about the lack of education behind a statement that Akin made. All they care about is that he is Pro-Life. That's probably the #1 issue they vote on.
    Wasn't Jim Bob some kind of political figure before the tv show? I think I remember hearing that at some point, though I'm not sure if it's true.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh, and speaking of TLC reality show stars, I think I remember you asking me about the Gosselins, because we do live in a relatively close proximity to each other, though I've never seen them personally. However, my mom's friend's niece is the woman dating Jon Gosselin. Ironically enough, my mom's friend was at a wedding, and her niece introduced her to her new "boyfriend" and there was Jon Gosselin. The kids were not at the wedding though they were at the reception. This is news as of a couple weeks ago.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Becca, I believe JimBob was in the Missouri state legislature. I think he was a state senator.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Becca, that's very interesting about your Mom's friend's niece dating John Gosselin. He went through a rough patch for awhile, but seems to have come out of it. Most people seemed to think he was by far the lesser of the evils when comparing the two Gosselin parents. I know if I had to pick one f them to be my parents, I certainly would have chosen Jon.

    He was quite young when he and Kate married. then, He wanted to stop at two children, not that he doesn't love the other ones. I think he saw it all for the madness that it was. I hope life treats him kindly.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Greetings! I've been reading your website for a long
    time now and finally got the courage to go ahead and give you a shout
    out from Austin Tx! Just wanted to tell you keep up the
    excellent work!|

    Look at my web blog - program do pit 2013

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you. I must check out your website soon. I have a piano lesson at 7:00 a.m., so tomorrow would be a better day.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Howdy would you mind letting me know which web host you're utilizing?
    I've loaded your blog in 3 completely different browsers and I must
    say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you suggest a good internet hosting provider at a reasonable price?
    Many thanks, I appreciate it!|

    Also visit my page; program pit 2013

    ReplyDelete
  10. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete