Why I am not a Republican

Gay rights. At its best, the Republican Party is the better champion for individual rights. I am not just an non-believer in group rights; I oppose it as a serious attack on liberty and dignity and the root cause of ethnic, racial, and sexual divide. The party then should be a natural home for rugged individualism and the non-conformist spirit. It is after all, the party of the abolition of slavery and women's suffrage. But at its worst, the Republican Party can also be blinded by religious superstitions and overweening confidence in God and the self.

I have tremendous respect for people of faith. They do invaluable and often dangerous work for charity and social justice that is rarely, if ever, matched by secular commitment. And I have a deep appreciation in knowing that most of our cherished secular human rights began as spiritual insights into the dignity of the soul at a time in political history when the physical body itself was held with very little value. But the religious, which forms the base of the party, can be a scary bunch of close-minded, judgmental, bigoted zealots when animated by the false spirit of god. That sounds like a caricature. It often is until you actually have a talk with a fanatic. Just as spiritual insights often leads to the elevation of human life, it is also often the greatest obstacle to the dignity of homosexuals and other moral outcasts.