Antigone

Though I have been unable to access Dr. Peikoff's statement concerning his endorsement of Kerry, I, an Objectivist for 12 years, have been leaning towards Kerry myself. This will be the first time I have ever voted for a Democrat in my life. I assume that, like me, Peikoff's reasons for endorsing Kerry are based upon essentials rather than derivatives. An individual can easily err in matters of derivatives, but if his core essentials are correct (or closer to correct than an opponent's), he may at least be reasoned with and gradually persuaded to see the truth. As a fundamentalist Christian, and an intransigent one, George Bush's epistemology is "faith" as opposed to reason. His ethic, (at least the one touted in his campaign ads) is "sacrifice". Kerry at least purports to be an intellectual. He attempts to reason (though faultily) his arguments through. He can at least be expected to consult actual human beings before making important decisions, as opposed to Pres. Bush who consults "God", his bible and his guardian angel for guidance. Mr. Kerry also supports separation of church and state, and in safeguarding the free exchange of ideas. He claims (at least for now) to regret his support for the awful, police-statelike "Patriot Act", which George Bush's coalition put together and rammed through Congress. (Patriot Act II is even worse, coming through Congress in Jan 2005 if Bush is re-elected.) I admit, I'm worried about Kerry's backing of socialized medicine, but I'm also wondering why George Bush blocked me from being able to purchase my prescription drugs from Canada where they're much cheaper. (Where's NAFTA when you need it?) I despise Communism and Socialism, but George Bush's religion-based Fascism looks a lot more imminent from where I'm sitting. Having travelled to 39 states and having lived in 7 of them within the past 14 years, I have personally observed a groundswell of Christian fundamentalism in this nation. The most frightening thing about this movement is, of course, its anti-intellectualism. (The 60 year long "dumbing down" of our nation's youth in our Dewey-based school system is surely the culprit behind this rampant idiocy.) Equally alarming is the fact that most Christian fundamentalists crazily view their "Dominion Theology" as pro-freedom. But then they define "freedom" very differently from Objectivists. The present Christian fundamentalist movement in our country is highly politicized, and is therefore dangerous to lovers of intellectual and personal freedom. George Bush is merely representative of the anti-reason puscht. And you may wish to note the frequent public references to biblically-based "stewardship" of property rather than "ownership", in case you still believe the current Republican Party and its Christian Coalition supports classical, laissez-faire Capitalism and property rights. It's not that Kerry is wonderful, or his pro-active, leftist policies defensible. It's just that he's not nearly as profoundly dangerous as Bush from this Objectivist's perspective.