urb0123

I think you are right, we were supposed to be a republic. What we are and what we are supposed to be can be debated for eternity, as can whether we are capitalist or socialist. I believe are a mix of a republic and a democracy, in the same way we are a mix of socialist and capitalist. We use representatives, which makes us a republic. We control those representatives through elections, which makes us a democracy.

LOL! Yes, that is the other perspective. I view it this way. Part of religion is a set of moral beliefs. Laws are based on the morals of the majority. Does it lead to oppression of minorities sometimes? Yes it does. The morals of the majority of the USA have oppressed the LDS church at least once to my knowledge, and many other groups as well. There are other options to the system we have. The oligarchy of the court system is one way. It isn't much different from a monarchy. The few tell the many what to do. This is supposed to be a democracy though. We could do away with laws that are subjective morally. By that I mean we make sure the laws don't restrict anyone's actions. But where does that end? There are those who believe they should be allowed to have sex with children eight and up. If they both consent(the child and the pedophile) who does that hurt? You can argue that children don't understand all the consequences of their actions and therefore can't give a reasoned consent. However I can argue that people having sex outside of marriage aren't taking into account all the consequences of their actions. (Tax money required to support single moms, abortion, STDs). Who gets to decide what is right and wrong in those two situations? The only fair way is by the voice of the majority. Don't let anyone tell you you can't vote for your morals/religious belief. You can and you should.

I didn't vote for proposition 8 since I don't live in CA. I would have voted for it if I had lived in CA because I would want to protect my rights, not because I was angry about homosexuality. I think we have a duty to vote our conscience though. If we believe fornication is wrong, we should support laws against it. If we believe divorce is wrong, we should support laws against it. Imagine what society would be like in forty years or so if those laws were passed today? People wouldn't be having sex outside of marriage (as often). The spread of AIDS might decline as well as many other STDs. The number of unwed mothers might drop reducing the welfare burden on the rest of us. Of course, other things could happen, I'm no prophet. I would say be very suspicious of people who cry against "pushing your religion on me". I think what they are really saying is "Don't tell me what I can and can't do!"

To answer the question directly, yes. Supporting those who support evil causes is something we will have to answer for. Though terryk is right, it is often more complicated than that. I think being forced to support social programs through taxes is not what was intended as "charity". I also believe that the vast majority of the social programs out there are only creating more problems. If the tax funded social programs only supported those who were truly disabled and in need, I would support them. But I have seen FAR too many lazy people abusing the system and leeching off of the rest of us. "Glut themselves on the labors of others." And I agree with a-train, I voted Republican not because I think they are the good guys, but because I believe they are simply the least evil. I was lured by the Constitution party, but I threw my vote away on Ross Perot years ago and realized I helped get the candidate I disagreed with most elected.

I've given that some thought in the past. I used to play video games, but I gave them up under the direction of the spirit, and it has been great since I did. I didn't realize that they were the number one priority in my life at the time. I've never played some of the more questionable games though. To answer your question, I do think the violence has a negative affect on people and it drives away the spirit. I can't imagine that killing an innocent bystander in a video game that is just a generated character could be considered nearly as bad as killing an innocent in real life, but anything that drives away the spirit is a sin. I also believe that killing an innocent in a MMORPG is similar to stealing because you are stealing a real person's time.