A Tale of Two Anti-utopias


prisonchaplain
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The liberal idea of an anti-utopia is well-presented in The Handmaid's Tale. Abortions and lesbianism are horrific crimes. Less competent men exercise total control over much smarter women. Religious hypocrisy literally runs the country. Old, barren spinsters take out their repressed spirituality on young, vibrant women. If you want to see such a world you need only tune in to Hulu.

The conservative anti-utopia would be one in which abortions were available on demand--perhaps even funded by the state. Children could go to government or school representatives to obtain said abortions, or simply to seek confidential counseling without parental approval. Gay marriage would be a basic human right, and opponents would be ostracized, if not prosecuted. Young, telegenic, less-competent religious leaders would garner large crowds, much to the chagrin of the more seasoned, devout elders. If you want to see such a world you need only open your eyes.

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4 hours ago, prisonchaplain said:

The liberal idea of an anti-utopia is well-presented in The Handmaid's Tale. Abortions and lesbianism are horrific crimes. Less competent men exercise total control over much smarter women. Religious hypocrisy literally runs the country. Old, barren spinsters take out their repressed spirituality on young, vibrant women. If you want to see such a world you need only tune in to Hulu.

The conservative anti-utopia would be one in which abortions were available on demand--perhaps even funded by the state. Children could go to government or school representatives to obtain said abortions, or simply to seek confidential counseling without parental approval. Gay marriage would be a basic human right, and opponents would be ostracized, if not prosecuted. Young, telegenic, less-competent religious leaders would garner large crowds, much to the chagrin of the more seasoned, devout elders. If you want to see such a world you need only open your eyes.

There are a lot of things that entice my curiosity in this crazy university - unfortunately none of the things you provided are on my list.  But keep at it - most of your stuff has some level of interest for me.  😎

 

The Traveler

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Guest Scott
15 hours ago, prisonchaplain said:

The conservative anti-utopia would be one in which abortions were available on demand--perhaps even funded by the state. Children could go to government or school representatives to obtain said abortions, or simply to seek confidential counseling without parental approval. 

I assume that would make Israel the conservative anti-utopia, with the sole exception of changing "perhaps being funded by the state" to "always funded by the state".

Israel is the only country that I'm aware of that allows anyone, any age, and for any reason to get a state funded abortion with no questions asked, though I suspect there might be other countries that allow similar.

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Abortions and lesbianism are horrific crimes. Less competent men exercise total control over much smarter women. Religious hypocrisy literally runs the country. Old, barren spinsters take out their repressed spirituality on young, vibrant women. 

Saudi Arabia might be a good fit, though they are starting to loosen up a bit in recent times.

Edited by Scott
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13 minutes ago, Scott said:

I assume that would make Israel the conservative anti-utopia, with the sole exception of changing "perhaps being funded by the state" to "always funded by the state"?

Israel is the only country that I'm aware of that allows anyone, any age, and for any reason to get a state funded abortion with no questions asked, though I suspect there might be other countries that allow similar.

Washington State used to...but yeah, I may love Israel, but if they are funding abortions I feel confident that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob does not approve.

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Guest Scott
38 minutes ago, prisonchaplain said:

Washington State used to...but yeah, I may love Israel, but if they are funding abortions I feel confident that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob does not approve.

Washington State may have, but not for any reason with no questions asked.

There is no "if" when it comes to funding abortions in Israel.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israels-abortion-law-now-among-worlds-most-liberal/

I guess after looking it up though, it isn't always with no questions asked; it's "only" 98% of the time, at least according to the article (though it is possible the laws have become even more liberal since the article was written).

Israelis have told me that they can get abortions any time they want.

Jews and Israel have a strange relationship with US conservative Christians.  The vast majority of US Jews very much dislike conservatives (or at least their politics).   Over all they are very anti-Republican. They almost always vote Democrat.  Since 1968, only 25% have voted Republican:

https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jewish-voting-record-in-u-s-presidential-elections

When it comes to Israel, they have the most liberal abortion laws in the world and abortions on demand are 100% free for almost any reason (almost said because after further research, in very rare circumstances they have beeen denied; though this is very rare).   A lot of non-Israelis get abortions there too.

Israel is also one of the most secular and irreligious countries in the world.  It has one of the highest percentages of atheists as well.:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.haaretz.com/amp/israel-china-among-least-religious-nations-1.5350737

That's not to say that there aren't any religious laws there however.  There are because preaching Christianity in Israel is illegal and can carry a hefty prison sentence.

Yet conservative Christians and Republicans simply have nothing but praise for them. You have to admit that it is a strange relationship.

I have to admit that our own church have a strange relationship with them as well, for both the reasons above and for other reasons such as stated by our earlier prophets.   Our early prophets, especially Brigham Young, have said many times that the Jews (and especially ones living in Palestine) were the most wicked people on earth and would be the last or among the last to ever be taught and accept the gospel.  Those were his words, not mine though and more recent prophets have taken a softer approach, especially after WWII.

I can't say that I'm on board with all that Brigham Young said (maybe Vort can chastise me for this-wink), but I do suspect that Israel might be the last nation that we have a temple in and that it will be the final temple built before the second coming. 

Edited by Scott
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Conservative Christian leaders are well aware of much of what you said--the high % of atheism amongst Jewish people (59% in the U.S., compared to roughly 3% for the general population...mostly because of the holocaust)--the overall liberal politics of the American Jewish community, the socialism of Israel, and the virulent anti-missionary stance (one rabbi told me that Christian evangelism of Jews is spiritual genocide). We love Israel because God commanded us to, and we believe that there remains a special place for them in the end times. Many predict a revival or mass conversion of many Jews towards the end. I even saw one speculative author portray the 144,000 mentioned in Revelation as Jewish converts commissioned to evangelize in the end times. It's worth noting though that some of the more religious, Orthodox Jews (including another rabbi I knew) consider conservative Christians to be their best friends in America. We share morality and love Israel. So, while strange, the relationship can be explained. Would that most of our marriages were like that. :itwasntme:

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