Hiding Behind Federalism

I’ve been hearing a lot of debate recently over the role Federalism plays in the abortion issue.  Many conservatives seem to think that the Federalists would be appalled by our attempts outlaw gay marriage and abortion on the federal level.  I find myself hesitantly agreeing with the first claim—I’m still waiting on a convincing argument why D.C. should get involved with marriage despite my stated objections to same-sex unions—but completely baffled by the second. 

There has been a pronounced paradigm shift between the Federalists of the 18^th Century and the Federalists of today.  The former sought an energetic federal government with several hedges—divided power, popular sovereignty, and frequent elections, to name a few—to prevent tyranny.  The latter seem to think the Federal government should be a largely-impotent caretaker of the system they have been given, and that all issues which directly affect the people should be dealt with by the states and the states alone.  (Ironically, I’d say that the Federalists of now more closely resemble the Anti-Federalists of then.)  The battle over abortion presents a clear example of where modern Federalisms departs from Constitutional Federalism. 

What’s So Great About Christianity, Anyways?

    

Two weeks ago, The King’s College hosted a debate between Dinesh D’Souza and Christopher Hitchens over the question, “Is Christianity the Problem?”  D’Souza, a former policy advisor to President Reagan and author of eleven books including his current New York Times bestseller What’s So Great About Christianity?, argued that, no, most if not all of the problems in our world and the atrocities throughout history, even if not explicitly carried out under the banner of atheism, have been the result of denying the existence of a god.  Hitchens, a prolific author and regular contributor to Slate Magazine, Vanity Fair, and Atlantic Monthly, defended the premise of his own recent NYT bestseller God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything.  It would be almost as difficult to wrap up each polemics’ points and counter-points in a single blog post as it would be to completely defend or refute theism in a two-hour debate.  If you weren’t present, you can check out the debate in its entirety on the King’s website.  You can also catch D’Souza’s apperences, along with clips of the debate, on Fox & Friends and Hanity & Colmes.  There is one aspect of the debate, however, I will try to address.