Protestants shouldn’t vote in today’s presidential election. Neither should Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, nor any other religion that believes that taking a life is wrong.

This is an assault on a bunch of stupid bumper stickers and an idiotic campaign. Currently, there are advertisements that state “You can’t be Christian and pro-choice.” Clearly, this is an assault on Sen. John Kerry and the Democratic Party, both of whom happen to be pro-choice. I’ll accept the argument that abortion is killing a life, for argument’s sake. Now, if we accept that abortion is killing a life, then clearly executing an already-breathing adult is taking a life. Last time I checked, President Bush oversaw more than 100 state executions while he was governor of Texas, not to mention thousands of Iraqis while in office. Certainly, these acts violate the Sixth Commandment, which the Republican Party and the Christian right-wing coalition hold so dearly.

So why don’t we see bumper stickers that say you can’t be pro-death penalty and Christian? Is it possible that these zealots are hypocrites? Perish the thought. It’s obvious to me that anybody who holds The Ten Commandments near and dear to their hearts – like these people do – should not vote in this election. I can’t imagine how they could. They must be horribly torn between the right-wing Protestant who preaches compassion, yet flips the switch on ol’ Sparky while ordering the bombing of another country, and the left-wing Catholic who doesn’t mind seeing truckloads of dead fetuses being dumped into a ditch as long as there is a nice, environmentally safe park built on top. Unless that’s not the popular choice – then he or she might change his mind.

Dan Levin

Senior in FAA