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Reverend James Squire

The Thinker

Photo by Brett Jordan


Have you read the new Georgia Voting Law which disenfranchises many members of the Democratic Party, particularly people of color? What were they thinking? Or perhaps not thinking? They need to have Rodin’s sculpture, “The Thinker”, placed in the Georgia Capitol instead of Jim Crow.


I think that it is terrific that so many businesses have made it known that the Georgia Voting Law is really a law of suppression. That has been followed by MLB pulling the All-Star Game from Atlanta. That old Reasonable Person Standard sinks this bill under water quickly. Who would you choose as the most reasonable, 150 captains of industry and a professional sports organization or a bunch of white men signing a voting bill with the backdrop of a large portrait of a Georgia plantation behind them that was notorious for its crimes against slaves?


Speaking of reason, let’s turn to scientific thought and logic which are used in Ethics as well, and put the bill up for ethical evaluation. You cannot offer drink or food to people in line waiting to vote. There is another Latin phrase in Ethics referred to as the Reductio ad Absurdum argument that can start us off. It means obviously to reduce to the absurd. Their reasoning is that it should only be poll workers and not political groups who may influence the voters. I have voted a gazillion times. I have never seen a democrat, republican, or independent try to offer up a bribe to me of food or water. Maybe they think that this is not needed to cope with the long lines due to the suppression. In the words of our esteemed President, “Give me a break!”


There are three types of reasoning in science and Ethics to bring understanding to a matter: Deductive, Inductive, and Abductive. (spoiler alert) The Abductive is going to kill the law quick.


Deductive reasoning starts with a general premise and moves to specific action. For example, all men are going to age. Jim is a man therefore he is going to age. The problem for Governor Kemp is that the original general premise has to be true, and there was no basis or need for change since the investigations into voting fraud proved to find none.


Inductive reasoning moves to broad generalizations that can be made from individual data. We make observations that form a pattern which can lead to an explanation. Often this can lead to the wrong conclusion. For example, Jim is a father. Jim has a nice head of hair. Therefore, all fathers have a nice head of hair. There are too many ingredients in the bill that lead us to believe that it is not about election integrity but voter suppression. A law maker who didn’t think about what he was saying made the statement that “we (Republican) will never win another election if we don’t get this bill passed.” You can’t make this stuff up!


Now we go to the “closer” line of reasoning, our friend and hero, Abductive reasoning. This type of reasoning starts with an incomplete group of observations and proceeds to the most likely explanation based on the best information available. For example, I left a delicious sandwich on a low table and left the room. My lab, Sadie, was in the room when I left. My wife was in the room as well. She had a friend over who was in the room. Most of us, particularly me, would conclude that Sadie was the culprit who ate my sandwich, not my wife or the friend. I could try to accuse my wife or her friend to a group of reasonable people, but I think that they would choose Sadie as the culprit, particularly when she couldn’t get the taste of mustard out of her mouth.


An old adage holds true for this kind of reasoning. If it looks like a duck, sounds like a duck, and walks like a duck, it is probably a duck! The Georgia Voting Bill is a duck!


By all logic, ethical, and scientific thought, we don’t need to see the noses of the Governor and his colleagues to know that they are growing longer with each moment.


Now here is an additional piece of logic.


Trump created the Big Lie about the election. Trump lies. Therefore, his public statement that everyone should boycott the companies and the MLB is the wrong thing to do.


Obama is a model of integrity. His actions speak to that character trait. Obama just tweeted to thank the MLB for standing up for all to have the right to easily vote. Obama is right.


Get that statue of The Thinker into that Georgia Assembly Lobby so they see it as they come and go! We could hope for a different outcome!


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