What would people think?

A long-haired, brown-skinned, jobless, homeless middle-eastern Jewish man comes into town.

What would people think?

He does not own any personal property beyond the clothes he is wearing.
He is pro-peace, anti-war, anti-death penalty.
He is anti-capitalism, anti-death penalty, anti-public prayer.
He does not claim to be anti-gay or anti-choice.

What would people think?

He spends a lot of time in the company of common criminals, blue-collar workers and those considered too "sick" to be accepted by good folks.
One of his close confidants is a prostitute.

What would people think?

He helps those in need wherever he goes, but never charges a fee for his services.
He tends to the inflicted, but never asks for a co-pay.
He claims the wealthy can not go to Heaven.

What would people think?

This man is Jesus Christ. A peaceful, radical, non-violent revolutionary.
Jesus was the most liberal, socialist character in the history of spirituality or literature.

Something to think about: An estimated 45,000 Americans will die this year for no other reason than they could not afford health care. Good Christians do not deny care to the sick.

Something to think about the next time you feel a need to go protest in favor of the insurance company that refused to cover your spouse or child for a "pre-existing condition."

Something to think about the next time you feel a need to go protest in favor of the insurance company that dropped you when you lost your job.

That's the way I see it.

Who's the real Patriot?

This being my first entry will be rather short. As I develop, my thoughts and opinions will likely become longer and hopefully more thought provoking.

I grew up in the suburbs of NJ near NYC. My parents were both WWII veterans. My dad served in the Pacific, my mom was in the Marines (don't know what they called female service people then, not WACs but similar I guess). Growing up, I was taught to love my country and all in it. I was also taught that real patriotism, like real Christianity (we'll get into that next time), was something that was felt more than displayed. Granted, we flew our flag on holidays, marched in parades, etc., but other than that we never felt a need to "advertise" what we were or what we believed. My siblings and I were raised to believe that actions speak much greater volumes than words, and you didn't have to tell people how much of a patriot you were, if they had hearts and minds, they would just know.

Now to my point:

For several years after 9/11, talkers of the "right," such as Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, Glen Beck and others made a very comfortable living and developed a strong base declaring anyone who would question, insult or disagree with a sitting President, especially during a time of war was unpatriotic and hated America. Now that we have a new President, these individuals have done nothing but attempt to tear down the very fabric of our democracy, charging Mr. Obama and other Democrats with everything short of the Lindbergh kidnapping. Sean, Glen, Rush, Bill; why do you hate America? Mr. Beck & Mr. Limbaugh have called President Obama both a fascist and a socialist in the same sentence. Now, the irony of that, if you pay attention, is that those two philosophies, or "ideals," if you will, could not be farther apart. In order to be both, you would either have to sit perfectly in the middle (which doesn't seem bad when you think about it), or be the most bi-polar individual on the planet. Now, since Michael (Savage) Weiner has declared bipolarism to be a farce, we must assume the former.

My question, then, why don't we all stop listening to the rhetoric for a moment, review facts and try to have honest debate?

I'm Homer Sapien (6), and that's the way I see it.