Thanks, Jay!
Am I blatantly political? Nope! But I'm a conservative individual with six decades under my belt who believes that our universe is not happenstance. I believe, along with our founding fathers, that no one religion should be the "State Religion" to the exclusion of others. But that's what's happening today. My definition of religion includes such faiths as Atheism, Secularism, and Materialism. Many of their adherents are among the most intolerant people I know, working to strike God and references to God from the public sphere.
Ben Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and other of the founding fathers held strong opinions about the necessity of strength. Individual strength. Military strength. They believed in the existence of a Creator.
EDIT: Let me be clear. Our founding fathers certainly believed that true religion had a vital place in our government. Look at their actions. Read their writings. They believed in an eternal Creator, they believed in public prayer to God on behalf of themselves and their constituents. For more on this, please check out this post by Elizabeth Nieves, and another by Missy Caulk.
Those beliefs attract ridicule from segments of modern society. That's foolishness. It's closeminded and arrogant to argue by ridicule, whether you're a graduate of Yale, Harvard, or the school of hard knocks.
Engagement trumps argument. I prefer to talk with, and listen to people (like the young lady on the armored vehicle) who have chosen a course of action in their lives, and can articulate why they chose that course.
Her name is Dani, and she's my niece. Dani's a blogger. I couldn't be more proud of this young lady. She's smart. She's tough. She's becoming an accomplished linguist. And at the moment, she's in Iraq, a volunteer soldier in the US Army.
"I joined the Army knowing we were involved in a war. I didn't join for the money or the recognition. I want to serve my country in any way I can no matter what country I may end up in. I love what I do and though at times it gets a bit rough being away from home I can't imagine doing anything else. I am surrounded by a great group of soldiers and I'm glad that I have them, my brothers and sisters, by my side as we take Iraq by storm to hopefully be able to restore some peace to the people there that have suffered so greatly at the hands of a merciless leader and heartless terrorists. We will do our job and do it well and we'll be home before you know it. Until then keep us in your prayers.
I appreciate Jay's invitation to join this group. Don't look for anything from me but considered opinion. If you comment here, don't let your tongue get in front of your eye teeth. (You can't see what you're saying.) LOL
I'm Mike in Tucson, your preferred Tucson, Arizona mortgage lender.
Think of me as your local expert.
