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The following came from a Facebook and Internet source:

“If you want government based on a religious book, move to Iran. Otherwise, read the Constitution and shut the hell up!” 

Sorry for the invective, but the central idea remains true: the US as a nation is based on the Constitution, not the Bible. Therefore, follow the constitution and leave the Bible out of it. In your personal life, keep the Bible alive and well. Study it. Learn from it. Apply it where you can and will. But it remains outside of our government processes because the Constitution says so. Other nations meld religion and government together. Russia does. So does Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, much of Italy…the list goes on and on. If you feel they have a good thing going, then please go there! Live your life of religious bliss as a form of government. Just not in America. The courts have said so. The Constitution says so. The Supreme Court keeps ruling so. Got the point?

Guess who said this?

Republicans approve of the American farmer, but they are willing to help him go broke. They stand four-square for the American home – but not for housing. They are strong for labor – but they are stronger for restricting labor’s rights. They favor minimum wage – the smaller the minimum wage the better. They endorse educational opportunity for all – but they won’t spend money for teachers or for schools. They think modern medical care and hospitals are fine – for people who can afford them. They consider electrical power a great blessing – but only when the private power companies get their rake-off.  They think American standard of living is a fine thing – so long as it doesn’t spread to all the people. And they admire the government of the United States so much they would like to buy it.”

                                                                                         ~President Harry S. Truman 

I know it’s dated but only in a few terms or turn of phrase. The primary ideas remain true to this day. Not much has changed, has it? Does that tell us something?  

Another quote; how old do you think this is?

From the moment students enter a school, the most important factor in their success is not the color of their skin or the income of their parents; it’s the person standing at the front of the classroom.”

                                                                                                ~President Barack Obama

I know this quote could have been said 60 or 70 years ago. But it was true then as now. And it points out why we have so much work to do in preparing teachers, keeping them accountable, attracting the best and brightest to help the next generation come of age with mature minds and thinking abilities. It is their future and ours at stake. Shouldn’t we be getting this job done right now? Immediately? 

Betty White offered this quote for our wonderment:

“I don’t care who anyone sleeps with. If a couple has been together all that time – and there are gay relationships that are more solid than some heterosexual ones – I think it’s fine if they want to get married. I don’t know how some people can get so anti-something.

…Mind your own business, take care of your affairs, and don’t worry about other people so much.” 

I think Betty is onto something here. Pretty simple. It’s not about you or me. It’s about their life. Leave them alone to live it. Just allow equal protection of law and programs and services, please.

Another quote that has made the rounds of the Internet recently:

The other side has got a different view. Their attitude is you’re on your own. If you’re a kid born in a poor neighborhood in LA, tough luck, you’re on your own. If you’re a senior citizen who, because of bad luck, got laid off, or the company ended up dissolving without your pension being vested, tough luck. You didn’t plan well enough.

That’s not the America I believe in. That’s not the America you believe in.

And obviously yesterday we made some news, but —[his personal announcement to support gay marriage]  — but the truth is it was a logical extension of what America is supposed to be. It grew directly out of this difference in visions: Are we a country that includes everybody and gives everybody a shot and treats everybody fairly, and is that going to make us stronger? Are we welcoming to immigrants? Are we welcoming to people who aren’t like us? Does that make us stronger? I believe it does.

And so that’s what’s at stake.

~President Barack Obama

Deep down I think the American people get this principle. People are people. Let them be. They are not hurting you or your kids. They are not hurting me or my kids. So why do some folks, especially politically motivated ones, take the opposite view. As I said, I think America gets it. I’m sure glad my president gets it too!

That’s all for today, folks. Have a good and productive day. Be positive. Be creative. Be happy. The three go together. Their opposites don’t.

June 5, 2012