Upon mature reflection...

I was writing to a friend, just yesterday, a person who does not "appreciate the finer points" of Christian theology. In fact, he has no use for "the faith," at all.
His arguments, so nearly as I can tell, are aimed at the wicked men  who betray the Church hypocritically, all the while saying something which leads to the oppression of others, be it, women or gays, or marriage, most recently and prominently.
These "ministers," when caught out, come over all tears and declaim in stentorian tones their repentance, their "new-found" faith, that they're entering into counselling!
It is ALL rubbish, of course, and candidly speaking, I detest that sort of hypocritical behavior and preaching. Such double-standard carryings-on only serve to denigrate the Church in the eyes of those who do not know Her well, and shake the foundations of strong faith of those who remain loyal.
If people actually knew the radical story of the Gospels, many of them would turn tail. The history of Jesus and the Gospels is: Jesus tips over "sacred white elephants."
Generally speaking, the "man in the street" is not comfortable with a religious or philosophical leader who is wildly unorthodox, and even brawlish, at times.
That doesn't mean we ought to remain pacific rather than becoming emphatic and enthusiastic about certain critical topics. That which affects the "body politic" is, by its very nature, of critical importance - it touches each of us to one degree or another.
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Anger in Political Discourse

I was "chastised" for the tone of my email regarding a TV personality. OK, If I have the right to my opinion, that holds true for any other person as well.

However, while I agree with the writer, in theory, I shall just point out: being polite has not seemed to "win the day" in our political discourse, at least in recent memory. Civil rights are still being denied citizens - blacks, gays, Latinos - and all due to ignorance. We need to be angry - AND LOUD - about this.

Back in the 1860's, and even earlier, the discussion over whether human beings could own and abuse other human beings (slavery) was so hotly contested an issue, we had a very nasty war, AND an assassination, to resolve it. Sadly, those differences of opinion, and the racism engendered by such ignorance, are still present. The Civil War and the assassination of Mr. Lincoln were not good things, in retrospect, but there you are.

People felt very strongly about the issue of slavery. A mere century later, in the 1960's, the arguments over granting civil rights to ALL citizens sparked many a vehement argument. The desegregation of schools was even nastier - and more deadly - than the desegregation of the military, earlier.

In the late 1700's, matters between King George III and the colonists in this land, escalated to such a pitch, that - yes! - it took a war to settle THOSE differences.

Europe was forced into a bloody war because of the vile racist policies and ambitions of Hitler.

So, I posit that "sweetness and light" don't do squat in political discourse.

The opponents in a political discussion need to understand WE ARE ANGRY and demand that the status quo be changed...by violence if need be.

One could hope for a more civilized response...something Gandhian, perhaps, but an "animated" and vociferous exchange has worked in the past and will probably prove efficacious in the near future.

I do believe that "calling a spade, a spade" is, in fact, useful.

She, the "pundit" in question, needs to know I have utter contempt, not for her as a person, but for the benighted notions and opinions she holds and blathers on about. They are useless responses to the VERY pressing problems facing this Republic. I do not see that we have time to shilly-shally in a "political minuet."

Political "pundits," as a whole, should either try to help or get out of the way! They are as much the over-paid problem as our elected representatives: stirring up the crowd...and to what end?

This flap over spying

"RIP OFF THE CLOAK OF INDIFFERENCE...AND CHOOSE BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE."
These words were amongst the last spoken to an indifferent society, prior to the arrests, trials and martyrdoms, of the young (mostly) Catholic anti-Nazi activists of the White Rose.
Much of what Hitler and his stooges accomplished was through domestic terrorism, designed to squelch any protest or free thought.
So, too, is the present US administration's war on whistle-blowers and other protesters having just that same intended, chilling effect.
The cruel pre-trial imprisonment (18 months was it?) and subsequent mistreatment of Bradley Manning is unspeakable and breaches his Constitutional rights, even if he is in the military; the preposterous carryings-on over Edward Snowden, members of Congress calling for his head as a traitor...what rubbish. Does this administration NOT care that Edward Snowden has exposed a patently unConstitutional domestic spying ring? And to what end?
This president, the purported Constitutional law expert, who so loudly proclaimed that "sunlight is the best disinfectant," that his would be the most transparent administration yet, has proved, once again, unequal to the cause he so brazenly espoused. Well, unequal or unwilling...
He might have been wiser to have kept his mouth shut, if what he was going to do was, in fact, further a neo-fascist government.
I cannot sit idly by, as the government of this Republic so shamelessly adopts Nazi and Stalinist tactics, in the "name of national security."
BOSH!
One could ALMOST excuse the Bush #43 administration for their breaches of the Constitution. They really never made any pretence of following the law, anyway.
Cheney is a man bent on corruption and skullduggery; poor Alberto Gonzales is as much a moron as the man he served as president; John Ashcroft almost had a conscience.
John Yoo, on the other hand, is a veritable Josef Goebbels. Thanks to his twisted legal arguments, torture, which had been anathema in this Republic since the time of the Revolution, suddenly became acceptable in this country - in defiance of ALL international treaties and laws the Congress agreed to.
AND THE VOICES THAT CRIED OUT WERE IGNORED. We cried to Heaven and went unheeded.
The Bush administration began a war on protesters which this president, Barack Obama, has only stepped up. "Power corrupts...etc"
Through his pliable Justice Department, headed by Eric Holder, the cry of "national security" is being used to silence protesters in a subtle but very effective campaign of domestic terrorism.
And he wants to put Ray Kelly, THAT fascist pig as head of the DHS...God, that's a disaster just brewing, if you ask me.
The superficial changes Obama has instituted are, in fact, only band-aids. His race to a new Nazism is running rampant. The corporate power being wielded in Washington, DC and in state legislatures across the land, is wiping out our Constitutional rights and the voice of the people, little by little.
Our voting rights are being stripped, and what does the Jsutice Dept. do? NOTHING.
Our right to know what our government, our ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES, are enacting in OUR names, is being glossed over and hidden away. We only find out about things ex post facto.
That, I think, is not what our Founders had in mind when they ratified the Constitution, indeed, when they fought the British monarchy.
The Founders were already sick of the secrecy and under-hand way in which laws were passed and then foisted on them. They were determined that such secret maneuverings were not going to be part of the operations of THIS new government.
Well, it did not take too long before such narrow and bigotted laws were passed.
Sadly, "the apple does not fall too far from the tree."
And now, here we are, again, having to cope with that insufferable, and, to my mind, unConstitutional, Patriot Act.
Suddenly, the Federal Government may, with little provocation or just cause, undertake a program of domestic terrorism which would have a decidedly chilling effect on protest and those who, finding malfeasance and high crimes in government offices, report same, will discover they are hunted like criminals...and ALL in the name of national security. What a farce!
While I am not certain how I shall go about this, I shall try to resurrect the White Rose and try to restore our Republic's good name and integrity, which our Congress and President have taken in vain.  
So, what have we got? A government which is engaged in patently evident instances of domestic terrorism; manifold foreign wars, at untold cost in lives and treasure; unchallenged voter suppression across broad swathes of the Republic; a government handed over, lock, stock and barrel, to corporate interests, without regard to the needs of the people.
This is a government which, according to Jefferson's inspired Declaration of Independence, deserves to be brought down and changed to suit the needs of ALL people, not simply the banks or corporate CEOs. If the rich don't like it...oh well!