no time to write

but i'd like to point to ray's recent post. very good. I'm likewise attempting to skim (don't have time to read) Jim Wallis' book. It's pretty thought provoking so far, but then I'm a liberal-commie-pinko-hippy-sympathizer-student living off of a stipend from a Catholic university in the only blue town in a red state, so what do I know.... I did want to point out, for what it's worth, that America's conservativism is a liberal conservativism. The liberal ideal of the 1700-1800s that our country was founded on emphasizes individualism and pursuit of one's own happiness and security over the values of religion, community, the family, etc. Cutting taxes, privatizing social security, giving vouchers to kids in public schools, etc., allowing for further financial security for some and more tenuous financial standing for others is a liberal ideal all the way. Likewise, allowing or promoting abortion, gay marriage, and relaxing of divorce law, etc., falls in line with a liberal ideal. Neither of the parties we have in the U.S. support truly conservative agendas, if by conservative, you mean focused on the building up of community over individuality, savings over spending, caring for the poorest in society over caring for those who "deserve it", and emphasizing religious values like selflessness and generosity over indulgence and possessiveness. But isn't this just semantics, you ask? I don't think so. This is an example of selfishness and personal interest on both sides. One wants certain personal rights/"freedoms" to be protected, such as the right to kill a baby in utero; the other wants certain personal rights/"freedoms" to be protected, such as the right to carry concealed life-threatening weapons. Both are too willing to deal death to protect "rights." Huge, gross generalizations here, but I think it's safe to say no political party has Christianity as defined by the Bible and the Church throughout the ages in mind in any comprehensive way when forging policy. If you think they do--or if you think one "born-again" man, no matter how powerful, will fundamentally change the country at its root for good or God--you're fooling yourself.