HYPOCRISY

"I understand that we are a divided country, & I have no problem with the divisions when they impact governance & fundamental rights. I will bring the full weight of my anger against legislators who push for liberalized abortion laws, against women who make false accusations against female jurists & lawyers they do not like, against men who are selective with their misogyny. But that is what I will do at the public level, at the level where dissent is effective, necessary & appropriate. What I will not do is carry this over to my personal interactions with friends (the easy part) & strangers (much harder), because that will require hypocrisy, & there is nothing that I despise & devalue more than hypocrisy."  Column by Christine Flowers in Norfolk Daily News, 12/11

COMMENTS:  I struggle with this in the comments I make & excerpts I post in my blog. I am going to try to stop making sarcastic comments in both my blog & my posts on Facebook. But is my blog "at the public level?" Isn't it my duty to speak out & present arguments for my convictions? What do you think?

OUR RIGHTS

"In totalitarian societies, governments suppress the church & religious worship. That's because dictators believe citizens should worship them as the highest authority & not a Higher Authority, which they view as a threat to their power & position. In the United States, the threat to religious liberty has been under siege for some time. The recent gift to believers from the Supreme Court may be a temporary reprieve from the government's assault on faith & conscience. The narrow 5-4 ruling serves as a warning the threat is not over . . . When government sets itself up as the ultimate authority on all thing, including the right to gather & worship freely, other liberties can quickly be at risk. If the First Amendment is to be challenged, even watered down when it comes to faith & practice, why not impose stricter controls on speech & the press, as is done in totalitarian states? Once the principle is accepted that rights are established by government, it is a very short step for government to take them away."  Column by Cal Thomas in Omaha World Herald, 12/9