Introduction

I had roughly 350 articles here at one time, some by other authors. I do not like who I was then and I want to start over, but wanted to start clean. This is no longer going to be a multiuser blog, at least for now. I plan to post comments from my own perspective as an American Catholic. Maybe that will include some occasional whining.

I don’t want to post the ugliness that I posted previously. It was ugly, even though some people read things into what I wrote other than what I actually wrote. I could see how it could happen and it’s quite possible that they were reading past what was there and into what I was thinking.

For anyone that I have ever insulted, I humbly apologize and beg your forgiveness. I talked trash and am undeserving of forgiveness, but I ask for it anyway.

I have had a religious conversion that has taken place slowly over the last couple of years, thanks be to Jesus Christ and to all who prayed for me, and have come to realize just how bad this site was.
How did this come about? I have always been interested in the news, politics and social justice. I watched Fox News religiously because I thought I was conservative. I loved politics. I agreed with Rush Limbaugh more often than not. I probably still do, but haven’t watched much news in the last year and I let my subscription to Rush’s website lapse. but… Over time something happened. I couldn’t take the constant negativism anymore and noticed that I was angry all the time, usually because of something I saw on the news. Something I couldn’t change. What’s the point of being angry about that? I don’t know.

Eventually I just turned the television off and everything fell into place. The confusion faded, the anger abated and suddenly I liked doing good things for people and singing in Church. I started to love going to confession. It’s a highly criticized Sacrament of the Catholic Church, but I love it anyway. It’s so spiritually awakening, and humbling, to have to kneel before another person, and God Himself, and admit to every failure. I came to realize that if we all had to bare our souls for the sins we have committed we’d treat each other a lot better.

Do I know how to live a perfect life now? Not really or I wouldn’t keep going back to confession. Here’s what I do know. I know that things become more clear when we look at them with patience and care instead of in 30 second gossiping soundbites. I know that it’s right to call right right and wrong wrong. I know that it’s right to hold leaders accountable. I know that it’s not right that regular people should be at each other’s throats over stupid differences in opinion. Why should someone who supported Bush be angry at someone who supported Kerry, and vice versa? Maybe we could try to understand why someone else thinks the way he does. Why should we watch news programming that engages us with bullying hosts, obnoxious guests and demeaning wars between networks and their viewers? Do you really want to hate your neighbour because of a bumper sticker or because he goes to a certain church or because he voted for a certain candidate? The media wants that. It’s how they sell you their garbage. They’ll tell you about a war on Christianity while selling sex drugs and condoms. Talk about confusion.

That’s their game. I’m out of that.