USC GOP

I couldn't go to communion on Sunday. I was too irritated, and I don't think someone who is irritated should be going to communion. You see, the sermon given by Fr. Lefty at the Mass I went to (well, they call called it a celebration, but did not indicate what, exactly, they were celebrating) informed me that I was a sinner. Normally, that type of statement is not enough to raise my eyebrows or blood pressure, but since there was a "new sin" being identified, well, things were different.

Fr. Lefty was trying to get the point across that war and violence begins at home when we hurt the ones we love with things we say... like "Fr. Lefty" I suppose. I think it is a bit of a stretch to say that actions like September 11 are the direct or indirect result of me saying something harsh to my wife or children (as wrong as the latter may be). However, I have no problem with his argument that we need to behave better towards the ones we love.

The problem is that he also argued that one of the problems with our "war-like" society can be traced to the games we teach boys to play specifically football and boxing. As I have only coached and made a living at the former, I will refrain from commenting on the latter. Fr. Lefty stated," Oh, sure, football caaaaaaan be fun, but what is it really about? It is about one group of guys beating up on another group of guys while the second group tries to do the same as the first... then we unleash these boys on our girls and society after teaching them to be aggressive and look what we get."

Well, what we get from sermons like this is contempt for the local church. But, fortunately, I can laugh a bit since, like the old Irish joke's punchline, "This is not my parish."

Then there is the loony left and Live-8. I received an e-mail today from good meaning friend of mine to go to some affiliated site and help end world poverty. It's a nice thought, but the leftovers from the 1960's and the brain dead celebrity left is running this show, so no thanks. The real answer to all this leftist nonsense can be found in a column in the Sunday Times of London by Simon Jenkinis entitled With a song in their heart and not much at all in their heads. I couldn't have said it better. One last point: many of the same people who are trying to help sub-Saharan Africa link part of the overall problem to the spread of HIV and AIDS; the problem I have is not the recognition that HIV/AIDS is a serioius issue, it is that the lefties advocate the use of artificial contraception which goes against the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. If you play around on the one.org website, you will see their link and support of UNAIDS which advocates the use of condoms.

As for Independence Day, I caught part of the last hour of the Dennis Prager show while driving. His topic dealt with those of us who put the flag out on days such as this versus the anti-nationalist leftists who disdain such behavior. His claim is that most in education, particularly in the humanities at the college level, fall in the second category. I would generally agree, but I began to think about the exceptions that I know. For the most part, those exceptions are teachers who went to Christian colleges (not Catholic) and continue to be active in church life. This would seem to go along with Praeger's contention that America is great and uniques since was founded on a belief in God, a commonality of culture, and a belief in responsible liberty.

On that note, I think I will go and have a Budweiser Select... a beer made by the last major American owned brewery.

Happy Fourth of July!