Posted by
peripheral on Saturday, March 27, 2010 9:24:20 AM
From My Perspective - - -
Passions are an interesting phenomena. Passions are both unpredictable
in terms of how and when they will be revealed, and are usually
uncharacteristic of the one displaying them. A small furor has begun
following the flip-flop of Rep. Bart Stupak and how he was opposed to
the Health Care Reform, and then allowed himself to be bartered into
voting for it. Peggy Noonan, in The Wall Street Journal on March 26th,
included some of the messages – greatly edited – that had been received
by the Stupefied Stupak. She writes: “These are messages left by
individuals who appear to be pro-life activists—that is, people who
have put themselves on the line to support generous and compassionate
treatment of the unborn. “I hope you bleed out your ___, get cancer and
die.” “You will rue the day…I hope you’re haunted the rest of your
living day…We think you’re a devil…The country loathes you.” “You are
one big piece of human ____. There are people across the country who
wish you ill, and all of those thoughts projected on you will
materialize into something that’s not very good for you. Go to hell,
you piece of ____.” These are people whose professed mission it is to
save children. Whatever else these particular individuals are, they are
people whose nerves have been rubbed raw. Responsible leaders on all
levels of American life ought to stop, breathe in, and see the level of
anger and agitation that’s rippling through the country. Both sides
should try to cool it, or something bad is going to happen. In fact I
am struck now by how, when I worry aloud about this and say to a
conservative or a liberal, a Republican or a Democrat, that I fear
something bad is going to happen, no one disagrees. No one says, “Don’t
worry, it’s nothing.” They say—again, left right and center: I’m afraid
of that too.”
With a slight tongue-in-cheek approach, an item written by Renee James
on March 25th and posted on The Daily Caller is entitled: Short-Lived Adventures In Bill-Reading,
she noted: “I am what you might call completely average. By that I mean
I watched the health-care debate come to life, heat up, and start to
cool off. I listened to commentary by “journalists” and talk show hosts
on everything from CNN to MSNBC to Fox; read pieces in The New York
Times and The Wall Street Journal, on The Huffington Post and on The
Daily Caller. Oh, on Facebook, too. This week, I attempted to read the
bill and try to understand it. OpenCongress.org tracked 224,369
previous views of the bill posted on their site. That means 99,775,631
more people voted in the final round of “American Idol” last year than
had read this bill on their site, or .224 percent of “American Idol”
voters…” One of the problems in its being read may be – “The July PDF
contained 1,018 pages. The October document stood at 1,990 pages. The
bill approved by the House in November had 2,070 pages… But I found
some highlights to share: Qualified Health Benefits Plan OFFERING
ENTITY.—The terms ‘‘QHBP offering entity’’ means, with respect to a
health benefits plan that is—(A) a group health plan (as defined,
subject to subsection (d), in section 733(a)(1) of the Employee
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974), the plan sponsor in relation
to such group health plan, except that, in the case of a plan
maintained jointly by 1 or more employers and 1 or more employee
organizations and with respect to which an employer is the primary
source of financing, such term means such employer… Got that?”
Someone needs to begin to display some Biblical and Christian
qualities. There are many reminders in the Bible regarding the display
of Kindness and Gentleness. It is asking a lot to expect this culture
to embrace Christian Principles for Behavior – but – it should be
considered. Consider these words – excerpts from - Ephesians 4:29-32,
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what
is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may
benefit those who listen…Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger,
brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and
compassionate to one another…” Note these same words from The Message
translation: “Watch the way you talk. Let nothing foul or dirty come
out of your mouth. Say only what helps, each word a gift - - Don't take
such a gift for granted. Make a clean break with all cutting,
backbiting, profane talk. Be gentle with one another, sensitive….”
Don’t you let yourself fall into the quagmire of becoming Stupak
Stupefied! You can be one of those who begins a gentler and kinder
dialogue in our nation and culture that is marked too often by rancor
(bitter, rankling resentment or ill will; hatred; malice) and anger.
Consider these things with me!