These quotations are too sad and true. I’ve been raised to have faith in the U.S., though, and that the pendulum will swing back around to sanity eventually. What makes me really sad and scared is that the Republicans today aren’t conservatives at all. It’s gone beyond that, to fascism.
I love the way you describe the way your mind works. I was discussing such things with a friend of mine last night. About religion – hmm, I was raised Catholic and love some of the tradition, but I’ve rejected the religion, and all religions, really, as limiting and incomplete. I know that it’s tough for religious people to think of other people’s practices and beliefs as anything other than religion. They just can’t imagine how people can think differently from the way they do, with a system of a deity or checks and balances or an economic morality or *something.* But, obviously, some people do think differently. It *is* all semantics, after all. If only there were a way to communicate with people through a medium other than language. I think you know that we do. The way I explain my communication with others in language is by calling it energy or thought or even using my favorite quantum and string theory metaphors. It’s a beautiful concept that most people can somewhat grasp with a little effort, even if they can’t hope to begin to express it in words. *This* is why I was an English major – in hopes of mastering the tools people use to express themselves. I’m fascinated by the world of the mind and the world of the soul – and their intersection. Psychology, philosophy, and the sciences (of which the first two are arguably a part) are the reason for the words – until it is accepted that we can do better.
Sorry for the rambling (not really, but I hate to hog your space and potentially bore you or not make sense). Much peace to you! Thanks for the food for thought.