One gentleman called to share his belief that, since the founders were all Christians (I believe most of our founders would not choose to hang out in a Southern Baptist church, but I digress) what they meant when designing the First Amendment was to give people in our country the freedom to be any type of Christian that they so desired.  Lutheran? Methodist?  Baptist?  Catholic?  It’s all good!  Jehovah’s Witness?  Mormon?  Ummm . . . we’ll get back to you.  Jew?  Muslim?  Buddhist?  Atheist?  No, thank you.  Your kind will not be tolerated here.

I realize (or at least hope) that this caller’s narrow view of freedom of religion in our country is one that is held by a very small percentage of our population.  But, it still makes me sad that anyone could be so narrow-minded and, well, wrong.

Another caller had what he thought was going to be a great “gotcha” question.  He asked, “So, do you think we should allow the Nazi religion to meet here?”  Ah, yes . . . the Nazi religion.  I assume he is referring to the Nazi Party, and the answer is “yes.”  People are allowed to think whatever twisted and hateful things they want, and even talk about them out loud and in public!  Until a law is broken, people can preach about, and listen to, anything they want.

I really liked the guy who called up and said, “What God do you think the Founders were referring to when they put ‘In God We Trust’ on all of our money? It was Yahweh, that’s who!  Not Allah!”

Here’s a better question for the caller — If there was a Founding Father who was still alive in 1864 when “In God We Trust” first appeared on our coins (and then quickly disappeared from our coins for 70 years) or, better yet, when the phrase became our national motto in 1956, what was he eating and what kind of exercise regime did he maintain to allow for such a long life?  I’m guessing Pilates was involved.  You know that Benjamin Franklin loved to work his core!

Freedom of religion was not written with an asterisk.  In the United States of America, you are free to worship in any way that you please or not worship at all.  And, with my freedom of religion I choose to say . . . God bless us, every one!!  (h/t — the crippled boy from A Christmas Carol)

Well, yes, he does speak for you.  We might not like what he says, but he speaks for all of us.  That’s the way our country works.  He is our president.  He won fair and square.  He earned the right to his seat in the Oval Office nearly two years ago by a substantial margin of victory.  More Americans wanted him there than did not (or, should I say, more states offered him their electoral votes than did not), so there he sits. I don’t like most of President Obama’s policies, and I certainly did not vote for him, but he is my president.

I wonder how many people who are now complaining about Obama not “listening to the voters” used to mock President Clinton for not being able to decide on how to cook his eggs for breakfast without first taking a poll.

The president and our other elected officials do not have to ask us every time they need to make a decision.  That’s why we have elections and a representative government. (After all, we are a “republic” and not a “democracy,” right?  I know that Glenn Beck fans in particular are proud of themselves when they try to pull that “gotcha!” out on somebody.)  We vote for the person who we believe will best represent our ideology and values and then let that person do his or her job.  Of course, politicians should listen to their constituents as part of their decision-making process and we certainly should speak up when we aren’t happy.  But, if President Obama or your congressman is advocating for legislation with which you disagree, just work hard to make sure someone else is elected next time!

I REALLY hope that President Obama is a one-term president and I would love to see Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid go down to defeat on election day.  But until then, they deserve to be where they are in D.C.  They were put there by the voters.  That’s the way our country works and I wouldn’t have it any other way!

I was watching Morning Joe on MSNBC today, as I do every morning, and heard Gayle King (aka Oprah’s best friend) share her thoughts regarding President Obama and the whole “firing over an unkindly edited internet video” debacle.  Ms. King asserted that there was no way the President could have had anything to do with the abrupt firing of Shirley Sherrod because he always gives due diligence and careful thought to every decision he makes.

I don’t doubt that President Obama was not involved in the premature firing of Ms. Sherrod, because I believe he has shown time and again his desire not to be a real leader.  If something goes wrong, he wants to make sure there is someone else to blame.

Instead, I take issue with the belief that our President employs due diligence.  What is the basis for thinking this?  Along those same lines, why does he get labeled as one of our most intellectual presidents ever with an IQ that his avid supporters claim to be off the charts but is not really known?

Where is the evidence that President Obama is a man of rare intelligence who gives careful thought to every decision he makes?  How has he displayed these characteristics any more than his predecessor?  In fact, I think I could say that President Bush uses due diligence in his decision making and have just as much proof for that assertion as those who would say it about our current leader (and that’s not saying much).

I’m not saying that our President is not smart and that he doesn’t think through his options.  He may very well possess all of these amazing attributes.  But, why is this assumption automatically made without examples to point to its truth?

Is it because he is able to give a good speech (or at least he could during the campaign)?  Is it because he went to an Ivy League school?  There are many people to whom I could point who attended Harvard but don’t exactly inspire awe in their intellect.  Why do so many people think that President Obama is magnificent in the depth of his wisdom and careful consideration?

While I view Rush Limbaugh primarily as a political entertainer, and I think he is unparalleled in his ability to do what he does, many (including Rush himself, I believe) have dubbed him the leader of the conservative movement.  However, I have to wonder if some of his conservative followers aren’t practicing a bit of hypocrisy.

Just yesterday, one of Limbaugh’s callers congratulated him on his recent nuptials.  As many people know, last month marked Rush Limbaugh’s FOURTH wedding.  His name has been printed somewhere on divorce papers in three separate instances.  Personally, I think it is a shame to view the union of marriage as such a disposable institution.  I have not, however, heard much outcry from those who are self-proclaimed “dittoheads.”  I am sure there are plenty of “family values” voters in Rush’s listening audience.  Have they made the choice to turn off their radios in light of the frequent user wedding punch card that Limbaugh apparently has in his wallet?  Doubt it.

I have a real problem with the “defend the family” movement that aims to prevent gays and lesbians from marrying but still clings to the words of Rush Limbaugh for three hours on the radio every day.  Who is doing more to spit in the face and laugh at the concepts of commitment and family — “Adam and Steve” and their desire to be joined in matrimony or a man who treats marriage like a casual affair?

Look, I hope Rush Limbaugh and his bride are happy and that they spend the rest of their lives (or, more realistically, his life) together in wedded bliss.  I don’t think anyone should be able to tell you who to marry, when to marry, or how many times to marry.  As an adult, you should make the important decision for yourself.  We each should be able to live according to our own value system, as long as we are not harming anyone in the process.  But, for social conservatives to hold up Rush Limbaugh as their collective mouthpiece while continuing to advocate discrimination against the choices others wish to make about their own marital status is just wrong.

Last night at church, we discussed the idea that children need at least five positive relationships with adults who are not their parents in order to make a successful and confident transition into adulthood.  And, this determined figure of five is for the typical kid from the suburbs who, let’s be honest, already has some advantages in life.  When boys and girls come from more challenging circumstances, the number of adults needed to help them through adolescence more than doubles.  Our kids need role models, mentors, coaches . . . men and women who they can turn to when they simply do not want to talk to their parents or maybe when their parents aren’t even around.

We have become such an insulated society.  Because of technology, our connections with people are made largely through text messages and emails.  It has become a lot easier to forget the human side of the person at the other end of our communication.  We can get home from work (if we don’t already work from home), close our door, turn on the TV, and not even deal with the people around us.  But, what if we decided to take an interest in one another?  What if we realized that our lives improve when we make things better for others?

I have seen what happens when people decide to become invested in the lives of others.  I discovered “a village” for my kids when I became a single parent about a year ago.  My friends in the neighborhood, members of my church, and even Facebook friends who I haven’t seen in decades extended love and support to my kids.  I can’t even begin to share all of the ways that our entire family has been “loved on” (which is a phrase I never heard until I moved to the South . . . I like it!).  And, my experience over the past year has made me determined to help other struggling families whenever I possibly can.  It’s contagious!  Wouldn’t it be great if such a virus could catch hold on a massive scale?  This feeling is not something that can be gained through a government program.  Instead, it comes from those personal relationships in a community.  When a neighbor takes a moment to notice that the older gentlemen who lives by himself is having a bad day and he asks how he can help, that’s where positive change can start to grow.

And, are kids always better off in a two-parent home?  Can a more expanded network of caring friends and family members create a healthier environment in some instances?  I am the only adult in my home, but I already am making sure that my kids are surrounded by adults who care about them and will help guide them.  I’ve spoken with several men I trust and directly asked them to be a part of Ian’s life before he even reaches his first birthday.  In the apartment below me, two PRECIOUS little children live with a mom and dad who are constantly screaming at each other, smoke pot on the porch, and tell the kids to “get the f***” away” from them.  And, I know there are little boys and girls living in similar circumstances on every street in this country.  What can I do to help?  For now, I just play outside with those two kids, listen to them, and tell them how awesome I think they are as often as possible.

Maybe it sounds too “feel good fu-fu,” but to me this concept of community ties in with my adherence to limited government.  If we truly take an interest in one another and help lift one another up, I think our government might just find that it’s not needed so much after all.

Are there other adults who you intentionally place in the lives of your children?  What is the responsibility that each one of us should have simply because we are all members of the same society?

1. When do you decide the rules don’t apply to you?

2. How do you go through your daily existence showing no consideration for others?

3. Where did your mama go wrong?

I do not understand what makes a person think it is OK to throw a bunch of trash out of his car window.  And, yes, I’m talking to you Toyota driver on Central Pike in Hermitage.  The date was June 29th, the time was approximately 2:30pm, and the objects being disposed included two aluminum cans, an ashtray of cigarette butts, and a paper bag.  The picture is on my phone.

I do not understand why the city of Nashville needed to use 1100 garbage bags to clean up the trash that was left on the ground following the Fourth of July celebration over the weekend.  Hey, this piece of cement looks like a great place to throw my hamburger wrapper and, you know what, I think this spot of grass is a perfect landing ground for the plastic bag that I got when I bought some water earlier today.  Who has that mentality?  Why do you just assume that your trash will be someone else’s mess to clean up, and that’s just fine?

I do not understand why the mom next to me has to carry on a LOUD conversation on her cell phone about her five-year-old’s ballet recital while walking on a treadmill that has a “No Cell Phones” sign hung directly in front of it.  Does the sign say in small print “except for moms who think that their daughter’s fledgling dance career is of urgent importance and takes precedent over consideration for the rest of the members in the gym”?  Maybe I need new contact lenses, because I missed that.

Flashback December 2005:  I do not understand how a group of older teenagers can sprawl out across the seats in a restaurant waiting area while a woman who is eight months’ pregnant (that would be me) and said woman’s grandmother-in-law, who was eighty years old, stand for nearly a half-hour waiting for a table.

I really don’t want this post just to be a rant . . . I honestly want to know how people get to be so self-centered.  How do you develop without a natural instinct to have concern for others, or at least never put that concern above your own desires and comfort?

As I have shared time and again in my writing, I am a big advocate for personal responsibility.  Once you reach adulthood you need to be accountable for the decisions you make and deal with the consequences.  But, where are the consequences?  What is to stop these individuals from continuing in such a self-serving manner?  Maybe such people are just a part of life.  At least I can use them as examples to my children of what NOT to do.

Any thoughts on what makes people act in such a way?  Is this type of behavior getting worse as we increasingly live in an insulated society, with technology allowing us the option of not directly dealing with other people every day?  Or, is this the way some people have always been?

As we celebrate our nation’s 234th birthday, I thought I would settle in with an ice cold American beer and share some things about our amazing country that give me goosebumps, send a “thrill up my leg” (h/t — Chris Matthews), shoot a chill up my spine, or bring me to tears every time.

1. ” . . . we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.” — The inspiring piece of art that is the Declaration of Independence gets me from beginning to end, but it is that last line that always makes me emotional.  The men who signed this treasonous document were not kidding.  They were willing to risk death for the ideals of liberty and equality.  Then, for these men and others from all thirteen colonies to grab their guns and their desire to be free and, with no training, take on the most powerful military in the world and win . . . yep, there’s the goosebumps.

2. Whitney Houston singing “The Star Spangled Banner” — If Whitney Houston’s performance at the 1991 Super Bowl does not get your heart racing, I think you need a medical examination.  I loved it as a teenager when she first performed the song and I will never forget blasting it from my car while tears streamed down my face as I drove through the streets of D.C. on September 14, 2001.

3. The Iwo Jima Memorial — Every time I drove or walked by that imposing statue, I think my heart stopped for just a second.  For the longest time, I was even afraid to visit the statue at night.  Not because I was frightened by the figures that comprised the 78-foot tall statue, but because I was so overwhelmed by its strong presence.  I remember the first time I walked up to the statue after dark, with the floodlights casting a glow over the soldiers determined to plant our flag.  I sat down and cried.  That memorial is a great symbol of the bravery of our fighting men and women and the amazing strength of the American spirit.

4. Road trips — I have had the opportunity to travel through many parts of our country, and I love the diversity of our natural landscape.  It is difficult to think of a more spectacular sight than October in New England.  The flat desert and tall cacti that dominate much of the Southwest look so different than the sunflowers and wheat fields in Kansas, which bear little resemblance to the majestic Rocky Mountains. Every corner of our land is fascinating to discover.

5. The Passengers of Flight 93 — These men and women were just trying to get to a business meeting or visit a family member.  Armed only with hot coffee, food carts, and cell phones, they took it upon themselves to stop the hijackers from reaching their intended target.  I cannot even begin to imagine what is was like on that plane.  For those passengers to make the decision to do what they could, knowing that they were going to die in their efforts, exhibits an example of heroism that I will make sure my children know and understand.

6. “Hey, dad . . . wanna have a catch?” — I experience my “ugly cry” (as Oprah calls it) every time I reach that scene in Field of Dreams.  That is a great American movie.  The struggle of a father and son who have very different ideas about what it means to live the American dream, the beauty and perfection that is baseball on a summer afternoon, the innocence that can still exist on a farm in Iowa — it is a classic story for our country.  Even Kevin Costner’s acting could not diminish how much I love this movie.

7. Drums — Whether it is accompanied by a fife as it leads our soldiers into battle, serves as the backbone of a Sousa march at a local parade, or is the heart of a college marching band, a good strong drum beat gets my heart racing.  These drums are strong, they are unrelenting, and they carry a message.  The steady beat carries us forward into facing our enemies and greeting our allies.  It helps us to declare our victories and mourn our losses.  Drums are brash and have a way of saying, “We want to make sure you know we are here!”

There are many things that my beloved home state of Maryland does well.  We produce college basketball teams that win national championships.  We have seafood restaurants in Annapolis and Baltimore that will make your mouth water.  We can blast through the middle of a mountain like nobody’s business just so travelers can get to West Virginia a little faster (I’m looking at you, I-81).  We offer Washington, D.C. a wonderful place upon which to lay its border and a camp to which presidents have long traveled for a break from Pennsylvania Avenue.

One area in which Maryland has some room to grow is in developing politicians for the national stage.  During the Civil War, our leaders couldn’t decide what to do so they just hung back and pulled the “border state” card.  We offered Spiro Agnew to the country, so that’s awesome.  And, now, the Old Line State brings you Michael Steele.  You’re welcome.

At a recent fundraiser, RNC Chairman and former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland Michael Steele asserted that the war in Afghanistan is one “of Obama’s choosing.”  Hmmm.  So, what was President Bush doing when he decided to bomb the country in October 2001?  Just looking for some rocks on which he could watch things explode for sport?  Or, more recently, did President Obama tell Osama bin Laden and other Islamic terrorists, “Hey, go hang out in Afghanistan and we’re going to come and get you.  You don’t get a say in this . . . it’s my choice!”

Steele also said that “everyone who has tried, over 1000 years of history, has failed” in their attempts to win a war in Afghanistan.  Nice.  You must have passed your “How to Build Troop Morale with Awesome Speeches” class with flying colors, huh?  Way to express your apparent belief that our fighting men and women stand no chance in a challenging battle they are facing halfway around the world.  How about we make sure to include you on the next USO tour?  You’ll have them standing and cheering in the aisles for sure!

Let’s be honest.  Michael Steele is the chairman because the Republicans were trying to win some cool points.  Another PR effort gone horribly wrong.  Since taking the position, Steele has mostly apologized for his own party and insulted the other one.

In a declaration that I’m sure has been greatly anticipated by politicos across the land and likely will be the tipping point in the growing outcry against Steele, I hereby offer my belief that Chairman Michael Steele needs to resign from his position as Chairman of the RNC.  Now.

Congressional candidate Lou Ann Zelenik, a woman who is yet another example of why I find it impossible to find a Republican politician I want to support these days, said that the Center has the purpose of fracturing the “moral and political foundation of Middle Tennessee.”  She also declared the following:

“Until the American Muslim community find it in their hearts to separate themselves from their evil, radical counterparts, to condemn those who want to destroy our civilization and will fight against them, we are not obligated to open our society to any of them.”

Excuse me?  OUR society?  To whom exactly is this possessive pronoun referring, Ms. Zelenik?  If these Muslims are legal residents of our country, and there is no reason to assume they are not, they are as much a part of my society as you are.

Zelenik claims to be a leader of the Tea Party movement in Tennessee.  When these guys are waving around their pocket copies of the Constitution, I wonder if they ever take the time to scan that very first part of the Bill of Rights.  If you claim to “want your Constitution back,” then you should embrace the fact that a religious organization is freely able to build property in our great nation.

Here’s the truth.  Not all Muslims are out to destroy America . . . not even close.  Out of all of the Muslim dorm mates I had in college and the two with whom I shared an apartment after graduation, I never felt that I had to sleep with one eye open because one of them might try to shatter my political and moral foundation while I slept.

If a Muslim attacks our country, kill him.  If a group threatens our nation under the flag of Islam, attack its members with every resource possible.  But, let’s not ignore the First Amendment without cause.  It’s sad and dangerous.

People of every race, religion, age, and community have come together in Nashville to help their neighbors in need.  Supplies are being donated in great quantities.  Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised.  Men and women are showing up at places destroyed by the flood waters looking for any way to help.  Those who experienced only minor damage to their homes or possessions are reaching out to those who have more severe losses.  Volunteers from parts of the city that may not have seen as much flood water are driving to other areas of town, getting out of their cars, and getting to work on the rebuilding process.  High school students whose classes have been canceled are cleaning up their own campuses or other homes in their community.  The examples of goodwill go on and on.

Much has been made of the fact that Tennessee is not receiving a lot of national media attention for what is clearly a natural disaster of great proportion, and that lack of a spotlight is a shame.  If the TV cameras would turn toward Nashville as quickly as they would to a celebrity getting out of jail or to the latest act of senseless violence, the viewing audience would discover a beautiful city that has seen no looting, heard no loud cries for D.C. to come and save us, and felt no sense of defeat.  It’s been amazing to observe and experience first-hand.

I’m not saying that every person in Nashville is joining hands in a state of peaceful brotherhood.  There have been scattered selfish acts among the selfless ones and there is always the hindsight vision of what could have been done better.  But, in a time of crisis, I cannot imagine there is anywhere else I would want to be.