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!
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!
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