Apparently, I am Cursed with this Thinking Mind

I don't seem to be able to ignore things that others blithely pass over. It's been this way all my life. I read or hear some pronouncement that rallies others, and leaves me -- thinking.

It started when I first read the Bible, a gift from my father when I was eight. I'd had a few years of Sunday school under my belt by then, and some things were not adding up. All my classmates seemed undeterred by the things that derailed me.

Like the story of the woman condemned to stoning, saved by Jesus's pronouncement that "He who was without sin...." -- so, what about the man involved? In later years, when I hear people condemning prostitutes, I wonder why it isn't the "Johns" that are vilified. I also wonder what leads the prostitutes to their profession. Where did they start in life? What decision, or set of decisions got them where their life led them? Were there extenuating circumstances? Were others involved? I cannot seem to judge others for their fates when I don't know the story.

It's the same for the homeless. I hear people dismiss them as drunks, druggies, and lazy bums and think no more about it. I, cursed as I am, wonder: what about the OTHER 70%, because studies have shown that only 30% of our homeless fall into those categories. As for the 30%, when did they start their habits? Were they impressionable children that were not correctly monitored by their parents? Were their parents even available to them, or were they so poor that they had to work double shifts, leaving the kids unattended? Or did they get enticed to their fates by the lure of another sadly under the influence, searching for customers to supply their own "fix"?

We've never made a WAR on drug users, by researching the causes of their situations and making social corrections to get them back "on track."

Then, there's the question of Abortions, and how so many are against a woman having the right to abort a fetus from her own body. Yes, I know, she should've abstained. So, because she didn't, she's supposed to stop her life's course and become a mother, and raise the child to the best of her ability. Yep, I've heard that -- and again, I think, darn it.

So, for all those people that say she should have abstained, let's go back to my first example. Are each of you free from the act of a mistake in your history? Or did you just not get caught? Assuming your histories are blameless, do you really want a mother that does not want her child to raise it?

Oh yes, I know, she could adopt. Unfortunately, if you look at the actual stories, you might just find that the larger portion of the women that are in the need of an abortion are not in a situation that they could easily deliver a healthy baby, and having the baby would put them in a social position harmful to their future.

But, aside from that, for THOUSANDS of years we've heard from the church that people should abstain, and girls should not get pregnant, and when they do -- because they DO, they should become mothers. And I THINK that it is many of THOSE mothers that are ill-equipped to raise a child, and it is those children that are raising more ill-raised children, and that leads to the problems listed earlier (substance abuse, prostitution, and homelessness, for starters).

Then, there's the rhetoric that so many spew, apparently without thought. Things like getting rid of BIG Government, and reducing taxes. Do you actually consider what our government DOES? Let us consider public safety -- safe public buildings, and codes for residential homes, safe roads, bridges, and regulations about the vehicles that transport us, safe streets and parks, including lights, trash clean up, and police protections, and screening to filter drivers that should not be operating them.

Speaking of regulations, what about the work the government does to regulate our financial institutions, our merchants, and our business practices, and let's not forget food safety.

By the way, all these things are supplying the needs of a growing population, across a very, very big country. (Drive it if you don't believe me.) Surprise, all of the services require teams of people, many of them that have been struggling under past budget cuts for decades. Frankly, I am surprised our public workers don't strike.

So, when people cry for reduced taxes and smaller government, I have to wonder -- if you had to operate the government to the satisfaction of all your constituents, where do you cut? Or are you, once again, just thinking of yourself?

There I go, again, thinking....

I guess I will just go to work and try to put it all out of my mind, after all -- it seems to work for you.