I have been meditating on the political situation in America  over the past few months, triggered by  the start of the really active pot-boiling.   It came to me that there is at least one important thing that both the Right and Left wingers need to remember.     That thing is the fact that a bird with one wing cannot soar, and, so, becomes a helpless victim for any predator that might happen upon it.    The growth of partisanship that has motivated Ms. Snow to leave Congress  has more than reached the point that, once the elections are over, the American Eagle will have only one wing left, and, so, will be able to do nothing but perch on a branch, to watch the world bypass it.   That will likely cause it to slowly deteriorate until it dies.

     I am not saying that we should give up our principles when the last vote is counted.   However for the past three years the major efforts of the Republican Party has been the goal of making sure that Pres. Obama can not get re-elected.   Among other things, they have continually put up roadblocks to any actions the President has taken, and taken hard-line stances against any of the programs that he proposed.   The thing that amused me a little bit about this hard line stance  is that the Republicans denounced some of Pres. Obama’s plans in the strongest terms even after he had modified his original proposals to include many points that the Republicans themselves had been pushing just a few months before.   The Republicans apparently need new dictionaries too, because the definition of the word “Compromise” is not “you will do it all my way, or we will not do it at all”.   After Pres. Obama took office, his administration made many efforts to reach out and discuss issues, to try and find a common ground where both sides might lose a little bit, but, the country as a whole would profit.   However, the Republicans have consistently refused to negotiate or give up even an inch.

     The end result of this terrible, extremist point of view is that America’s crash into disaster and depression was made worse;   the businesses that caused it are getting off without even a slap on the wrist;  the door is being opened for more such abuses by cutting back on the regulations that keep the excesses in check; and we have heard grown men and women spouting some of the most amazing lies and nonsense that has ever come from the mouths of politicians.

      A final straw for me, though, has been the events surrounding the  Congressional panel discussing whether employers should be required to include contraceptions in their insurance program.   The current law that is going through the process, in short, states that an employer can refuse to offer any medical coverage that they have a religious or “strong moral objection” to.    Then,  the committee (consisting of Republican men, by the by), then refused to allow any women to testify.  One brave young woman, Sandra Fluke, made a strong effort to try and speak, but was shut out.   What did she get for her pains?    Rush Limbaugh, in  a burst of mysogany, said that she must be a slut or a prostitute and said that if she was going to get prescription contraceptives, she should be required to tape her many sexual encounters and put them on the net so the rest of us can watch!   Hard to understand why he has been married to four woman and has no children is it not?  

     If the people yelling “religious freedom” would stop and think about it for a moment, perhaps they would realize some facts of life.   First off,  there are other reasons for taking contrsceptives besides birth control.   For some women, the hormone  based pills that are the most common medication help stabilize the levels of hormones in their bodies, making sure that they remain comfortable and pain free, and, therefore are able to be more productive citizens.   Secondly, the insurance companies are not forcing anyone to take these contraceptives.  Simply because they are part of the covered package means nothing.   The simple answer is:  If you do not believe that it is righeous to use contraceptives, then, do not buy them and use your insurance card to pay for them!    Speaking of which, though, anyone that believes that Catholic women do not use cotraceptives has blinders on that are big enough for an elephant!  The rhythm method has never worked reliably, so, the Pill as reliable contraception was, I suspect, a great relief.   Finally, At least on the topic of contraception,  let us go back to that Catholic school I mentioned earlier….Let us say that there are one or two staff members that are Lutheran (for example).   By refusing to cover contraceptives, they would be infringing on the religious freedoms of those Lutheran staff members…and what should we do about THAT?    A somewhat more extreme, but good, example that I heard a comentator on NPR give was the observation that under this law, it would be perfectly legal for a Christian Scientist to buy a company, then cancel all coverage and  refuse to offer health insurance at ALL because of religious objections.