Overheard

From a letter to Time Magazine (emphasis mine):
"Is it so hard to understand the nostalgia that many Americans feel for the reasonable return to the culture of small-town America - to its appreciation of education, traditional arts, the work ethic, hunting, community spirit, and moderate churchgoing?"

Excuse me?????

And Jesus said, "Take up your cross, but only for a little while."

Is "moderate churchgoing" a virtue somewhere that I missed? Is this a value that people somehow feel is missing from their lives??

Look, I am aware of religious fanaticism (whether Christian, Islamic, or otherwise), but when did passion and commitment to one's faith become synonymous with fanaticism? Is the widow who attends church every week and goes to Bible study somehow equivelent to Fred Phelps?

C.f., Revelation 3:15-16.

Overheard

At a public gathering, from a congregant:

"It all depends on the election. If Obama is elected, he's gonna give all our money away to those black folks."

Overheard

On The Biggest Loser last night:
"I've never had a child, but the pain is probably worse than giving birth."

Have you ever noticed that whenver the second part of the phrase ("the pain is worse than giving birth") is uttered, it is almost always preceeded by the first part ("I've never had a child, but"). Do people ever wonder that it is always people who have not given birth that go around comparing things to what birth feels like?