Honeymoon Over

The friendly exchanges with a family I've been helping with repeated cat situations came to an abrubt halt today. I don't know what we said, when I called her about a cat needing fixed, that prompted a comment about "the nutcase in the White House". I responded, "What are you talking about?" Her response, "Obama, of course. He hates America and is in league with the Muslims to bring America down."

My mind struggled to find some way to respond. I had no idea these folks believed this way, that Obama is really a Muslim out to destroy America.

I finally said "He's not a Muslim." I still thought she must be kidding. She wasn't kidding. "He's going to take away all our guns and create a socialist state," she continued.

I didn't know how to respond. In my mind, I remembered seeing a documentary about a little kid in some town, Florida maybe, or east Texas, I can't remember. The town is small and over run in horrendous gun violence. The little kid wants assault weapons out of the town. He'd lost a brother or two, and so had many of the other little kids in town, too. So I said, "Who in the world needs an assault rifle?

It's all I could think of to say.

I suppose what she said before also had bearing, about not wanting her kids polluted by outside influences and I know now she must have meant non Christians and their ways.

What raises my ire about such exchanges is the implications, that people who don't believe as they do, including me, a person who has sacrificed to help them, have no morals. I quickly ended the conversation.

She also wanted me to trap cats on their property, but had also just said about a neighbor, that if they wanted to get a cat fixed, whose kittens they found on their property, it was their responsibility to do so. Then why expect me to get the cats fixed on their property, I wonder, isn't that their responsibility to do? It is these conflicting value statements that confound and irritate me. But the worst I think is the implied value statement, that, because I do not believe as they do, I have no morals.

I have trouble, too, with the pro life stance of such people, who also adamently support war, which is anti all life, and their right to have a zillion guns. I don't have an issue with guns for protection. I don't see how having guns and being a Christian has much to do with one another. In fact, Jesus Christ wouldn't be walking the earth carrying a bunch of guns. But I think such pro life Christians would be the most militant at working for and demanding peace, all around the world.

I also do not understand how intelligent people cannot see that if too many kids are born, especially in third world nations, that being pro life is the same as being pro death. Just like when kitten season hits here. Many of us cat fixers call it the season of death and it is. We choose with the cats. It's not a good choice but it's necesary. Shall we save fetuses or live kittens and cats? Same rules apply to the human population.

I said "Obama is not going to take your guns. You shouldn't worry about that." I wanted to be much more sarcastic. But I hung up, realizing the implication of our phone conversation. I realize they are being friendly to me because they need something from me after which I will be regarded as an immoral heathen and likely shunned.

I find such folks often see the world as only America and that God only is around for Americans and that rules for Christian behavior towards others only apply to Americans and maybe only to same belief Christian Americans.

I find such folks often are anti freedom. They want our country run as a religious state, following the rules and dogma of their religion.

However, America was founded on religious freedom. We can all believe as want to believe, even if we believe nothing at all.

It is difficult for me to pinpoint in my gut why I had such a strong reaction to her statement. They're a nice family and I've liked them. I thought we were friends. Disregarding all else, I think what bothered me most was the rejection, the very familiar "you're not good enough" theme, that underlay the comments.

Oh well. At least I got the cats there fixed. People can believe what they want to believe and disagree with others and that is the great privilege that comes from America. Long Live Freedom!

I suppose I harbor deep suspicions about the fanatic gun people. Somewhere in the back of my mind I must think they want to use those guns to shoot me evenutally. Because I might disagree with them on religious or political grounds. I think somewhere inside me I might suspect there are groups of them forming itching to kill anybody who doesn't agree with them.

See, if we are friends and you have a gun and I don't, if you get drunk or mad, lose your judgement, you might pull that gun out and shoot me. That's why I don't hang out with gun fanatics, especially those who drink. That happened up north somewhere, Portland or St. Helens. Two neighbors, golf buddies, got drunk and got mad. One came out with a sword and the other with a gun and the gun guy shot his friend, killing him, right in front of both their children. Just because they were drunk and mad and had weapons and poor judgement and no impulse control.

If I break down in my car or get in trouble otherwise along a rural road at night, I would never knock on a door to ask for help. I would figure they would have a gun and shoot me. I would figure they would figure I was a burglar, because I think that is also what has come of all the guns out there--paranoia on both sides, everyone sure the other is the boogieman.

Well anyhow.