What Have We Lost?

Hello Guys and Gals!

I want to ask you a question today. The question is, what have we lost? I want you to think back to what you know about the founding of our nation and try and place yourself into that culture and then look at today's culture and ask yourself what we have lost.

Back then, we didn't have bars or coffee houses, we had public houses. In those public houses, the two main topics of any conversation were politics and religion. It was through these very public houses and the conversations and debates our forefathers had back then that lead us to the very principles upon which we founded this great nation.

Today, it is a common thing to say don't discuss religion and politics. People say this because they don't like to talk about subjects that are intensely personal to them and they think that these things should be kept to oneself. Why? If it is so intensely personal to you, wouldn't you want to share your beliefs with someone else? Wouldn't you want to discuss their beliefs as well?

Now I'm not advocating going out and beating someone into submission with your beliefs. I am advocating the free discussion of those beliefs in an open exchange with all comers to the discussion. This means that not only will you be able to discuss your beliefs openly with others who will listen to what you say, but others will also be able to discuss their beliefs openly with you as you listen to what they say. You have to be willing to listen to someone who's opinion opposes your own in order to be able to defend your own opinion regarding their opinion will full confidence.

It was through discussions of politics and religion that people were able to understand other religions and political machines that existed in order to discern and develop how we wanted to shape our country. People listened to the beliefs and practices of other people with an open mind and discussed all the possibilities and ramifications of the whole spectrum of beliefs in those conversations. In other words, if we do not know what others are thinking, how then will we be able to say that their thinking is right or wrong? How will they be able to say your thinking is right or wrong if you don't share your thinking with them as well?

So I ask you to remember what you know of the days of the founding of the United States of America. I ask you to look at what they did back then. I ask you to look at what we're doing now. I ask you to ask yourself if we have lost something valuable by not discussing politics and religion.

I think we have!

God bless each and every one of you this day!