Hello Steve!
London - wow! Isn't the internet something? Hard to believe that I am actually communicating in this manner with someone in England.
Well, let's see.... I wish we still had the political power to legislate our morals into law, but I fear that is now only a nostalgic memory of days long gone, Steve. Evangelical christians and their secular conservative allies only comprise, at the very most, perhaps only a third of the US electorate.
A half-century ago, we commanded a huge voting majority and pretty much had things our way over here in the colonies. In fact, I would go so far as to say that we had, in practical reality, successfully legislated most of the mosaic law into the civil code on both a national and local level. We prayed in public schools and nearly everything we objected to was illegal (porn, sodomy, abortion, cohabitation and on and on - even doing business on the sabbath, in southern counties, was a punishable offense).
In any case, most (if not all) of these laws were struck-down by the courts over the years and our hold on the reins of power has continued to decline decade by decade. Oh indeed, we fought each battle as though our lives depended on it, to be sure, but we lost them all. Our day had passed, it seemed. Today we live as a minority culture in a fully secularized society. There are a few of my brethren, of course, still trying to turn back the clock to 1960, but most of us have grown weary of the struggle, discouraged by our lack of success, and have turned inward to our own lives and families. Figuratively speaking, we have gathered in the church house and bolted the doors against the secular world outside.
History will sort all this out in time, Steve. Meanwhile, keep a stiff upper lip and try to give us neanderthals a little break now and then if you can find it in your warm, british heart to do so.
Warmest regards - and thanks again for the response. I'm just an old house painter with too much time on his hands. Don't take what I say too seriously, but I can assure you that evangelical christians no longer represent a political threat to anyone. I just wish they wouldn't keep kicking us when were down! I guess we're like the indians - the only good christian is a dead christian.
Jack
