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Are we better or worse than in 1963? Yes and yes.

Reader comment on item: MEF's Surprising Straw Poll on Trump
in response to reader comment: not trusting any would be wise...

Submitted by Michael S (United States), Apr 22, 2016 at 18:48

Hi, Doug

Good talking points.

I was only 15 years old in 1963, and was unaware of the OHare suit. Was that the one about prayer? I was in a public high school, which I don't think ever had public prayers because we were mixed Catholics and Protestants. As a Catholic, I didn't expect the Protestants to pray, because I had no idea what they thought about religious matters. We were taught in Catholic school, that Protestants spent eternity drifting in a place called "Limbo".

Do you suppose God left me to my own devices, because I didn't send a letter to my congressman about a matter I knew nothing about? Of course not! Do you know that where I live, most middle school students have never read the Bible, even part of it; and some have no clue who Jesus was? God isn't leaving those youths to their own devices; and neither did He abandon me. In 1973, fully ten years after that court decision you mentioned, God revealed Himself to me when I was lost and called out to Him; and He's been helping me ever since. There was no "loss of grace" by me, nor by anyone else I knew. On my part, there was certainly a GAIN. You said,

"And, by virtue of that loss of Grace, look where we are in comparison to where we were."

Just think about what you said there. Where are Americans today? Materially, we're not bad off. The house I live in now is bigger than what my family and I lived in then, and we have an attached garage and an incredible mountain and forest view. We have deer and turkeys regularly visiting us, besides hummingbirds, squirrels, flickers, crows, jays, chickadees, goldfinches, robins, you name it.

I know that everyone has not been as blessed as I have; but even the poor are fed and clothed, not dying in the street. We have drug problems as a country; but we had that then -- alcohol and tobacco, deadly drugs that killed far more than Oregon's legalized marijuana ever killed. My daughter lives in China, where she is "cursed" by air pollution; but that pollution is there because her city is cursed by people having cars and factory jobs. Some things are harder than they used to be; and many things are easier.

In 1963, my mother operated a tabulator, probably an IBM 407

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_407

My step-father delivered keg beer, for one of Milwaukee's many breweries. Those were good jobs, union jobs with decent wages an benefits. How are my children living, by comparison? My daughter is married to a business owner, in the import-export business; and my son is living on disability. They don't have the same kind of livings my parents had; they're different in many ways, both from my parents and from each other; but the important things is that they both have livings, and their needs are being met. As for my generation, my wife and I are alive and reasonably healthy; whereas in 1963, both my wife's grandparents and mine were already years in the grave.

Those are just some random parameters I've thrown out. Donald Trump wants to make America "great" again. Were we as great in 1963 as we are today? Today, we face an emerging China and a resurgent Russia. In 1963, China was coming out of a great famine and Russia was a superpower. One year before the OHare case, we nearly had a nuclear exchange with the Russians. Today, Israel is troubled by repeated terrorist attacks. In 1963, it was six years since Israel's previous war with Egypt, and it would be only four years until the next one. We were a great nation then, but we still are a great nation. Things have changed over the years, for the better AND for the worse.

I have to get moving, so I'll skip to the end. You said,

"Given the outcome of a famous case where He left the residents to follow their own desires, the outcome may not be pleasant for anyone and the election will be the least of the issues US residents face. I hope it is not as bad as it was for the previous case I cited. But, on the other hand, Europe is undergoing a progressive decline that may be survivable, so who knows?"

Who know, indeed. You mentioned prophecies. I take comfort in the prophecies in the Bible, because they assure us that we are not faced with scary, random catastrophes. All these things have been played out before; and as we move into "crunch time" with our collective destiny, we can see that we are moving according to a plan. That plan, in a rather simple, general outline, is that those people and things who have exalted themselves will be humbled; and those who have humbled themselves will be lifted up.

I have to stop now. Shalom shalom :-)

Submitting....

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Reader comments (53) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
preferential voting [452 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Anne JulienneMay 1, 2016 00:56229192
writing in [57 words]Anne JulienneMay 1, 2016 18:10229192
America: Paperwork and Write-in Capital of the World [260 words]Michael SMay 4, 2016 10:47229192
tax returns [26 words]Anne JulienneMay 7, 2016 03:01229192
The Paper Tiger [90 words]Michael SMay 7, 2016 05:00229192
that does sound like a lot [51 words]Anne JulienneMay 9, 2016 02:07229192
Donald Trump, and The Tower of Paperwork [228 words]Michael SMay 13, 2016 02:46229192
I agree about the paperwork but not on who can save us ... [205 words]Anne JulienneMay 16, 2016 02:35229192
Interesting times ahead [341 words]Michael SMay 20, 2016 03:23229192
I wrote: a "saviour" *in this* [66 words]Anne JulienneMay 22, 2016 19:53229192
1This isn't about Trump; it's about national sovereignty [680 words]Michael SMay 23, 2016 11:00229192
enough with the logorrhoea [26 words]Anne JulienneMay 26, 2016 06:02229192
1I fear the Left more than I fear Trump [139 words]SteinApr 19, 2016 18:23229062
I am surprised [23 words]Tamar KupesteinApr 17, 2016 18:41228994
The wonderful migration [108 words]Michael SMay 22, 2016 11:02228994
1Any Terrorist attack wil help Trump and defeat Hillary [159 words]EdwardApr 12, 2016 13:07228918
No surprise [696 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Gideon RemezApr 12, 2016 12:45228916
Dr. Pipes, what's your opinion regarding Trump's recent statement regarding Syrian 'refugees', that there's plenty of room in Saudi Arabia? [198 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Anon.Apr 12, 2016 08:12228905
The Gingham Trump and the Calico Cruz [386 words]Michael SApr 11, 2016 15:33228886
Trump arouses passions [90 words]Kevin BjornsonApr 11, 2016 13:33228883
Libertarians [77 words]yonasonApr 13, 2016 15:18228883
1Libertarians for Trump [174 words]Kevin BjornsonApr 15, 2016 15:09228883
The Devil you know [52 words]Steven ShermanApr 11, 2016 11:13228881
1Everyone has an opinion [64 words]JohnApr 11, 2016 06:49228875
No permanent safety among the goiim [739 words]Michael SApr 10, 2016 23:12228868
I don't find the poll results surprising at all !! [40 words]CARLOS DESOUZAApr 10, 2016 22:06228867
1he gets about two-fifths of the Republican vote and close to zero of the Democratic one - IRONIC [11 words]MarkApr 10, 2016 18:04228861
1MEF's surprising poll on Donald Trump- response to Mark [189 words]Anne USAApr 12, 2016 12:43228861
I would only add that yes, Trump is essentially a Dem, but the Dems have moved left to socialism. [EOM] [20 words]MarkApr 15, 2016 07:54228861
Win Win Situation For The Left? [119 words]yonasonApr 19, 2016 12:09228861
1Mef's surprising poll on Donald Trump.... The Left has really picked the Republican nominee. response to Yonason [514 words]Anne USAApr 21, 2016 08:26228861
do you prefer the guillotine or the firing squad, monsieur? [301 words]doug schulek-millerApr 10, 2016 17:08228859
Left, Right, Religion, Trump and the Media [613 words]Michael S.Apr 15, 2016 10:37228859
not trusting any would be wise... [343 words]Doug Schulek-MillerApr 18, 2016 01:01228859
Are we better or worse than in 1963? Yes and yes. [827 words]Michael SApr 22, 2016 18:48228859
1Stop destroying the Republican Party NOW. [207 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Michael SApr 10, 2016 16:57228858
Trump, Hillary and the Angel Moroni [428 words]Michael SApr 12, 2016 04:55228858
Vehemently Anti-Democrat [225 words]yonasonApr 10, 2016 16:56228857
1The Missing (Two-part) Viewpoint [280 words]Ron ThompsonApr 10, 2016 16:36228856
A third way [431 words]Michael SApr 14, 2016 14:40228856
We do indeed live in divisive times .. [266 words]Anne JulienneApr 20, 2016 21:16228856
.. i like your god .. [15 words]Anne JulienneApr 21, 2016 03:35228856
God's gender [106 words]Michael SApr 23, 2016 03:42228856
Politics, Religion and History [1515 words]Michael SApr 24, 2016 01:54228856
no criticism (or feminist critique) intended [129 words]Anne JulienneApr 27, 2016 03:53228856
response to "Politics, Religion, and HIstory [376 words]Anne JulienneApr 27, 2016 06:14228856
Religion & Politics -- in US and Australia. Also, Cockney expressions [547 words]Michael SMay 1, 2016 12:09228856
3What's so surprising? [89 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Leon KushnerApr 10, 2016 16:01228852
Tweedle Trump, Tweedle Clinton and Tweedle Obama are apparently our lot in the coming years [901 words]Michael SApr 13, 2016 11:50228852
Your straw poll ... [33 words]TRMApr 10, 2016 16:00228851
Candidates of today leave a lot to be desired. [246 words]Anne.....USAApr 10, 2016 15:52228850
Clinton [64 words]steven LApr 10, 2016 15:41228848
1It isn't due to vehement anti-Hillary sentiments [96 words]Anon.Apr 10, 2016 14:09228846

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