[merrylander]

He said the second most important commandment was "To love our neighbours as we love ourselves." Took quite a few years before I realized that , hey, if you don't love yourself you can't love others. Prior to that I had been my own worst critic.

Figuring that out I became less critical of others and more supportive. I also recalled His saying "That you have shown kindness to the least of my people you have shown it to me," (rough translation), so I would rather hold out my hand to anyone who is down rather than kick them.

The I became practical about what a government could and should do. Mike Pearson (my avatar) convinced me that since people are a country's greatest asset it makes good sense to keep them in top shape - thus Single Payer. People who through no fault of their own (after taxes for building schools and roads and other infrastructure) there may not be a whole lot of savings so a no means test Old Age Pension, but if you make more that a certain amount they pretty well take it back as income tax.

The infrastructure is vital and must be maintained, falling bridges killing people is a disgrace. So yes, there are things a government should and must do. So having been a member of the Progressive Conservative Party in Canada I saw nowt conservative about the GOP so I became a Democrat. In fact with their sucking up to the very rich and trickling down on everyone else I see no Family Values or Religiousness about the GOP whatsoever. "It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter Heaven."