My parents are the kind of folks that embody the "salt-of-earth" type. They live in a very small rural community in the northeastern corner of California. Pop. 2000. Unbelievably rural, poor, and red.
Every Sunday they walk to church where they attend services with their neighbors. I asked my Mom one day how she felt about the messages she heard in church, what did she believe?
She said "I definitely agree with what I hear about looking after the sick and the poor, and helping your fellow man." (A Massachusetts native and a recently retired nurse, with 45+ years of experience, she moved to this town from a much more populated part of the state to take a job as the director of nursing for the county's public health department, stating "I'd like to spend the last few years of my career really helping those who need it most, those in rural areas with no resources.") It was a huge pay-cut, and a major life change.
Unable to REALLY retire, she's still teaching labor and delivery to nursing students at a community college 20 miles from her home.
When I asked her how she actually felt about religion, God, and some of the more "right wing" messages often preached in the churches, she said this: "I believe there is probably a higher power of some sort, but I don't claim to understand it. "God" probably has a different meaning for everyone, all that matters is you find comfort in your beliefs, and you do good with them. Your father and I go to church every Sunday because we enjoy the sense of community, of visiting with our neighbors, of being in a peaceful place. As for the political stuff, I haven't heard too much of it. If I do, you KNOW I'll speak up, and say 'there's no room for bias here. This is a CHURCH, not a campaign office - everyone should feel welcome.'"
She went on to say that she believed that her church deliberately avoided any type of inflammatory rhetoric because they DID want everyone to feel welcome to participate, and that's why she liked attending this particular one.
If you knew my mom, you'd know, she WILL speak up is she ever feels it's warranted. I also love the fact that while grossly outnumbered, my parents apparently have no qualms about letting the conservative town they live in know who they are voting for. Not obnoxiously, mind you, but they do sport the bumper stickers, and a lawn sign or two.
From all accounts they haven't encountered a drop of hostility over it. I think that may be due in part to the fact that they moved to this town with a decent amount of savings, and bought a tiny, modest house, and gave most of what they had leftover to the town. Both are very involved in community service, food donation, and raising resources for those in need. Though they may be politically diametrically opposed to many of their neighbors, they treat everyone kindly, and their warm personalities have really won over the townspeople. They are friends with everyone.
My dad will proudly tell you that he provides all the spaghetti for the suppers at the church and he "can feed up to 500 at one sitting!" He takes his job as "spaghetti man" VERY SERIOUSLY. :-) He will cook the stuff all day straight for two days. He's like a cyclone. He just tuned 70 a couple of weeks ago. Mom's 65.
So, tremendously moved by this video "Hope or Hate/Let it Be", I sent it to my Mom, and asked her to please spend the required 4.5 minutes to absorb its very powerful message, then to forward it to others. (I'm sending it to EVERYONE because it's awesome and needs to be viral.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rUAFUoz3jcThis was her response:
Thank you for sending this. I love this guy and pray God no harm befalls him from those right-wing fanatic haters. It is a scary world and those hate-mongers are the product of 8 years of Republican bigotry, hatred and greed. I can only pray for a landslide victory in the name of decency.
I proudly display my Obama 08 sticker."a landslide victory in the name of decency..."I like the sound of that!
Edited to add link.
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