“Abraham Lincoln quoted the Scriptures in an 1858 speech to the Illinois Republican Convention. He said, ' A house divided against itself cannot stand.' That, I fear, is where diversity leads. If by that term we refer to love and tolerance for peoples who are different from one another, it has great validity for us. But if by diversity we mean that all of us have been given reason to resent one another. Having no common values, heritage, commitment, or hope, then we are a nation in serious trouble.” ― Dr. James C. Dobson

Good morning and welcome to Tuesday, February 5, 2019. Is there anything that happens in our world today that doesn't end up being politicized? The Superbowl was barely over before the radical left tilted mainstream went to work. Tom Brady and his owner Mr. Craft have voiced support for Donald Trump in the past. In fact, a Make America Great Again, MAGA, cap was actually seen in Tom Brady's locker. These facts alone make them guilty of high treason against those who hate Trump. There was an assessment of the Superbowl written for the Daily Beast, once a fringe paper, but now one of the respected voices of the left, and it had this as its theme: The Patriots represented White Nationalism and the Rams represented those who kneeled with Colin Kaepernick. It said the mantra of the ultra-right wing was promoted in Tom Brady's pre-game pep rally. "We're still here!" "We're still here!" Most people thought he was saying don't count us out. We may be older, but, we are still capable of winning. Again. Not the Daily Beast. They thought it to be a rally of white supremacy saying we are in control, us, the white privileged only, English speaking, owners of America. The Rams stood behind Kaepernick and they went down. They were the real heroes. Are you sick enough yet to throw up? You might think this to be ludicrous but it's the way those who hate President Trump see the world. Those of us who voted for Trump are, in their eyes, Tom Brady and the Patriots. We are guilty of treason. This is the America we live in today. Pretty sad if you ask me.

I actually don't feel that way about those who voted for Hillary Clinton. I vehemently disagree with their choice, but, I believe it was their right to conclude which candidate was their choice. I respect their right to choose. I respect their vote. We've known people in our lifetime that voted with the Democrat Party regardless. They believed it was part of their identity, handed down to them. Their parents and grandparents had been Democrats and they were brought up to vote that way. These were people we went to Church with. We thought we could see the left slide of their chosen party and we voted our conscience. We still fellowshipped with them each week. We still loved them. Some of them had a particular experience in the history of their family they would share as their reason for voting the way they did. My point? It was their choice. Here in Texas, there are still a large number of people who split the ballot. They do not vote one party only. They see a candidate and believe that candidate to be the best qualified and vote accordingly. That's their choice. At one time, voting differently than your neighbor did not make you a racist, a white supremacist, or any of the other names that get tagged to people today. While the word tolerance is bantered around all over the media, there's very little of it to be found if someone disagrees with the groupthink opinion. This is the America we live in today. Pretty sad if you ask me.

I better change the subject or you might think this is the place where the only thing that can be heard is whining along with seeing a steady diet of grimacing. Not true. I do have other thoughts. The wife is my daily fast track reviewer of what I have written. She sent me a note yesterday about the long blog I had written. She said it would have been great if I had stopped after giving my overview of Joseph and God's providential working in his life. She went on to say the Mark Twain short story could have been saved for another day. That was excellent input and I do appreciate it. I do shoot for a minimum of three paragraphs each day. When I first started they all tended to be longer. And, I think I did offer some explanation for why it was longer. Well, maybe not a good explanation. "It is what it is." At the same time, I am aware, because I too am a consumer of information, and, the power to determine how much of my time I am willing to devote to any posting belongs to me. Not the writer or the person copying and pasting. It's the beauty of the word 'skip'. Look it up. It has lots of definitions and applications, including the one about abandoning, (skipping), a particular activity at any time, like the reading of my blog. I even do it at times when I am listening to music. I may have a favorite part and I just skip the rest to get to it. I think you get my point. Enjoy all of it you can, and, then, go out and have yourself a blessed day. Amen. .....More later.