So I figured that since I, Lou The Jew, am doing lent this year, I would document my time with no pop.  I have always loved pop, and drank waaaay to much of it for my own good.

Day 1: March 9.

Actually quite nervous about the whole thing.  Just thinking about going this far without pop kinda scares me.  I can’t think of the longest I have ever gone without the stuff, and it would probably be time at sumer camp, when i wasn’t around the stuff, but in a normal sense, it can”t be more than 5 days or so.

I felt it mid day, when i looked for a jolt of energy.  I may rely on coffee more during this time, but I hope not.  A few times during afternoon really needed a boost, but lived without it.  Had lemonade with dinner.  Im gonna be drinking a lot more lemonade, I know it, but hopefully I can get on drinking water with my food, something I have NEVER been able to do.

Rand Paul made headlines again this week, by answering the question that nobody asked “What Would you do if you had to right to decide everything, Dr. Paul?”

Paul came out with his plan to save the country $500 Billion dollars, and what he wants to exactly cut has caused a great deal of talk from the general public.

Paul’s base essentially sounds like a reasonable idea: cut spending from areas where we don’t need to spend money.  You wouldn’t spend money on bullcrap out of your own pocket, and the U.S. government shouldn’t either.  While many federal programs are in good measure, and the old saying rings true “ya gotta spend money to make money”, it would be insanity to think every single thing the current administration spends money on is a good thing.

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“Its Offensive!”

“Its freedom of speech”

“Its disrespectful to what’s happened in the past here!”

“Its not for you to decide, its ours, not yours!”

These are some of the battle cries we are hearing in New York right now, surrounding the Ground Zero Mosque

While the debate is certainly passionate on both sides, the debate is not exactly original, we’ve gone through a debate almost similar.

Over 10 years ago, in Columbia, SC.

The debate: Should the South Carolina government fly the confederate flag, an item that means hate and oppression for so many, and heritage and pride for so many others.

In the Mosque debate, supporters profess freedom of religion and speech.  The first amendment was also a bullet point of flag supporters.  Those who want the mosque also argue that the building, and the entire Islamic faith should not be associated with 9/11.  Those who wanted to see the confederate flag over the SC State House also argued there was more to the flag than racism and slavery.

Opponents have other claims, those people you see with the angry faces and loud voices in lower Manhattan say they feel offended by the mosque.  They say it brings up memories of a a dark day in US history.  Likewise, in April of 2000, protesters in SC said that when they saw the flag, all they could think of was hundreds of years of bondage.

While not 100% the same, the debates have the same base. Free speech to some, offensive to others.  Sensitivity to one side, bigotry to the others.  10 years, it doesn’t change.  If you want to find a debate that correlates to the Mosque debate in recent history that was so popular and well known in recent history, let me know

But heres the best part.  In our world, where people are so afraid to go against the company that they know.  So scared to challenge their own beliefs, and so ready to take the side they THINK is right, even if that means not thinking at all, a sad truth comes out.

Some people who supported free speech in South Carolina will preach sensitvity in New York.

Likewise, some who saw the flag as offensive see the mosque as 100% ok in New York.

Now of course, I am generalizing, but this is politics, its all about generalizations. Being  a democrat or republican is a generalization.  You commit yourself to a general idea, which leaves you vulnerable to missing specific issues.

Laws are generalizations,  because WE feel it will be good for US, and OUR people, its good for ALL people.

Now with things like laws, it just has to happen that way, thats the price of living in a country so darn big and diverse.

But these generalizations do cause people to skip thinking in some cases.  Such as in these two debates.  Now I will again genrelize, but I don’t think this one is all that off base.

Democrats/liberals/left thinking/northern people support the mosque.

Republicans/conservatives/right thinking people/Texas hate the mosque.

BUT

Democrats/liberals/left thinking/northern people opposed the confederate flag.

Republicans/conservatives/right thinking people/Texas wanted to fly it high.

Is this so off?  While there are a great deal of people who support both or oppose both, you can not tell me that there aren’t a GREAT deal of people who pick and choose when they want to have free speech and when they want to be sensitive.

This is a perfect example of people leading with their heart and not head.  Even if you supported free speech in South Carolina, you wont support it now, why? Because a Mosque is more offensive to YOU than a confederate flag.  And if you support free speech now, you may have very well wanted to tear down the flag one decade ago.  Why? play the broken record: a confederate flag is more offensive to YOU than a mosque.

Am i that wrong? Are people better at forming their opinions based on what makes sense rather then what feels good at first?  Let me know