Immorality

Specialist Marshal A. Westbrook, 43, of Farmington, New Mexico became the first State National Guardsman to die in Iraq on Sunday. He leaves a wife and five children. What a horrible tragedy to befall any family!

This tragedy will live on for this family in many ways. A husband lost, a father gone forever, a struggle for this large family to get by in the future. Thank you Governor Richardson for passing legislation that will give a large insurance settlement from a state purchased policy for this family. The family will also get some insurance from bush and rumsfeld. However, in fact, those five children will be paying off the cost of this war well into their adult lives because bush, his cronies, and the congress don't want to pay for it now. So, that is another net loss for those children. This whole situation is immoral.

I can't understand why, in a country where over 40% of the people believe that God made the universe in seven days, that we don't think about this immorality more. If everyone is that religious in this country then our general detachment from this kind of thing is not just inexplicable, it is bizarre and surreal. We are a country at war with real human and economic costs and yet we seem more into American Idol TV shows than the ever mounting death toll for Americans and Iraqis.

And to top it off. Read this.

When a citizen gives his suffrage to a man of known immorality he abuses his trust; he sacrifices not only his own interest, but that of his neighbor; he betrays the interest of his country.
Noah Webster