Hello Kossacks. This is my first diary entry. I want to send the following letter to my local newspaper in hopes they'll publish it in the Opinions section. If anyone has a moment, I'd like your input. I realize it's a bit long, but I can't figure out how best to shorten it while still including the examples and sarcastic comments ;-) I've used to argue my point. Luckily, my newspaper often prints fairly long correspondence from readers so length may not be an issue.
I'm having a difficult time understanding the Republican Party.
It claims that marriage is a sacred union between one man and one woman. Yet in the tragic case of Terri Schiavo, it wants to make the exception that marriage is between one man, one woman, and the state and federal Governments. That is, when those bodies disagree with the heartwrenching decision that courts have repeatedly ruled is Mr. Schiavo's alone, as her husband and legal guardian. What's next - will this government demand pre-approval on what cars married people should buy or what kind of cereal they can have for breakfast?
It seems determined to relegate homosexuals to second-class status and deny them rights enjoyed by other American citizens. However, when it's revealed that a "journalist" using a phony name who moonlights as a gay male prostitute and advertises his escort services on the Internet has somehow bypassed the required background checks and gained access to the White House press room for two years in order to lob softball questions at the President, Democratic leaders who demand an explanation are told they have no business investigating someone's "private life." News flash - it's not private if it's posted on the Internet, and prostitution is against the law.
It preaches that every person conceived has the right to life. But when it comes to making that life comfortable, Republicans want to destroy what is inarguably the most successful quality-of-life program of all time, Social Security. Here's a deal for you, Mr. President: Show us the weapons of mass destruction you insist Iraq possessed, and maybe we'll believe there really is a Social Security "crisis." Nor did the government rush in to protect the right to life of Sun Hudson, the terminally ill Texas baby whose mother fought in vain to continue on life support after a judge ruled the hospital could remove his breathing tube. I'm sure the fact that Ms. Hudson had no health insurance and Sun's hospital bills were being paid by Medicaid had nothing to do with it. Sun died on March 16, by the way, without anywhere near the attention that Terri Schiavo has received.
The American public needs to wake up and realize that the Republican Party couldn't care less about sanctity of marriage, moral values, or right to life. Rather, it seeks to exert total control of our personal affairs and to make each of us over in its own image. Funny, I've always believed that God is the only being capable of creating something in His own image.