The Story of a Sign

I sat down at my computer a few minutes ago to check my emails.  I had one from my mother.

More below the fold.

My mother, as some of you already know, is a libertarian-leaning conservative.  She watches FAUX News and thinks Bill O'Reilly is a really smart guy.  She voted for Bush (twice).  I suspect this time around she's going to vote for Bob Barr or Ron Paul.  She thinks welfare is evil.  She is virulently anti-immigration.    She thinks I'm batshit crazy, not to mention intellectually lazy, for being a hardcore liberal.  "I don't understand it, you're such a responsible person," she said to me once.  "Mom, being liberal and being responsible aren't mutually exclusive," I replied.  "As far as I'm concerned, they are," she said.

So imagine my utter, jaw-dropping bemusement when she sent me this today.  (Length = about 5 minutes).

I dunno whether this is a sign of something good or whether the fourth horseman of the Apocalypse is saddling up.  But I thought it worthy of being shared.

Shalom.

•  Tips...

  for grace.

  by Mehitabel9 on Sat Jul 05, 2008 at 08:55:59 PM PDT

•  thank you so much

  Let us hope that your mother is seeing a new reality - a change for the better =)

  by sara seattle on Sat Jul 05, 2008 at 09:01:16 PM PDT

•  cool film. mom's a bleeding heart after all...

  by rasbobbo on Sat Jul 05, 2008 at 09:02:10 PM PDT

•  Very nice

  by publicv on Sat Jul 05, 2008 at 09:05:10 PM PDT

•  I sent it to all my friends

  They're already all liberals, but hooray for the power of art, just the same.

  by st minutia on Sat Jul 05, 2008 at 09:09:20 PM PDT

•  That was lovely

  thank you.

  by Baldwiny on Sat Jul 05, 2008 at 09:26:11 PM PDT

•  Nice flick.....

  Now, if we could provide the blind man with free health care and narrow the income disparity, he wouldn't have to beg for his supper.

  by appletree on Sat Jul 05, 2008 at 09:29:10 PM PDT

  •  Sorry - there's a one-miracle-per-day limit.

    by Mehitabel9 on Sat Jul 05, 2008 at 09:42:21 PM PDT

•  Perhaps....

  it's not so much the idea of liberalism as how it is presented.  I dunno, though.  It would certainly seem to be a departure.

  BTW, Archie wants to have a few words.

  mehitabel come back soon the mice are getting overly friendly yesterday one wandered by fat and sassy and sez with a most distressing smirk now that that clawed fury is out of the way we will be by to have you for lunch when the pantry runs dry so dont take too long ive begun sleeping under an empty pickle jar and the fumes are making me green i swear ill be a gooseberry gourd in a few more days hoping to see you soon archie

  He really misses you, you know.

  My best to your mother.  :-)

  by jlang57 on Sun Jul 06, 2008 at 02:39:04 AM PDT

•  It's 6 a.m., I just found your diary,

  thanks so much for sharing it, I cried and I laughed.

  Cheers to you and your Mom~

  pb

  by panicbean on Sun Jul 06, 2008 at 03:51:13 AM PDT

•  I hate to be cynical, but.....

  I was trying to think of how someone with a right-wing mindset would interpret this lovely movie, and I came up with a diametrically opposite interpretation:

  The well-to-do sharpster had the chops to figure out the better way to bilk the people into forking over their hard-earned money to the guy who without his having to sweat it to earn his keep.

  You are too preoccupied with your concern for the lazy poor people to see the beautiful day.

  In other words, I think your mother is telling you that that she thinks you are missing out on the beautiful day. But I don't know your mother.

  Thanks for the link.

  by Halcyon on Sun Jul 06, 2008 at 07:35:04 AM PDT

  •  Wow, you even out-cynicaled me!

    by Mehitabel9 on Sun Jul 06, 2008 at 07:37:20 AM PDT

•  I don't think your mom was being political

  This is a modern-day parable that could have come from Jesus himself.  The filmmaker portrays an obviously important man (maybe an ad exec) who goes beyond taking a couple of seconds to throw some change at the blind man.  He takes the time to make a significant difference.  There's more to this than just making money.  Anyone who has ministered to people on the street will tell you that one of the biggest needs they have is compassionate human contact.  The "important man" in this film does not coerce anyone to give money.  He doesn't make a big deal about himself.  He just commits an act of charity.

  I think conservatives have been so caricatured on this site, that it is hard to understand that most of them have compassion for those who are not as well-off.  Many conservatives freely give of their time, ability, and money.

  Your mom appears to believe in the Beatitudes, whether she knows what those are or not.

  by Prachar on Sun Jul 06, 2008 at 10:20:08 AM PDT

  •  Hmmmm.

    I have heard her say come very un-Beatific things about the homeless.

    You may be right.  It's just a side of her that I am unaccustomed to seeing.

    by Mehitabel9 on Sun Jul 06, 2008 at 12:09:59 PM PDT

•  Some days I fall far behind

  in checking out the various diaries here at Daily Kos so I didn't get to see this until almost 7PM on Monday.

  I truly enjoyed this and wish that it wasn't too late to rec this and put some mojo in your tip jar!

  :-)

  by Dark UltraValia on Mon Jul 07, 2008 at 03:55:44 PM PDT