this is worth 30 seconds of your time

[3imo]

I recently got this email and thought I should share it with you all. 
I am agnostic by the way.




>If they know of him at all, many folks think Ben Stein is just a quirky
>actor/comedian who talks in a monotone. He's also a very intelligent
>attorney who knows how to put ideas and words together in such a way as
>to sway juries and make people think clearly.
>
>The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday
>Morning Commentary.

>Herewith a few confessions from my beating heart: I have no freaking
>clue who Nick and Jessica are. I see them on the cover of People and Us
>constantly when I am buying my dog biscuits and kitty litter. I often
>ask the checkers at the grocery stores. They never know who Nick and
>Jessica are either. Who are they? Will it change my life if I know who
>they are and why they have broken up? Why are they so important?
>I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I do not care at all
>about Tom Cruise's wife.Am I going to be called before a Senate
>committee and asked if I am a subversive? Maybe, but I just have no
>clue who Nick and Jessica are. If this is what it means to be no longer
>young. It's not so bad.
>Next confession:   I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was
>Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call
>those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees Christmas trees. I don't feel
>threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are:
>Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, "Merry
>Christmas" to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready
>to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are
>all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It
>doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a
>key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a
>creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards
>away. I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't
>think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I
>think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed
>around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from that America
>is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution,
>and I don't like it being shoved down my throat. Or maybe I can put it
>another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship Nick
>and Jessica and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him?
>I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of
>us who are wondering where Nick and Jessica came from and where the
>America we knew went to.

(**edited)

-- Ben Stein

[RVertigo]

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/benstein2.asp

[Jarrett]

That took alot longer than 30seconds to read, but you're right, it was worth it.  Very interesting point of view.  I like the way he made his point from the stance of being a believer rather than a Jew or Christian.  It validated his point of view regardless of ones own beliefs.  Nice post, and a nice read.  Thanks

[rob1bike]

Who's ben stein?

















Sorry couldn't help myself! Thanks, that was cool!

[animal mother]

That took alot longer than 30seconds to read, but you're right, it was worth it.  Very interesting point of view.  I like the way he made his point from the stance of being a believer rather than a Jew or Christian.  It validated his point of view regardless of ones own beliefs.  Nice post, and a nice read.  Thanks

   

[cuda_06]

Thank you Ben Stein.  Very well put and well worth the reading time.

[Turd Ferguson]

Can you remove the stuff that Ben Stein didn't say from your post?  You have the whole post quoting Ben Stein when, in fact, he only wrote the first (non crazy) half.

I totaly agree'd with EVERYTHING until a certain point where I thought "Holy shaZam!, Ben Stein is an idiot!"  Then after checking out the link that RVertigo posted, I realized that some other crack-pot wrote that INSANE BS.

Ben Stein is a genious and a former presidential speach writer.  Who ever wrote the second half of that article has completely lost their mind and is out of touch with reality.

-Turd.

[Old Mr. Wilson]

looks a tad like something that's been passed around the net for the last 3 years...........
looks good, sounds good,...................far removed from original author.....

[Turd Ferguson]

looks a tad like something that's been passed around the net for the last 3 years...........
looks good, sounds good,...................far removed from original author.....

Alright, fuggit, I'm going to bed.  I agree with something OMW said...it's time to retire for the night.

-Turd.

[Mandres]

Seriously, that  was not worth 30 seconds of my time.