Originally Posted by StanF18

Good one JCL...

JVegas: The problem, as I see it, with this Divorce Agreement, is that it takes a very black-and-white view of the world. I used to think exactly this same way in my early 20s and was always a staunch Republican and a conservative. The "real world" is not so cut and dry. There are many, many shades of gray. So it is very possible be a proponent of capitalism, and at the same time be utterly disgusted with the state of our health care system, the high number of hard-working underinsured Americans, the health insurance companies' rampant refusal to cover basic health care procedures, etc.

Likewise, you can be staunchly pro-military (as I am), but be utterly disgusted by the no-bid contracts, the abandonment of veterans suffering from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), and major pitfalls in the military caring for its' own. Like this infamous heart-wrenching, documented story:

A Question Of Care: Military Malpractice? - CBS News

GO ahead and watch this news report, and then tell me about how hunky-dory everything is with our country and our military.

You can love greedy corporations and Wall Street, but still feel sympathetic and humanitarian about the plight of the homeless, many of whom have fallen through the multitude of cracks in the mental health and social support system. Just think about it: You're feeling pretty good about yourself right now, right? You're in law school, maybe dating a hot chick, maybe driving a hot car, things are going great....and then...WHAM! You get hit with a couple of misfortunes...a tornado takes out your house....The Insurance Company that was "supposed" to cover your home has gone under because of the current financial mess....your car gets reposessed by the bank...then let's say you get diagnosed with a tumour on top of everything else....You get really sick, you can't work, you can't go to school, you start falling behind on your medical bills....Collection agencies are calling you left and right.....And in just a matter of months, you too wind up homeless....Among those very same homeless that you feel are not "YOUR" problem.... Trust me, most of us are just one or two misfortunes away from suffering this same fate....

So it seems to me that you CAN be disgusted with Barbara Streisand and Jane Fonda (as I am), but that doesn't mean that you need to go to the other extreme of the political spectrum. Truly what this country needs is more MODERATES....There is just no need for these far-left and far-right extreme positions. You can love your country (as I'm sure you do) and still realize that there are plenty, plenty of things that need fixing: health care coverage, homelessness, the military caring for its own, etc. And that yes, it's perfectly OK to BITCH and MOAN about those things, and it does not make you any LESS American when you do complain....In fact, I would say it makes you MORE American. Because you are trying to better this society for your children and fix those things that are broken. And from the examples I gave above, there is PLENTY that is broken.

As you get older (and wiser) you start to realize there are very few things that are black-and-white...just many, many shades of grey....Don't let far-left wackos like Sean Penn and Rosie O'Donnell drive you towards the opposite extreme of not caring about the plight of your fellow man....or looking for ways to improve the system. By the way, I've always despised Michael Moore, but I highly recommend you rent "Sicko". It won't make you any less American to watch it and to debate it....He makes some very insightful and objective observations.

Just my $0.02...