I'm not sure I like it here any more.

[Irish_Dem]

222. I agree.

I had an interesting experience with all of it.

When I was about eight or nine years old I came home from Catholic
school one day and told my mother I didn't believe what the nuns were
telling me. It was all ridiculous. My mother was shocked and speechless.
She tried to argue with me about it, but didn't press it.

So from an early age I rejected Catholic dogma.
But like you I must have soaked up some of the good side of the religion.
I am a cultural Irish Catholic, not a religious one.

I think my born and raised Irish grandparents was prejudiced, but they never talked about it.
Their son, my father whatever personal feelings he might have had, he never expressed it.
But he would never tolerate any negative biased commentary from his children.
He was US career Air Force and every single person was mission critical and deserved the utmost
respect. But as Air Force kids it didn't even occur to us because we were raised in foreign cultures
and our friends represented all races, colors and creeds. When we came back to the states
we were shocked at the prejudice and narrow mindedness of most Americans.

Yes I agree the Irish side is what makes me the moral person I hope I am.
My father was first generation American and he loved this country more than he probably should have.
But for the first time in a thousand years his family was finally free of oppression and had
every opportunity in the world available to them. They were very very appreciative of it.
My father spent his life in the military, flying combat, risking his life to preserve those freedoms.

He also had that deep moral core, right vs wrong, and a strong pride of self and independence.
Doing the right thing. But never controlling our thoughts or feelings. Encouraging education and free
thinking. Once when I was a young teenager, and he was flying combat back and forth to Viet Nam,
I told him the war was wrong. He was shocked and opened his mouth to say something. But he
thought better of it and just walked away. I was in turn shocked because this was not like him.
I realized later that he respected my right to think and speak out, that is what he was fighting for.

Of course my Dad was a dyed in the wool democrat and so was I from an early age.
It means you are on the right side of life and politics, yes.