THANK YOU, TYRONE

[Samantha]

10. Maybe this has happened to a number of people - thank you for sharing your thoughts

But I have felt terribly ashamed when thinking what I used to believe as a child. This thread to me was like making a confession. I have always heard confessions are good for the soul! But after that speech, I evolved even more quickly. Three years later, I was caught in a controversy in school over a book report I had written. Title of the book: The Ugly American. I won't go into that controversy tonight, but I will tell you this. I kept that book report all of these years.

On the other hand, I have gotten a lot of insight from my relatives as to why certain things do happen there. I remember being at a family reunion and saying to my aunt, "I cannot understand why Tennessee keeps voting Republican and electing people who do not fight for the best interests of its people." Tennessee is such a poor state. She responded she didn't know anything about the issues but that her husband insisted she always vote Republican and she just did as she was told. I wonder how many women in the South do this. I was shocked to hear that.

On the other hand, this week we heard two women say the reason Republicans get votes in the South is because the churches have been infected with politics. If you vote for a Democrat, some preachers tell their congregations, you will go to hell. It is so hard for me to believe people in the South allow their ministers to influence their political choices, but for some reason they do. One would think they would know better by now.

Sam