The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on a December CBS Sunday Morning Commentary


The words in bold are my own side of an imaginary conversation with the 'esteemed Stein' (say ‘esteemed Stein’ 10 times real fast!).
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       Herewith at this happy time of year, 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?


Just distractions for a stressed world.  We can not be focused 24/7 on issues like war, medical insurance, poverty, global warming, etc.  The  media, Corporate America,  and politicians want us to focus on the trivial so we can be passive receptacles for their messages - and not interfere with what they consider more important, like gains in power and money.


     I don't know who Lindsay Lohan is either, and I do not care at all about Tom Cruise's wife.

You would if you were a Scientologist!

       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.


To be able to distinguish relevancy does not come with old age - you either have it or not.  Look at the people of all ages who voted  Alfred E. Newman into the White House!



     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.

Half my family and friends are Jews - the other half are all kinds of people.  That is what I am - all kinds of people.  I have a direct love of the spiritual side of the universe - no religious interpretation needed or desired.  As for Christmas trees,  they are a symbol of peace and goodwill for most in the Western world.  It seems all societies have some 'symbolic sacrifice'  when celebrating a traditional day.  So at Christmas we kill a tree for Christ,  for Thanksgiving - a turkey, maybe race car drivers on Memorial Day,  etc.  In the Orient - don't they just burn money when celebrating?  Now that would be a bona fide 'sacrifice'!


     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.


And along some highways you see additional crosses and symbols where the holiday celebrants had drunkenly driven off the road or ran over someone.  Is there any way to keep the holiday spirit year round and have it safe to be on the highways too?  If there is any sign that I am getting old - it would be my aversion to being on the highways during the madness of  holidays!


     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.

I have no affiliation to organized religion - but I sure am tired of seeing the U.S. constitution being pushed around for the past 6 years by a bunch of bumbling idiots!  


     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?

 Media shapes reality for those raised on  5+ hours of TV everyday.



     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.

Maybe this is a clue.  Nick & Jessica are the new Bonny & Clyde.  Maybe the start of a new American cycle of change.  Are you going to hang on or jump off?



     In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

I'm thinking the universe is laughing at us and not with us.  


     Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this Happen?" (regarding Katrina)

 Katrina might be another way of saying Karma.  When man pulls the tail of Mother Nature - look out for a catastrophic 'whack'!  You could write several books on the specific and logical reasons for the destruction caused by Katrina.  Our illogical behavior (building below sea level with inadequate levies, and building on unprotected oceanfront properties), resulted in predictable losses. In '70 I personally saw the results of Hurricane Camille at Gulfport, Miss.  All the previous construction mistakes had been repeated when they rebuilt the coastal towns prior to Katrina.


     Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.

     And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?"

     In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.


     Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

     Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about and we said OK.

     Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.

     Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW."

Okay - I am with you on that last statement.  I am strong believer in Karma.  But all  that other stuff - eh . ..      In my 64 years I have learned:
>  Take personal responsibility for everything that you do, and everything that happens to you.  No blaming others,  here or in the hereafter, or the Gods, or whatever.  Your health, your relationships, your opportunities, are more dependent on attitude and application then luck or circumstance.
>  The ends does not justify the means.  Knowing right from wrong means dropping the justification mentality and living the 'Golden Rule' (which is not the exclusive moral teaching of the Bible).
>  You can not teach morals, or prescribe religious ideas to live by - you must demonstrate them if you want their implementation.  The good lead by example, the evil lead through lies, dogma and deception.
>  The 'trickle down effect' is very relevant when describing a society.  Gravity works in the spiritual world as well as the physical world.  Corrupt governments will foster corrupt societies. Poor leadership gets poor results in any business, organization or society.
>  Career politicians and true statesmen are at opposite poles.  The first enrich themselves - the latter enrich society.  We need more people of integrity in politics, and the only way to get there is to protect our constitution and  develop a system of accountability that works.
>  As an individual you can not directly change society or the world - only yourself.  But everyone counts - and most anyone can change for the better if they so desire.  And so the world changes one person at a time .
>  There is no direct correlation between common sense and intelligence.  Some folks say it requires a little different wiring of the brain - but common sense is mostly a product of mental application, which many people are too lazy to do. 
>  We are all  superstitious, and this can be used against our best personal interests by those who seek power over us.  It is healthy to always question religious and political leadership, any authoritarianism - “the truth shall set you free”.
>  The most dangerous people in the world are not serial killers or even arms merchants.  The most dangerous are the arrogant idealists that play on nationalism and people’s fears to ride a wave of power.  Lenin, Hitler, Hirohito, Mao, Pol Pot - these ‘idealists’ fomented the biggest blood baths last century.  Who will have that infamous honor this century?  Several candidates are pushing for that now!  Shoving a political system down the reluctant throat of a society not open to change is a well worn play book. “The only way we could save them from (your choice = heresy - communism - capitalism - sectarian violence - breaking away),was to kill them”.
>  We live on a tiny dust mote in a universe that is largely beyond our understanding.  Change is the constant.  It cycles - or maybe you see it moving back and forth like a pendulum. The forces of construction and destruction are in motion within societies and within nature.  If we know our role and we know our goal - we can influence both (society and nature) for the benefit of man and the planet.



     Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell.

     Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.

     Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.

     Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

     Are you laughing?

     Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.

Like yourself Ben, I enjoy stimulating thoughtful reflection and addressing grievances - logically.  I appreciate your sharing these thoughts with us today.

     Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.

Perhaps our self opinion is the most important opinion.  Am I evolving to be my most true authentic self?  What could be more beautiful then to be in harmony with one's self and the universe?  And what could any deity or society desire more then a planet full of beauty and harmony?


     Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not then just discard it... no one will know you did. But, if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.

I  will neither discard nor complain - 

“God save us from those who want to save us”.