What a month this has been, this June

What a month this has been, this June.

We United Methodists began it with annual conferencing, a three-day working breakfast, and we've ended it with a zombie war at the movies. Come to think of it, those are real similar occurrences. Both are long. Both are deadly. Both feature answers to questions that seem to make no sense. Oh, well.

This month has seen temps begin to soar, and I really do believe a man can fly.
This month has seen muscles and joints begin to seek their lowest points, and the Super Moon didn't disappoint nearly as much as the super man.
This month has seen the worst of times draw near; and it has seen the best. In the end, it was a typical June in which to spoon.

The defense of marriage act was defenseless we found out.
Equality came to mean something new, and apparently everyone has the right to be married.

Where we are going in this nation is not where we have ever been. That might or might not be a great thing.

What a month this has been, this June.

What amazes me in the long run is that we've completely lost the ability to disagree, and I strongly suspect we're never gonna get it back. If we disagree with a particular issue, then my goodness, we must be a bigot, and over time we've seen that being a bigot is the biggest, baddest thing one can be. If we said a wrong, terrible, hateful word 50 years ago because our parents, misguided as they were, taught us wrongly, we are racists to this very moment. Paula Deen's biscuits are burned, indeed.

If the end is near, we've shown that we created the end. What a month this has been, this June.

Even before Wednesday’s rulings by the Supreme Court many religious groups who oppose gay marriage – and other policies, such as the Obama administration’s decision to mandate free contraception insurance – had been reframing the argument as a matter of religious freedom. OF, OF, THE WORD IS OF NOT FROM.

That in fact is the focus of the Catholic bishops’ current “Fortnight for Freedom” campaign, which the hierarchy deployed to argue that gay marriage and the birth control policy would force churches to comply with laws that violate their teachings, and their conscience. If believers become martyrs to gay marriage – if Christian florists and bakers who refuse to supply bouquets and wedding cakes for gay couples are subject to lawsuits or sanctions, for example – then public opinion could turn against gay rights.

Oh, and a new study came out this week that shows believers are generally happier on Twitter than atheists. I suspect that if we spent more than 140 words at a time, we would find that believers are generally happier off Twitter than atheists also. Kind of goes with the territory, that whole joy comes in the morning thing.

And an NBC affiliate in Salt Lake City that’s owned by the Mormon church has decided to start airing "Saturday Night Live," after years of blocking the show’s sometimes racy content. No word on whether John Belushi still is alive on the Mormon station but I truly hope so. That would give a whole new meaning to the Saturday Night Live thing, wouldn't it? Live? You know... Live?

Look, we have tremendous problems in this country. We really do. I'm not making fun of those big, big problems. At least most of the time, I'm not.

But I believe that the ability to communicate with each other is right near the top of the list, as I've written many times. We don't agree to disagree any more.

If one of us disagrees with another's thoughts and beliefs, whoa baby. That's it. We're gonna gthrow down.

Then, why then we no longer can get along, then we don't enjoy the company of each other, then we don't even attempt to care for each other. At that point, hatred is pushing its way to the top of our problems, with a bullet (so to speak).

The end is near, and we've created the end. What a month this has been, this June. Whew. What will July bring?