The recent deaths of Mrs. Schiavo and Pope John Paul II challenge us to consider our moment in time very carefully. I commented that these deaths constitute one of the great “hinges of history” in my lifetime. Barring a nuclear blast or the Second Advent, it is my conviction that historians a generation from now will look back on this moment and see the Western world moving in one of two directions.

The recent furor over the public display of the Ten Commandments would be comical were it not for the earnestness of the proponents of a secular public square. The notion that displaying these historic foundations of our legal and social tradition is an endorsement of an “establishment of religion” or a “prohibition of the free exercise thereof” is ludicrous.

It is a February afternoon in California – sunny and warm, with a bit of breeze to kee me awake as I stroll outside. At the moment I am avoiding some less enjoyable tasks such as scheduling new appointments and paying the bills. I am not quite procrastinating, just pondering some observations that have come my way in the new year.

Amidst the din of debate over the use of religious imagery in public “Holiday” (shall we change this word since it originally meant “holy-day”?) celebrations, a simple idea can escape our attention. This virtue is so powerful, it can change a person overnight and our world in a generation.

The war of words regarding “values” will continue for months and years ahead as crackpots, pundits, and serious thinkers ponder the 2004 election.