[Al Swearengen]

I made the statement "how far we have fallen" because we have indeed fallen far, have we not? When a God fearing man is stripped of his livelihood because he would not compromise his faith or what he knows to be right and good...I'd say we've turned a corner, wouldnt you? We have reached a new high in low. You said people are "turning away from the church"! I believe that the people who are turning away from it are the same ones who were never a part of it in the first place. In times of trouble, such as these, I'd wager that church attendance rises exponentially. Even so, church attendance is by no means a measure of man's decadence. Churchs are chock full of hypocrites. Well, maybe "hypocrite" is a bit harsh, since we're only human, and fallible. Lets just say the church is full of sinners, and leave it at that.

As far as the observance of "law over religion" being an aim of socialism, Im inclined to agree with you that it is not...on the face of it. However, the Nazis were socialists, and they firmly believed that laws took precedence over religion, and look how they ended up! Men have a tendency to pervert or distort law, and who knows this better than a judge? If I ever find myself standing before an earthly judge, I'll count myself lucky if his decisions are above all else governed and guided by the laws given to us by the creator, rather than strict adherence to the laws of men.