<em>"The good die first. And they whose hearts are dry as summer dust burn to the socket."</em>

[caption id="attachment_1214" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Since you went away."]<a href="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/since-you-went-away-4.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1214" title="since you went away 4" src="http://mikerappaport.net/onevoice/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/since-you-went-away-4-300x222.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="222" /></a>[/caption]

The line is from one of my favorite movies, the World War II home-front classic, "Since You Went Away." It's the reaction of a grandfather on learning that his estranged grandson has been killed in battle, from a time when all Americans pulled together for the good of the country and the world.

So whether it's William O. Selznick or Billy Joel, one of the common themes in our culture seems to be that only the good die young. That seems especially true in a world where our political leaders on both sides of the aisle just seem to get sleazier and sleazier. It really does almost seem that we have reached a point in our society where anyone who spends their time thinking about politics is just wasting their time.

But one thing really is true, and that is that we get the government we deserve. We don't keep up with things the way we used to, and too many of us have become selfish and only concerned with ourselves.

Today I was driving past one of the dozens and dozens of churches here in Griffin, and I saw something that really impressed me. Rather than

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