SMITCHing

While I appreciate the naive idealism, this makes me a little nervous. Even a cursory look at western history would show that mash-ups of politics and religion do not have a track record of ending well.

I'm pretty sure I have a new friend, and like all of my other friends. I love him. The weird part is, I've never spent more than a few hours with him in over a year. Not since the day we met. I've been thinking a lot about why I love him and why I consider him a friend. Usually I make friends in a more typical manner. I meet someone. There are qualities about them that attract me. We hang out, get to know each other, and a mutual bond of affection forms which strengthens over time. This one's different. I first met Russell at a Thanksgiving "after party" hosted by a mutual friend. A group of us gathered at Mark's place after our respective family dinners to hang out and play games like Apples and Apples and Catch Phrase. I had never met Russell before, but Mark's a hospitable guy and it's not unusual for his friends from different circles to meet one another at an impromptu game night. Of the dozen or so folks who were there, three o...