John Venlet uncovers a source and points out, that: ...religious conservatives tend to be the individuals who dig deepest into their own pockets for charitable contributions, and that those who bang the drum most loudly for state wealth redistribution, appear to clutch their purse strings tighter than Scrooge... No surprise to me, though I would point out that religious conservatives of the born-again evangelical ilk make up for it by their highly presumptuous preaching, pestering, and proselytizing. That is, their offensive admonition that others must "be saved." Yes, it's so utterly ridiculous that I cannot help but point it out any time it comes up. But I digress. The thing reminds me of a guy posting to Usenet some years ago, when he asked: Is your desire to help people so great as to actually cause you to help them, or only so great as to force others to help them? That, right there, is a nutshell distinction between individualism and collectivism, and I've never forgotten it. It's not directly relevant, but since I was going to blog it anyway, might as well make it part of this entry. Last night I took a trip down to the grocery store...