[HamiltonJay]

The more liberal a place is, the less caring a place is, period.

[ScubieNuc]

The more liberal a place is, the less caring a place is, period.

I agree in a general way with your statement, but it paints Minnesota with too broad of a brush.

Minnesota (and Wisconsin) are liberal states, but primarily in the bigger cities where the bastions of liberal thought are force fed to the voting college kids. Go to the smaller towns and you'd be impressed with the devotion to God, country, and family.

In these smaller towns, if you are in need, just go to any of the local churches or parishes and they'll help you out. (I know. I grew up in a small town in Minnesota, and my family survived through tough times because of the kindness of neighbors and churches.) So when you paint Minnesota as an uncaring State, I have to take exception to that.

What I think happens is that in the bigger cities, the average liberal does care about the less fortunate, but they want the government to be the agent of help, where as the conservative would rather have other smaller institutions (or themselves) help the poor.

When the government gets put in charge of the care of others, you are right, they DON'T care about who they service. When a church takes care of you, it's personal and not just a service to you but a service for God. The other thing about a church helping you out, is there is a feeling of indebtedness that one works to pay off. When it's the government that treats you, there is no feeling of indebtedness.

As a side note, I love downtown St. Paul. It's beautiful. The Mall of America is also worth a visit now and then. However, the last time I was driving around the Twin cities, I was amazed at the transformation of some of the outlying neighborhoods. Many, many, many more Hispanic communities then I remember from the '70's and '80's!

If you visit Minnesota, visit the smaller towns. Places like Ely, Lake City, Lanesboro, and Winona are beautiful and quite friendly. (Sadly, the Winona area has recently been hit with serious flooding and there are alot of people who have lost everything. Pray for them.)

Sincerely