What is wrong with people today?

I am becoming more and more amazed, worried, confused, angry and simply pissed off at the continued ignorance here in the US in regards to the last 8 years of "Rule" under president George Bush. I am also totally bewildered about how gays and lesbians are continuously treated as lower class citizens by society, the government and their own families.
I have read a recent letter from my nephew who is in the NAVY asking us all to unite behind the recently elected president Obama. On the surface it seemed all nice and genuine, but it was all smoke and mirrors. Never more clear from a point in his letter that he stated that the weeks since the election have been some his darkest and most depressed times. Its teetering on insult. He did not have to live through Katrina, a mess totally caused by the lack of leadership of his president and party. These last 8 years have been such a huge mess but republicans will go to their graves thinking George Bush was some sort of icon in the history of US Presidents.
Over 4,000 US troops, god bless them, male and female have given, not lost, but given their lives to this war that should have never happened. George Bush was quoted as saying in 2001, "If we don't stop extending our troops all around the world in nation-building missions, then we're going to have a serious problem." — George W. Bush, Jan. 2001. How filled is that comment with hypocrisy?

Let us not forget the ongoing problems with the acceptance of gays and lesbians in our country. We can not get married, some states are not letting same sex couples adopt or be foster parents. The system is bulging, ready to burst and yet people who can provide quality, loving, and supportive homes are denied because the Christians say it is bad for the child. Some idiot of a psychologist who never took the time to get to know a family with same sex parents, spew stats that its better for a child to come from a house with a loving mom and a loving dad. We as gays have never disputed that, BUT we are just as capable as being nurturing, loving parents, regardless of us being same sex couples.

Religion has no place in this discussion. Why? Because the pilgrims came her long ago to find a land where they could practice their religion, one which was different from what was the norm where they cam here from. But instead of accepting people for their differences we eventually took the land from those that had lived here for thousands of years, the native Americans. We are a nation of hypocrites. We are a nation where parents teach their children hate at a very young age. The scariest and most recent example of this in my lifetime is the persecution of The Dixie Chicks just because they said at a concert in London that they were embarrassed that the president of the US was from Texas. Threats were made against their lives, and their families. Radio stations refused to play their music, people were seen in the streets burning their Cd's, and people were chanting hate for these 3 talented women, who just happened to have an opinion. Last I heard, our first amendment right was freedom speech. BUT, DON"T you who were involved in this hate hide behind the first amendment saying that you were just voicing your first amendment right to destroy their music, and perpetuate all the hate you were breeding regarding what was said. MY god, you are all cowards, ignorant cowards at that. I can not shake the image from the news where some women was holding her child and telling her to say that she hated the Dixie Chicks. WOW America, one of our brightest moments.

After suffering from, and battling depression for my entire life, I finally was given the proper diagnosis and 2008 has been an awesome year for me, free from depression. After I was out of the hospital I wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail to being depression and mental illness out into the light. I called my second oldest sister to see if it would be OK with her if I asked her minister if I can could come to her church and give a talk about mental illness, and how it is not some dark evil that lurks in bad people, and I also wanted to talk about the hike and being gay. She flat out told me she did not want me to do it, not at all. I was so furious, I later called her back and left her a voice message about how angry I was and she was being a bigot. We now no longer talk, as she, " The Christan " will not forgive me for what I said to her. If we do not do something in our country to slow down the destroying of people who are different, or who are not Christian in our society, we are going to have a hugely divided country. Much more so than it is today.