I completely agree that the metaphorical landscape of rock & roll is strewn with the literal corpses of brilliant and unbalanced artists. But Sid Vicious? I realize that this is very tangential to the review of Johnny Cash, but Sid Vicious was not brilliant and he was not an artist. He was very fortunate to have been John Lydon's friend when they needed a bass player in the Sex Pistols. He was punk's Ringo Starr but with less talent. His only real ability was being in the right place at the right time. His contribution to the group was his willingness to fully embrace the sex and drugs ethos of rock music. But don't lump him in with truly brilliant musicians. The simple fact that he was a part of something huge does not bespeak his greatness. It merely says that he had excellent timing.

But Cash's brand of Christianity, the polar opposite of religious conservatism, was based on the necessity of embracing even those the Lord seems to have forgotten.

I was worried for a minute that Ms. Zacahrek would stick to the movie and its review, and not bring in a gratuitous slam on people she disagrees with. Fortunately, she came through, managing both the insult and a distortion of Christian concern for the poor in the same phrase. That concern embraces the poor, oppressed and alienated because the Lord hasn't forgotten them, and directs us not to forget them either.

I'm a fundamentalist Christian who doesn't exactly fit the mold. I was a Kerry campaign volunteer. I'm anti-death penalty. I've been against the war since day one. I was against Bush before he got 'elected' the first time.

Still, I really don't think it's fair to say that politically conservative Christians don't care about, say, people in prisons. I go to church with plenty of conservative Christians. I may disagree strongly with how they vote, but are they lacking in terms of doing things like visiting those in prison? Well, gosh, my former church choir (I moved to another state...my new church is too small to have a real choir) goes every year to sing at a prison nearby. I volunteer at a Christian crisis pregnancy center that has an entire room of donated clothes and toys that we give away to anyone who comes to ask for them.

Everyone I volunteer there with votes conservative---and they're still busy giving themselves away to help the poor!

I'll be the first to say that while I'm fiscally almost a socialist, the only reason that I am one is because the church has fallen down on the job. It is OUR job to take care of the poor, the widow, and the fatherless. If we were doing our job, we wouldn't need a welfare system. Since the church hasn't done it's job, I'm pro-welfare.

That said, when was the last time that YOU went to a prison? I'm not saying that the church is doing all it should, but perhaps if you took your own advice, and got outside of your own sphere, you'd know enough conservative Christians to know that they, just like Johnny Cash, are visiting and helping those who are in need.