There is a constant barrage of partisan baloney spouted in public, in newspapers’ letters-to-the-editor columns and on the Internet. Most of it is by a minority of the populace, but it’s loud and gets attention.

One side calls the other goose-stepping storm troopers. Another group tells the world that if you disagree with them you aren’t a “real American” or you aren’t a Christian.

If all this political vitriol and partisan prattling disgusts you, maybe what follows is your cup of tea.

In a recent Temple Daily Telegram there was a letter to the editor that was sterling in its assessment of this nattering negativism.

Apparently, the writer of this letter and another letter writer disagreed in exchanges in the Telegram’s letters to the editor column.

I wish I’d written what Kay Johnson of Temple had the faith and spirit to write:

“I’d rather go down drinking the sweetness of Kool-Aid than the bitterness of acid.

“I am sorry if I offended you or anyone, Mr. Cummings, but the truth does that. It is what it is.

“If this country is in worse shape than it was when President Obama came into office then you’ll let us know. My pastor also said judge not lest you are judged! So if you want to condemn Obama for who he used to associate with, go ahead, but start with Jesus — he hung out with tax cheats (collectors who were crooked), an adulteress, and all kinds of sinners, he sought them.

“We all were sinners (saved by grace); we are all former somethings. And, no, a political party does not define me nor does it dictate my composure. I’m quite sure when I get to heaven I won’t be asked my political affiliation.

“And yes, I do empathize with President Obama; he didn’t have a father that was a former president or come from a political family while trying to tackle some of these tough problems. He reminds me of David going against the giant Goliath, but I know that the same God that anointed David’s hands to slay that giant is the same God that can anoint President Obama’s hands to slay the giants he faces.

“So my prayer for 2010 is that God guides and directs all our leaders and that we all pray for them. That’s what true Christians who really love their country do!”

You go, Ms. Johnson!

Her stance and message brings to mind one of the great lessons of faith I ever witnessed.

In 1998, while publishing The Jasper Newsboy and covering the horrendous race-hate murder there, my young managing editor and I went to interview the parents of the murdered man, James Byrd Jr.

James Byrd Sr., his wife Stella and one of their daughters, Clara Byrd Taylor, received us. While we were overcome with sympathy and pain for their plight and were hesitant in our questioning, they were extremely gracious. They anticipated our questions and answered them calmly and with great dignity. They expressed their confidence in the justice system and urged calm. Their deep faith was evident in their every word and gesture.

The next evening there was a wake service for Byrd Jr. at the family’s church. I decided to attend as a Jasperite rather than a member of the press. In a spontaneous service, I was called on unexpectedly to say a few words.

After a few general remarks, I then recounted my visit with the Byrds. I told of wondering as I drove to their home what I possibly could offer them in the way of comfort and solace. Then, I said, “I found I had little to offer them and that they had everything to offer me and the world — the greatest lesson in faith, grace and dignity I’ve ever seen.” With that I choked up and started to my seat and passed the front pew where James Byrd Sr. sat. He arose and hugged me and put scores of exclamation points on my statement.

We need a huge dose of the kind of faith espoused by Kay Johnson and the Byrd family.

Willis Webb is a retired community newspaper editor-publisher. He can be reached by email at wwebb@wildblue.net.