"You put words in my mouth"
No I didn't. I was making a statement that the evidence you cited wasn't sufficient to explain the decline of our republic. If you read my post again you may see what I mean.
Statements such as these...
"try not to let others' knee-jerks bother me"
"But, your point is quite valid. "Pearls" and such..."
"Yes, a lot of people go through life that way."
...are interesting. Should I be very insulted?
With your original remark about burkahs -- the obvious implication being that I have a kinship with the Taliban -- were you intending to set the table for a friendly discussion?