This one is going to be difficult . . .

. . . and by the time it's done, some of you whom I love and care for deeply will likely think quite differently about me, figuring that I'm not the guy you thought I was.  You will be incorrect in that assessment, but the subject incurs such deep emotional reactions that it tends to induce tunnel vision.  If I turn out to be right, the loss that I suspect will occur will hurt deeply, but it is a price I am willing to pay in order to take my position on the right side of history as well as be true to my convictions regarding life, property, rights, and my Christian faith.

_____________________________________

It is a face filled with murderous fury. The lips are fully retracted in a straining grimace that reveals both rows of teeth clenched under enormous pressure. The eyes evince a complete abandonment of reason and its replacement with mindless rage. The eyebrows are furrowed into a gun sight “V”, the muscles in the cheeks and neck stretching skin as the body fights the restraining arm that keeps the target out of reach. The nostrils are flared, making way for the adrenaline-induced rush of oxygen needed to carry out the attack. 
Little more than 10 minutes in a make-up artist's chair, just long enough to outfit the teeth with bloody, swinging viscera and a tangled shock of stringy, lice-infested hair, and you would have the complete image of a mad, human cannibal in a low-budget horror movie.  
In a word, the face is . . . hideous.

There is a knock at the door . . .

. . .  and answering, you see a man in a suit, holding an ID and a badge. You also notice the butt of a gun peeking out of his jacket.

“I'm from the government. There's a family down the street – father's been out of work, mother is sick, and the kids are doing without. I'm here to collect money to help support them.”

You're a bit surprised; you glance down the street in the direction he's pointing, then at that gun, then back to his face.

“Uh, well, yeah – okay. Umm, how much?”

“17 cents.”

“17 cents?”

“Yes, 17 cents – is that a problem?”

You notice that the inflection of his voice rose as he got closer to the end of his question, challenging your responses as if he thinks it possible you're going to cause trouble.

Over 17 cents.