If you have been paying any attention to the recent presidential campaign, Ted Cruz made a giant faux-pas (at least for those of us in the North East) as he derided the so-called "New York" values. He later tried to change track by suggesting that he was really talking about "liberal" values. I did not think much of it at the time, believing that it was simply politics. Of course, his opponents jumped all over that statement, with Donald Trump and others using it to their advantage.It's almost impossible to say what "New York" values are, with a population as diverse as ours. However, I was forced to think about this issue again when a good friend of mine from California, who is also a pastor, emailed me and asked me that question. At first, I didn't have an answer, but the more I thought about it, it seemed that the answer was simple, and I emailed him back one sentence: "New York values are embodied in the "first responders" who gave their lives on 9/11." That just about says it all, as far as I am concerned.MEH