Respect now. Hold the hell 'till later.

When I saw the name Sarah Vowell on one of my audio book offerings, I picked it up. I’d seen some of her stuff, but knew virtually nothing about her.

The book, The Wordy Shipmates, is about the Massachusetts Bay Colony and the persistent thorn in its side, Roger Williams, who they finally ran out of town. You may remember he ended up living with the Indians in Rhode Island, founded Providence and is often credited with introducing a serious reading of separation of church and state into the colonists' thinking.

Reading history and social commentary should always be this much fun.

But that’s all background. Tracking down more of Sarah Vowell's stuff, I watched a video of her on the Daily Show, talking about the book. She said Roger William was a problem for the Puritans in Massachusetts Bay Colony because he was more serious about his religion than they were, not an easy feat.

But the line I liked most was her description of Williams’ basic religious approach, “He thought most of the people he met should be damned to the fires of hell after their death because they were so sinful, but until they died, you had a duty to treat them all well.”

That’s not exactly what she said, but it’s close. And I was thinking it's pretty intriguing. Because it generally works the other way around. We treat most of the people we bump into with indifference while they’re living, then say, “He was a really nice guy,” after they’re dead.

Reversing that — the more I think about it, the more I like it. Although I don’t think I’d like to have a long dinner with Roger Williams.