So, I don’t usually respond to or pass along any of the mass email that comes from my family and friends. I have a time or two in the past, but then was chagrinned to find out that a supposed threat of increasing cancer risk was simply another “scare tactic” by someone out there who was against a certain type of product. Afterwards I stopped my knee-jerk reaction to such types of emails and decided to research the “true claims” they made myself.
So, I get an email today that puzzled me. Basically it said (paraphrasing here): If the Gov’t removes any mention of God from their money, the pledge of allegince, military endeavors, etc., then god-fearing people should protest the government “using” religious holidays to give time off.
The logic here is astounding. (Yes, I am being facetious.) Firstly, there is the first amendment:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.Now, I realize that for some people the government giving a holiday to the entire nation which doesn’t all practice the same religion is probably “respecting” that religion. But come on, no one was going to go to work that day anyway. And for all intents and purposes the gov’t could declare Christmas as “Winter Wonderland Day” for all I care. There, no religious affiliation (that I know of).
As for the money and military and the pledge, now that is actually showing so much respect that those not of certain God-fearing religions are being infringed upon… Though the extent isn’t much with the money… I mean it is there, but who spends time reading money? I mean buy a book.
The pledge?... Tell your kid to say “Under Daddy” instead of “Under God” and hope no one in the class says “Just like your mom”... or better yet, just don’t say “under God,” right? Say “under Allah” or “under Buddha” or say nothing at all… I know some guy sued, so maybe the pledge has already been changed, but at this point they are just some words written by someone who didn’t happen to read the first amendment or failed to understand that Christianity isn’t the only religion out there.
...The military stuff, I have no clue about this. Do you get courtmarshalled and more for not following the 10 commandments as laid down in the King James Bible? Is that really true?...if so, scary.
So basically, go ahead and protest if you must. But sheesh the very first thing they thought of when writing the Bill of Rights was religion and keeping it and gov’t away from each other. Why? Because they knew that gov’t could go terribly awry once religion started getting swirled into the mix. (As some of us have caught glimpses of in the past 5 years or so… )
There may be talk of removing “religious” references or practices in anything gov’t related, but has it happened? No. Will it happen? Doubt it. Maybe eventually, and then how much of an effect will it have on me or you or that other guy over there? None. (Perhaps some effect on the military… again not my area of expertise.) So, I don’t get the indignation. What’s the big deal? It seems like some bored guy is sitting in front of the tv watching Fox News, yelling out his window if you aren’t going to recognize my God, then I’m not going to let you enjoy my religious holiday. So there!!! Rather silly isn’t it?