Great concern is routinely raised by far-right conservatives about how everyone from liberals to the Mothmen wants to set the Constitution afire thus destroying life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. There is nothing anyone has done to suggest modifying the Constitution since for the Equal Rights Amendment which was abandoned in the early 80's. Since then there has been nothing except the Supreme Court butchering it but that has happened due to the aggressive cowardice from Congress in dealing with anything.
The irony of the self-identified patriotic fervor of the far-right is they're so passionate about defending the Constitution, ostensibly, while at the same time they chisel away at the separation of church and state in any way they can. Most don't know the Forefathers had nothing to do with Pledge of Allegiance and they would have strongly opposed adding 'In God We Trust' to the money along with many other anti-Constitutional abuses of this nature.
Note: 'one nation under God' was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1956 under the regime of McCarthyism so that's just one peach of a legacy from one of the most hellish Senatorial administrations the country has ever seen. McCarthy was big on blacklisting people too and destroyed many lives that way.
Keep the Constitution sacred ... even when it never was previously and the idea was specifically opposed when it was written.
The same people argue passionately for prayer in school, again without any regard for the separation of church and state. They say why not make that legal but we say why not read the Constitution and Bill of Rights when you so obviously have no knowledge of their content now.
The concern isn't one contrived issue versus another since the Constitution is clear on the matter and no amount of double talk changes that fact. Prayer in school is just as illegal as changing the money to show God on it. That outrageous manipulation of religion for political effect is one of the hallmark features of a society on a hellbound train.
Note: skip the slam on atheism because we're not atheists and consider them often dull and lifeless. Something we decided quite some time ago, it doesn't matter what religion you hold or none at all so long as you don't act like an asshole.
The irony of the self-identified patriotic fervor of the far-right is they're so passionate about defending the Constitution, ostensibly, while at the same time they chisel away at the separation of church and state in any way they can. Most don't know the Forefathers had nothing to do with Pledge of Allegiance and they would have strongly opposed adding 'In God We Trust' to the money along with many other anti-Constitutional abuses of this nature.
Note: 'one nation under God' was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1956 under the regime of McCarthyism so that's just one peach of a legacy from one of the most hellish Senatorial administrations the country has ever seen. McCarthy was big on blacklisting people too and destroyed many lives that way.
Keep the Constitution sacred ... even when it never was previously and the idea was specifically opposed when it was written.
The same people argue passionately for prayer in school, again without any regard for the separation of church and state. They say why not make that legal but we say why not read the Constitution and Bill of Rights when you so obviously have no knowledge of their content now.
The concern isn't one contrived issue versus another since the Constitution is clear on the matter and no amount of double talk changes that fact. Prayer in school is just as illegal as changing the money to show God on it. That outrageous manipulation of religion for political effect is one of the hallmark features of a society on a hellbound train.
Note: skip the slam on atheism because we're not atheists and consider them often dull and lifeless. Something we decided quite some time ago, it doesn't matter what religion you hold or none at all so long as you don't act like an asshole.
8 comments:
Actually, the original constitution says very little about religion. The only reference is in the signing portion and refers to the date as "The year of our lord". The original signers were either professed Christians or deists. However, they were very concerned about the federal government being a sponsor of any specific federally state supported religion (there were several of the original colonies that already had religions sponsored by the state government). The country was then and to some extent still is inhabited by large groups of immigrants persecuted for their religious beliefs in the many theocracies of the world.
Therefore, the founders and signatory of the original constitution included a clause in the Bill of Rights first amendment "Congress will make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;". So the original constitution and first amendment to it says two things about religion: 1) The federal government can NOT establish a national religion and 2) The federal government can NOT prevent anyone from practicing their religion.
Starting with the administration of Thomas Jefferson the idea of separation of church and state were promoted. The concept of separation of church and state has been an ongoing debate ever since amount the public, in Congress and the courts. The inclusion of "under God" in the pledge of allegiance and "In God we Trust" on the currency was tested in the late 20th and early 21st century. Federal district courts and the Supreme Court have ruled as late as 2010 that these terms, in the context they are in, do not establish a national religion or prevent anyone from practicing their religion.
The beauty of the constitution is that it is an interpretive document but establishes certain finite beliefs that have endured. It has been modified many times over the years to better reflect the ideas of the American people . It is therefore entirely possible that these phrases are removed in the 21st century just as they were added in the 20th century.
Actually, it is the ban on prayer in school that is unconstitutional. The First Amendment specifically prohibits Congress from passing any law that would restrict the free exercise of religion. What happened, though, was in the early 1920s, an activist Supreme Court interpreted the word Congress to include state and local governments, which was not intended, and to include any publicly administered office, also not intended. The intent of the First Amendment was to allow the states and not the federal government to make those determinations. That's why they used the word Congress and nothing else.
Actually, the ban on prayer in school is specifically to honor the Establishment Clause and how appropriately named because it is to prevent the government from establishing a national religion as has been pushed so blatantly with Christianity in America. If that ain't true, how do you explain the money, the Pledge, etc?? There's enough disingenuous hogwash on this topic to keep Washington running for a thousand years!
Cadillac Man, I notice you, too, leave out mention of the Establishment Clause and this rolls the Constitution and the Bill of Rights together but so what since that happens so much anyway. That single focus may be the single biggest problem with management of the situation since the right to do such and so is important but the protection it provides (e.g. against a national religion) is ignored. Both of y'all did that so Cowboy Bob will rest his case at this time!
I would use the 10 Commandents on the Supreme Court as your example of pushing Christianity. I dont see the use of the word God as being religion specific.
I doubt you will get much agreement from non-Christians about any perception God is a generic term applyig to all. It's true in concept but almost never in practice.
I was just listening to a bit just now from George Carlin on the Ten Commandments and whittling them down. Too wordy, you know. His points are fair and he reminds of course they will be due to his dazzling logic. Who wouldn't love this guy.
Allah Akbar.
Tell him Godu Akbar and see if it works for him (shrug).
Post a Comment