Theocracies are notorious for being anti-freedom on all counts. That's one reason that the separation of church and state is so important. IMO
ie: NO government espousals of any religious kind. On Aug 14, 6:18 am, Laurie Ann Poole <[email protected]> wrote: > We The People > > A group of 450 Muslim families in the predominantly white, Christian town of > Palos Heights, Ill., had no place to worship, so they agreed to purchase an > unused church for $2.1 million and turn it into a mosque. Local townspeople > were aghast, and when one suggested to the City Council that the Muslims > should convert to Christianity or "go back to [their] own countries," the > Council voted to give the group $200,000 to drop their purchase plans. Mayor > Dean Koldenhoven called the action embarrassing, fiscally irresponsible and > an insult to Muslims, and vetoed it. (AP) ...Per the Constitution, "Freedom > of Religion" means Freedom of Religion for everyone. > > In Order To Form a More Perfect Union > > The Colorado Board of Education has voted to encourage schools to post the > motto "In God We Trust" in all schools. No way, says the Jefferson County > School Board, which oversees the bullet-riddled Columbine High. "In a time > where there are already many lines dividing our children in schools, one > more reason to point to differences cannot help," said Anti-Defamation > League regional director Saul Rosenthal in applauding the decision. The > state points out that the motto is included on U.S. currency and would be "a > way to celebrate national heritage." (AP) ...Despite the Constitution, > "Freedom of Religion" doesn't include Freedom From Religion. > The first is pretty straightforward; virtually everyone understood that I > was praising the mayor, and lecturing the city council (hey, morons: > "Freedom of Religion" applies to *everyone*, not just you idiotic public > servants"!) (*Update:* After the mayor was voted out of office for having > the audacity to uphold religious freedom in his city, he was awarded The > John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage > Award<http://www.jfklibrary.org/Education+and+Public+Programs/Profile+in+Co...>.) > > The second story -- or, really, its tagline (my follow-on comment at the > end) -- is not as clear. Here it is spelled out in painful detail: *The > Constitution guarantees "Freedom of Religion", which also includes "Freedom > From Religion" -- the freedom not to worship. Despite that guarantee, not > everyone actually gets that freedom.* What's my thinking on that? Americans > tend to think religion is the *exact same thing* as Christianity. Of course, > it isn't -- the vast majority of the world population is not Christian. So > since "Belief in God" and "religion" are considered absolutely equal by so > many, few see anything wrong with promoting God -- to the point where school > boards are insisting that mottos such as "In God We Trust" and > Christianity's Ten Commandments should be posted in public (read: > government-funded) schools. But what of the people who *don't* believe in > the Christian God? Not just atheists, but (say) Buddhists? Or Muslims? The > attitude of the people of Palos Heights, Ill. -- that these people should > convert to Christianity or "go back to [their] own countries" -- is > disgusting, but common. In other words, the freedoms this country were > founded on are only good for *some* people -- the "right kind" of people -- > and not to others -- the *wrong kind* of people, *different* people. *Bull!* > > The First Amendment's guarantee is for *all* Americans. And what a powerful > thing it is: One hundred years ago, social scientists predicted that belief > in God would decrease by the end of the century because of the > secularization of society. In fact, the opposite has occurred. (Source: *How > We Believe: The Search for God in an Age of Science* by Michael Shermer, > 1999.) Yet despite the fact that the First Amendment has allowed religion to > grow like it never has before, *some* Christians would deny others the same > right to practice their own religion. Forcing slogans on people such as "In > God We Trust" denies the rights of people to make up their own minds, to > pursue their own rights. Such thinking deserves to be revealed as the > hypocrisy it is. > > Many people think a motto such as "In God We Trust" is very innocuous and, > really, not particularly religious. They point to the fact that it is on > every piece of money issued by the United States government. That motto is, > in fact, on money *for religious reasons* -- contrary to the clear words of > the First Amendment. It's not just my opinion that it's there for religious > reasons: the U.S. Treasury readily admits it in their history paper, > "History of the Motto 'In God We Trust'" (available online > here<http://www.treas.gov/education/fact-sheets/currency/in-god-we-trust.html>), > which admits in part: > > The motto IN GOD WE TRUST was placed on United States coins largely because > of the increased religious sentiment existing during the Civil War. > Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase received many appeals from devout > persons throughout the country, urging that the United States recognize the > Deity on United States coins. From Treasury Department records, it appears > that the first such appeal came in a letter dated November 13, 1861. It was > written to Secretary Chase by Rev. M. R. Watkinson, Minister of the Gospel > from Ridleyville, Pennsylvania. > ... > The Congress passed the Act of April 22, 1864 [to allow the motto on] the > one-cent coin and authorized the minting of the two-cent coin.... Another > Act of Congress passed on March 3, 1865. It allowed the Mint Director, with > the Secretary's approval, to place the motto on all gold and silver coins > that "shall admit the inscription thereon." > ... > The motto has been in continuous use on the one-cent coin since 1909, and on > the ten-cent coin since 1916. It also has appeared on all gold coins and > silver dollar coins, half-dollar coins, and quarter-dollar coins struck > since July 1, 1908. A law passed by the 84th Congress (P.L. 84-140) and > approved by the President on July 30, 1956, the President approved a Joint > Resolution of the 84th Congress, declaring IN GOD WE TRUST the national > motto of the United States. IN GOD WE TRUST was first used on paper money in > 1957, when it appeared on the one-dollar silver certificate. The first paper > currency bearing the motto entered circulation on October 1, 1957. The > Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) was converting to the dry intaglio > printing process. During this conversion, it gradually included IN GOD WE > TRUST in the back design of all classes and denominations of currency. > > The history notes that the slogan was first used on paper money in 1957, but > was not widely on currency until the mid-1960s. > > If you're an American, all the money in your pocket declares a motto which > you may not believe in or, worse, declares something you specifically may * > not* believe. Tough: it's there anyway. Thus, you are not being afforded a > right *guaranteed* to all citizens by the Constitution's Bill of Rights, > hence: *Despite the Constitution, "Freedom of Religion" doesn't include > Freedom From Religion.* -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "WebTV Dawgs/Dittos" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/webtv-pals?hl=en.
