I re-read the United States Constitution the other day -- it only takes 5 or 10 mintues and well worth it. Dunno if anyone here was aware of this, but interestingly enough, it doesn't mention Jesus. Who knew? And here I was actually believing those people *cough* Vera *cough* who keep on insisting that the United States is a Christian Nation.
Bullshit.
The Constitution is the founding document that sets forth the governing principles of this country. All federal and states laws have to be in agreement with it. Simple so far, right? And the only places where the Constitution mentions religion - of any type - is in Article 6 ("...no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.") and in the First Amendment ("Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...").
How is that making the US a Christian Nation again?
And if it really were, why would Christianists be trying so hard to change the laws to make them more Biblical?
Anyone who wants to argue that the US is Christian because the Founders (or original citizens, or the Lost Tribes of Israel who were here first) were Christians is deluded. They're wrong. Let's put this in plain English. The personal beliefs of any of the Founders are absolutely irrelevant to the content of the Constitution. Doesn't matter if you're talking about personal thoughts about religion or translations of Vergil or whether dogs are better than cats - if they didn't put it in the Constitution, then it has nothing whatever to do with the laws and political structure of the United States.
And so freaking what if the majority of the citizens in this country were or are Christians? Custom is not law. And customs change. The US used to be a primarily agricultural country as well. That doesn't mean that we're a nation of farmers today, does it? We also used to be kinda in favor of exterminating the original inhabitants. And so on, and so on. Times change, the national character changes, and although history still casts its shadow and lurks in our cultural DNA, the United States is now a far more varied and non-dogmatic country than it used to be. As our founding document tells us we can be.
So get your ridiculous Ten Commandments monuments off my fucking courthouse lawn, all right?
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Charles,
ReplyDelete"And so freaking what if the majority of the citizens in this country were or are Christians?"
But, there were thirteen different competing and mutually exclusive christian sects back then. There may as well have been thirteen different religions.
The founders made sure that none of them would be able to gain dominion over the others, or the government.
We may be a nation of mostly christians, but we have a very successful secular government.
This is what scares me most about America today. There are people who want to change this country because they believe, deep down, that we all need the kind of change they adovcate.
ReplyDeleteThey're willing to ignore the injustice of institutionalized theism - God's on their side, so it really doesn't matter what everyone else thinks.
Rationale like this can justify and kind of behavior or action.
I'll confess that I'm getting really really angry with those who claim to know what's in my best interests - without ever having asked me in the first place.
The US is not a Christian nation; it's a nation of people who may or may not belong to many religions, social clubs & political organizations. The laws which regulate this nation must take that into consideration - which therefore necessitates exclusion of religion from those laws.
The pastor who's responsible for Congress putting "Under god" in the pledge just died.
ReplyDeleteAt least, if the Christians take over, we can look forward to the union dissolving and the states who aren't batshit crazy can band together under the original tolerance and beauty of the U.S. constitution.
ReplyDeleteWho's courthouse lawn?
ReplyDeleteShaggy,
ReplyDeleteYou hit my sweetspot! I have often thought of what it would be like to have all the religionists in one half of the country and "Us" in the other half while we govern ourselves with the Constitution and they go about setting up their Theocracy, using the bible as their founding document. I guarantee they would be killing each other over who's interpretation would be the right one.
Hey Froggie -
ReplyDeleteWhat if the 'religionists' picked the southern part of the country (besides some obvious wisecracks)?
And what if you had to have a passport to go past the Mason Dixon? (or other line of demarcation?)
Strictly for hypothetical, that's all....
LAOF,
ReplyDeleteThey are on the Texas Capitol building lawn. The judge said they were "grandfathered" in.
I just go back to the Treaty of Tripoli, it is a short read also. Article 11 is of interest.
LOAF asked-
ReplyDeleteWhat if the 'religionists' picked the southern part of the country (besides some obvious wisecracks)?
If they did, then I would probably have to get my ass out of Dixie. I don't relish the image of stoning sinners on downtown streets amidst the blossoming magnolias and dogwoods.
What if the 'religionists' picked the southern part of the country (besides some obvious wisecracks)?
ReplyDeleteMike Judges' "Idiocracy" comes to mind.