THE LAW IS THE LAW
 
So if the US government determines that it is against the law for the words "under God" to be on our money, then, so be it.

And if that same government decides that the "Ten Commandments" are not to be used in or on a government installation, then, so be it.

And since they already have prohibited any prayer in the schools, on which they deem their authority, then so be it.

I say, "so be it," because I would like to be a law abiding US citizen.

I say, "so be it," because I would like to think that smarter people than I are in positions to make good decisions.

I would like to think that those people have the American Public's best interests at heart.

BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I'D LIKE?

Since we can't pray to God, can't Trust in God and cannot Post His Commandments in Government buildings, I don't believe the Government and its employees should participate in the Easter and Christmas celebrations which honor the God that our government is eliminating from many facets of American life.

I'd like my mail delivered on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving and Easter.

After all, it's just another day.

I'd like the US Supreme Court to be in session on Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving & Easter as well as Sundays. 

After all, it's just another day.

I'd like the Senate and the House of Representatives to not have to worry about getting home for the "Christmas Break." 

After all it's just another day.

I'm thinking that a lot of my taxpayer dollars could be saved, if all government offices & services would work on Christmas, Good Friday & Easter.

It shouldn't cost any overtime since those would be just like any other day of the week to a government that is trying to be "politically correct."

In fact....

I think that our government should work on Sundays (initially set aside for worshipping God...) because, after all, our government says that it should be just another day....

What do you all think????

If this idea gets to enough people, maybe our elected officials will stop giving in to the minority opinions and begin, once again, to represent the 'majority' of ALL of the American people.

SO BE IT!

Please Dear Lord, Give us the help needed to keep you in our country!

'Amen' and 'Amen'

Touché!

Okay, so I beg to differ with you on this crusade of yours.

First of all, if I do believe in any god, it probably ain't your garden variety "God" that most everyone else around here seems to worship; but nor am I a follower of the "there-ain't-no-God-at-all" gang that your dad apparently belongs to.  (As I've mentioned to him, I just can't be certain of any of this, either way -- and furthermore, I just don't really care all that much.)  But this being the United States of America, I'm proud to say that my particular religious beliefs aren't really pertinent to this discussion anyway.  After all, this is not a religious topic; it's an American one.

Still, it seems fairly obvious that, rather than religious folk being under attack in this country, it's those who refuse to join in who are under siege.  Atheists are not the one's demanding that "There is no such a thing as God" be printed on the money, nor are Pagans demanding that a stone proclaiming some pre-Christian hogwash or other be placed on courthouse lawns.  Nor, for that matter, do we ever see legions of public school biology teachers descending on Sunday Schools, demanding that stickers be placed inside the front covers of Bibles that declare that "The existence of God is only a theory that has never been proven."

And while I don't agree with everything Thomas Jefferson ever said or did (and when we read up on him, we find that neither did he), I do particularly like what he argued against government involvement in religious affairs in his Notes on the State of Virginia, something to the effect that "My belief in one god, or twenty gods, or no god at all, is of no concern to my neighbor, since it neither breaks his leg nor picks his pocket."

And, of course, despite conventional wisdom to the contrary, the High Court never ruled that you can't pray in schools, only that there be no organized prayer, in which some governmental (e.g., in this case, "public school") authority uses taxpayer money to try to force someone to profess to believe something they just don't believe.  And despite what you say, I'm not arguing that you shouldn't be allowed to "Trust in God," I just ask that you not do it on my nickel, so to speak.

Which is to say, Atheists (and, of course, Agnostics) in this country are not the ones trying to force their point of view on the believers, it's the believers who are trying to strong-arm everyone else.

So I'd offer that the best alternative to all this foolishness about so many otherwise nice people arguing in favor of the Almighty being added to the government payroll is to let those who profess to believe all that stuff do it in the privacy of their own homes and churches, and for those who don't believe it to not do it in their own homes or wherever, and that we should keep the public square free for any and all of us, no matter what we believe, to wander through unmolested by heavenly PR of one sort or another, and to leave all that "theocracy" silliness to those countries that choose to be "Islamic" states which live according to Islamic law or whatever.  After all, the United States of America belongs to all of its citizens, not just to those who believe in a certain god.

Holidays off, yadda yadda?  Not a biggy.  I especially don't mind taking Christmas off (especially since it's not really exclusively a religious holiday anymore), and if there are any non-believer zealots who call the post office every year to scream about not getting their mail on Good Friday, I've never heard tell of them.  But I do believe in weekends, and if they happen to correspond with Christian Sunday and Jewish Saturday, that seems to me like a win-win situation all around.

Come to think of it, if your movement decides to go so far as to add Muslim Friday to those other two, you probably wouldn't hear a yelp out of me either.  I suppose the drop in productivity might have a negative effect on the American economy - but still, a three-day weekend?  Hey, what's not to like?  Come to think of it, maybe the Hopi Indians have a holiday they wouldn't mind throwing into the pot, too.  Sounds cool, no?

Anyway, please keep me informed on the progress of your campaign - although I doubt there will be any; no, not just because of all those silly overtones of religious bigotry, but because this could serve to unite both ends of the spiritual spectrum in a spirited defense of something we all seem to strongly believe in:

Days off!

Copyright © 2005 – Rick Brown