I'm going to pass over your opinions of marriage and civil union. I think they're all absurd, but I don't think talking about them will change a thing.
I know I haven't answered the question exactly. Honestly, it's a hard thing to answer. I think there should still be some level of acknowledgement that we, as a nation, have our roots in religion.
Our roots was getting away from religion. We separated from Britain because we no longer wanted to be forced to be religious anymore, yet in the end we suffered the same fate. People didn't want to be forced to believe in God, yet in the end we forced our people into believing through ridicule and social banishment. We were so hopped up on religion that we killed people who had open beliefs as witches--innocent people we killed because they spoke up. They were considered to have the devil in them and they were drowned, hung; killed.
I live in the town that carries the national record for the most people simultaneously hung: Native American Indians. Because they were savages, nonreligious, barbarians. This country was not meant to have religion in it's roots and even John Adams, who was a religious man, wrote about the difficulty of keeping his religious beliefs out of the government because he didn't believe people should be forced to believe in God.
But you're right, we shouldn't force religion on anyone or force people to hide their own beliefs. But not having prayer in school or not saying the pledge of allegiance because of "under God" doesn't force people to hide their religion. If it's that big of a deal, to you, and you feel that you're being oppressed religiously, then slap a huge sticker on you that says, "I BELIEVE IN GOD."
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branchandroot
Re: Pt 1.
Date: 28 September 2008 14:24 (UTC)Our roots was getting away from religion. We separated from Britain because we no longer wanted to be forced to be religious anymore, yet in the end we suffered the same fate. People didn't want to be forced to believe in God, yet in the end we forced our people into believing through ridicule and social banishment. We were so hopped up on religion that we killed people who had open beliefs as witches--innocent people we killed because they spoke up. They were considered to have the devil in them and they were drowned, hung; killed.
I live in the town that carries the national record for the most people simultaneously hung: Native American Indians. Because they were savages, nonreligious, barbarians. This country was not meant to have religion in it's roots and even John Adams, who was a religious man, wrote about the difficulty of keeping his religious beliefs out of the government because he didn't believe people should be forced to believe in God.
But you're right, we shouldn't force religion on anyone or force people to hide their own beliefs. But not having prayer in school or not saying the pledge of allegiance because of "under God" doesn't force people to hide their religion. If it's that big of a deal, to you, and you feel that you're being oppressed religiously, then slap a huge sticker on you that says, "I BELIEVE IN GOD."