Propaganda and Seperation of Church & State

Once again I am COMPLETELY astounded by the right wing nutjobs who stupidly blither on about how our nation was founded by Christians & how our nation is falling apart because god is not in our schools. As always these wingnutz argue exactly AGAINST their own interests. Mostly this happens because this very vocal and moronic bunch of people do not have even the slightest understanding of the issue they rail on about. (but is this a surprise since they consistently blither without the slightest honest knowledge of any subject?)

Look, I would take up arms to protect the right of believers to believe. For me that is a fundamental right - freedom of thought - as important as freedom of speech and the right to peaceful assembly. What the nutjob right does not understand is that the kind of theocracy they advocate once existed in the USA and THEY WERE AGAINST IT!!!

many of the 13 original colonies were founded as RELIGIOUS colonies. Puritan Congregationalists ran Massachusetts and Connecticut, Episcopalians ruled Virginia & the Carolinas, Catholicism was supreme in Maryland, and the Quakers literally owned Pennsylvania. In most of these colonies & even after they became states in the United States people were FORCED to pay tithes to the established church whether they believed or not. In Virginia many of my forebearers fled NOT the tyranny of the government, but the tyranny of the CHURCH! These Baptists hated the established church, fought against the forced tithing to the aristocratic Episcopla/Anglican Church, and constantly moved out to the frontier to avoid the moneygrubbing church authorities who resorted even to condemning land to get their demanded religious taxes. But even my family - who have no memory of the past - babble on about putting "god" back in the government and our schools.

My question for my family & for everyone is this: Whose God? Do you want an America like the long gone America where a Baptist must move because he refuses to pay for a church he does not believe in? Do they want to be Pentecostal in a state where the Baptists look down on and oppress them? Do they want to live in a state where they cannot hold public office or even vote because they do not go to church, or because they belong to the wrong denomination? More importantly, do they want a state church to mandate that their children pray in school & write prayers that may well be offensive to them? This would all exist again in an America they insist upon.

Maybe now my family and others can understand that I am for freedom of religion and they are not. Maybe if they read this they can understand that I am the true "conservative" on this issue and that they are the ones who want more government invading what we believe & telling us what to think. For me, keep religion and government seperated. I do not trust ministers to run my government or my government to dictate my religion!