There seems to be another movement arising concerning the separation of church and state. We have a high level government official visiting Sarasota in the next few weeks to enlighten us. I remember this movement surfacing 8 years ago. We had just moved to Sarasota and it was about a week after the 2000 elections. My wife and I decided to go, thinking it would be a good way to meet people in our neighborhood and get politically involved in a nonpartisan issue at the same time.
As the meeting got under way, a crowd of about 50 people had gathered. I thought the speaker did a great job of presenting the case for separation of church and state. Our founding fathers certainly didn't want a state church,and obviously most people today don't want it for all the same reasons the founders wrote about during the founding of our country.
As I stated earlier, this was right after the 2000 election and the"open minded" hate Bush crowd was just gaining momentum. It became real obvious from the start that this meeting was more about hating Bush than about the separation of church and state. To them it was not a bipartisan issue. It was clear from the start , that as a conservative,I couldn't possibly agree with them, I didn't really have a right to an opinion, and I sure didn't have a right to express it. I agreed with them on most issues, but to this day they will never know that because of their hatred.
Anyway that is in the past. It is what it is. The more important issue is what the separation of church and state means. Basically it means that we will have no state sponsored church, such as the Church of England, or that our government won't be run by a religious fanatic as happens in some countries. This is all well and good, and is what it should be.
We, in America have freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion. We are free to practice whatever spiritual beliefs we may have. As we grow and change our beliefs may change and we are free to pursue those beliefs and discover how they fit into what we already believe. It is every one's right to practice their spiritual beliefs or lack of them, as long as they don't infringe on some one else beliefs. I was taught that if some one's beliefs are different than mine, to sit quietly and respect their beliefs,thereby giving them the same respect and courtesy I would expect.
Because of political correctness many of our common sense principles have gone out the window. It is now OK to shout four letter obscenities in school but our children aren't allowed to utter the word GOD. Prayer isn't allowed in school , but it is OK for teachers in Washington State to have sex with their students provided the student is over 18, if the student is a minor they have to bring a note from their parents.(just kidding.) It is permissible and acceptable for a minister to shout G-D America from the pulpit.
The list goes on and on, I agree there should be a separation of church and state, however that doesn't mean that a generic prayer can't be given in a public setting, that doesn't mean that a government official can't express a belief in God. Our founding fathers all had a belief in a higher power and God help us if our elected officials ever become non-believers. They need all the help they can get to solve the problems of the day.
In today's world, we have enough separation of church and state, what we really need is to abolish separation of God and state.
Gary has traveled to many parts of the world, see more articles and photos at: http://www.travelnsnap.com
Gary writes several blogs featuring travel, politics, and common sense; http://www.thefloridahoosier.com
Ignorant Excuses Who Needs Them
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