Month: April 2012

Some Messages are Better Left Half Finished

 

soldierspraying

 

This started out as a response to a facebook post, but then exploded into a thing of its own.

I have to say that this is a message that would be best served by posting only the first half of the words. I know that what I am about to say may not be popular, but as a military person who works to protect the Constitution, and the freedoms it provides, it becomes harder and harder for me not to speak up when people say things that are mean and angry and attribute it to the Constitution.

First off, I have never met a person that wanted to stop everyone from praying. There are those who want to see prayer and religion removed from a position of authority in public (i.e. governmental) situations, but they generally are ok with the idea of you praying at home. They are not anti-prayer, they are simply in favor of freedom of religion.

As for “Let’s take our country back,” back from who? People of Christian faith are the vast majority of lawmakers. They are the ones who have the most sway over the laws.

More importantly, saying “Let’s take our country back,” in this context is implying that you are more American than the next guy. It is saying that if someone disagrees with you they are obviously dangerous and radical. It is saying that somehow the country has been invaded and must be liberated.

As for “In God We Trust,” that is a very sound concept for families and groups that are Christian, or follow some other singular deity. It is not however part of the Constitution. It was added to our currency in response to the “Red Scare,” because the communist leaders of the day had some very unhealthy ideas about religion and those in power wanted to prove that America was not a communist country. The same goes for “Under God,” in the pledge of allegiance. “Under God” as added sixty two years after the pledge was written (Not only that, but according to WikiPedia, the guy that wrote the Pledge was a Christian Socialist).

We are a nation that has many Christians. They are by most accounts the vast majority of the people in our country. We are also a nation that was made great in part because we encourage diversity. When people make the claim that “Liberals are trying to take God out of government,” Well… To be honest, they are. But that is because God does not belong in government. Our founding fathers fled England for that very reason. This Nation was founded primarily for that reason. Yes, we are a nation of Christians, but we are not a Christian Nation. Yes, our laws often (but not always) match up with Christian morality, but that is because in most cases Christian morality matches Jewish Morality, matches Muslim morality, matches Pagan morality, and matches Buddhist morality. Certain things are right and wrong, and most people of most faiths agree with that.

The Church has a strong role in our country, and that role is to provide faith and support and compassion to their flocks. When the Church gets involved in government though, it generally does more harm than good. Many people who are Atheists today left the church because of the church’s public and legislative behavior. If you want to push anyone out of government, it should be the people who are CLAIMING to be Christian’s, and then pushing a hate filled agenda with all the passion and grace of a feral animal. Christians should not be uniting to “Take Back Our Country,” they should be uniting to take back their name from the bigots that present themselves to the world as representing the church and all that it means to be Christian.

As for the military, we do fight for your right to be Christian. We also fight for your neighbor’s right to be a Muslim, a Jew, a Buddhist, an Atheist, or whatever he wants to be.

We are also sworn to protect the Constitution, and I cannot stand by and let people defame it with their anger and hate. If you love God, you can say so. If you love the Constitution, you can say so. If you hate your neighbor, well… You can say that too. Please though, do not spout hate, and then claim it is you defending the Constitution our country or what it means to be American.

I mean, you can say those things. You do have freedom of speech, I would just rather you not lie to yourself or the world about what the Constitution says.

I would rather you not spread hate and bigotry at all, but if you choose too, please keep it away from the constitution, and please keep God/gods out of it.

Labels, the Current System, and Third Party Votes

I have noticed that a lot of people are not educated on just what the words “socialist,” “socialism,” and “socialistic” mean.

You can talk about their views and political ideas. You can go item by item. Every response matches up with the concepts and ideals of socialism. Ask them if they are socialist though, and their reaction varies from simple denial, to violent rage.

It is no wonder the liberals of the country have trouble electing officials that represent what they believe. They don’t even know what the normal label is for their views.

All it takes is for a republican to scream socialist, and the candidate is suddenly outcast and a pariah.

And for those candidates that liberals do get into office, they are educated and do know what words mean. The message to them is loud and clear “be as liberal as you dare, but socialism will get you voted out or worse.”

The result is that the mainstream “left wing” of American politics is way to the right of most countries center line. It is to the right of most countries right wing.

People need to learn what words mean. They need to learn how to call what they believe. They need to learn how to speak up and voice their views to their politicians. They need to remember that their vote does have power, and they must act as a united people to insure that the politicians in charge remember this.

A European friend of mine recently said “You guys have the government you deserve,” and he is right. We voted them all in, Republican and Democrat. Worse than that, we show ever indication that as long as they maintain the status quo, we will continue to vote for them. I say that needs to change.

If you are a far right winger, vote libertarian not republican. If you are a far left winger, vote green party. If you are a constitutionalist, vote Constitutional Party. I say start now with the upcoming elections in September.

Voting for a third party candidate is NOT throwing your vote away. It sends a message to the election officials that these people are potentially electable in future elections. It also sends a message to whichever candidate wins. It tells them that if they do just maintain the status quo, it may not work out for them.

I see that what was intended to be a one or two paragraph comment turned into a full on rant. I will leave it here. Take it as you will.