Freedom to be ... or not to be ...

i have spent almost three days now in contemplation of this blog ... because it touches on everything we as Americans hold dear .... including the right to agree or disagree about everything in it ... and so first the disclaimer ... it is not my intention to offend anyone by what i say here or to embarrass or hold them up for ridicule ... however i also believe that we must call, in the vernacular "a spade a spade" and if as the old saying goes ... "the shoe fits" ... i will only accede to saying so in all kindness and with the aforethought not to say that my way of seeing this is right and yours is wrong; but merely to express my personal thoughts using the God given freedoms of speech and expression inherent not only as guaranteed to every American through our constitution and bill of rights, but also to every human as granted by Almighty Creator that is God, no matter of what nation they are part.

and so to begin ... i received from my friend Marsha, an e-mail regarding elimination of crosses from all Federally -owned property which posed the situation of how to remove all the crosses from the federally-owned cemeteries in which brave souls who fought for freedom lie interred and asking the question of when the insanity of erasing from the public view all vestiges of Christianity would cease.... a few minutes later i received another e-mail from her asking me what another friend she had sent the e-mail to was trying to say in her reply ...

this then is the background from which this blog is written ... i will be quoting from the e-mail from the other friend in red text color. My own words will be in black color and material from additional or supporting sources will be denoted in blue type.

Pam writes

being an American i value and have defended our civil liberties on active duty for eight years and for a very long time in civil service. A major tenet of our freedom is our right and expectation for the federal government to keep its tentacles out of our churches, mosques, synagogues and mandirs. I am becoming more and more offended by the arrogant assumption that we all must worship the same way and believe the same things regarding religion or else we are un-American.

I also am a veteran of ten years of service to our country and also spend a great deal of my time involved in volunteer activities with the young people of this great nation and also agree that freedom of religion is a major tenet of our rights. In fact i made my very first public speech on this very subject as a 7th grade student at Buckeye Elementary School in 1975 (back in the days when you could mention God and religion in schools without fear of being hauled away as a subversive or fascist). I make mention of this fact because ever since those days it has been ONLY one group who has been determined to FORCE their set of values upon everyone and it has not been CHRISTIANS .. rather it is and has been the secular-humanist civil libertarians who have insisted that only THEY KNOW WHAT IS BEST and "correct" and that without them we would continue to be ignorant, bigoted, racist, homophobes; and therefore to be correct we must NEVER NEVER OFFEND ANYONE or do anything that might even possibly remotely have even the slightest speck of potential to offend ANYONE. As a defender of "religious freedom" since an early age i can unequivocally state that the first amendment to the constitution does not say FREEDOM FROM RELIGION but rather FREEDOM OF RELIGION.

Despite recent attempts by the leftist civil libertarians to insist that the founding fathers were not Christian or even believers in God or that they would insist on an absence of all religious discourse in the public forum is both completely ludicrous and totally and patently FALSE.

A quick glimpse at the Founding Fathers reveals that not one of them was a non-believer and that they were overwhelmingly of various Protestant faiths (two were Roman Catholic). Quite the contrary to being anti-religious they were firm believers in God but also firm in the belief that ALL beliefs and systems should share equal respect and acknowledgement ... again not freedom FROM religion but freedom OF religion (although those who wished to be free FROM religion could also practice those beliefs without fear, without ridicule, without inferiority). ALL religions (not the establishment of a state religion as in England) but the freedom to choose your own and feel free to celebrate it in whatever manner seemed fitting ... EQUAL RESPECT not AVOIDANCE and SUPPRESSION, equal respect and openness ... INCLUSIVITY not EXCLUSIVITY. Freedom for all yet not at the expense of their own beliefs that we were founded under the guidance and care of a SUPREME GOD ..

Take for example the declaration of President George Washington proclaiming a national day of thanksgiving:

General Thanksgiving

By the PRESIDENT of the United States Of America

A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favour; and

Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANKSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness"

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favours which He has been pleased to confer upon us. And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in publick or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(signed) G. Washington

Source: The Massachusetts Centinel, Wednesday, October 14, 1789 (via Hugh Hewitt)


Again Pam writes:

To co-mingle a politically-motivated entity such as the federal government with the activities and interestes of spirituality and religion with all its myriad forms and persuasions is very dangerous and very un-American at least it used to be before THIS ADMINISTRATION.

Unfortunately only in recent times has it become unfashionable and EVIL to mention religion or religious beliefs (especially the Christian belief). Every president, senator, congress member and every other elected official in both federal, state and local offices has taken an oath of office which affirms his agreement to preserve protect and defend the constitution .."so help me God." So too did i, as i stood, in Oakland, California on January 14th 1980, with 63 other persons of all races, colors, creeds, lifestyles, economic and social strata, and gender as we pledged to serve OUR respective services and OUR country and defend that self-same constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. Again i must restate the obvious that we operate under the freedom OF religious thought and belief not freedom FROM those beliefs. In point of fact it is only the Christian faith that seems to be drawing the ire of those who wish to eliminate it from the public discourse, debate and view. Immediately after the tragic events of 9/11 when it was feared that Muslims might be targeted for increased vigilant oversight the civil libertarians SCREAMED at the top of their voices the charge of "PROFILING" don't you dare.... Why for example is it that a Menorah in celebration of Hanukkah is permissible on the lawn of City Hall in Los Angeles and of other cities but a Nativity scene is not?? Is this not, according to civil libertarians, a violation of "separation"? The answer is given that it is not because Judaism is a "minority" religion and therefore to be protected from the evil majority which seeks it out to destroy it (that being Christianity); according to again the cries from the civil libertarian crowd. Just as minorities cannot by the same token be racist or bigoted (according to the same crowd) because "the oppressed peoples cannot be evil only their oppressors."

again from Pam's e-mail:

And yet one group seeks to impose its ideas on all. Where do they get off complaining about being denied imposing their symbols on what should be common ground (a neutral ground). Have they no compassion or compatriotism for everyone else? When someone else allows their personal beliefs, especially beliefs considered extreme by the majority of the people to influence government policy a crime has been committed against democracy. This is what i mean when i say that there are those who would impose their ideas on everyone else. Yes this is fascism and to read its definition is to describe what is occurring in this country now. Establishing a state religion - BAD. Equal treatment for all religions - GOOD. Tolerance for all religions - BETTER. Acknowledgement and respect for all religions - BEST.

Where is there ANY proof written, unwritten anecdotal or otherwise that this administration or Christians either as a part (individuals or whole groups) have advocated, insinuated or in any other way, shape, form or even a wisp of any way shape or form one religious form of belief above or over any others and not been either respectful or tolerant of diverse belief systems? the answer of course is NEVER but not to hear the leftist civil libertarians tell the story...

At no time in recent history, have Christians (or this government) said that EVERYONE MUST be a CHRISTIAN or they are not equal as citizens. In fact it has only been the very same leftist civil libertarians who have consistently insisted that EVERYONE MUST ACT as they deem correct ... it is the "politically correct" crowd, not the Christian, that seeks to impose their values, their dogma, and their way of life upon the rest of us. Is it the Christian who is jumping up and down screaming that it is WRONG to wish others a HAPPY HANUKKAH"? Is it the Christian who is insistent that Kwanza be eliminated as a separately referenced holiday in favor of a universal covering of "Happy Holidays"? NO! NOT EVEN CLOSE.... it is the "liberal" defender of "rights" who insists that schools ban singing of spiritual Christmas carols such as "Silent Night" and that any such celebrations be called "holiday gatherings" or "Winter Festivals" ... Is it the Christian who is suing the County of Los Angeles to remove the image of the pagan goddess Medea from the seal of the county? NO! Again, it is those gallant defenders of the public, the ACLU, which is suing not to remove the goddess from the seal but rather seeking only to remove the small cross on the top of the picture representing the "Mission" in the name of tolerance. Christmas, being a Christian holiday, is EVIL ... and in their viewpoint MUST be like everything else which mentions the Christian God, ELIMINATED not tolerated; ELIMINATED not treated in an equal or neutral way; ELIMINATED completely from the public discourse, thought, policy and view no matter that in point of fact being far from, as Pam writes, "especially beliefs considered extreme by the majority of the people" it is rather that over 80% of the population consider themselves to be of the Christian belief. Now i have to say i was not the GREATEST Math student (all i did was get straight As) but even i know that 80 percent is far from being a "Minority" no matter how you try to slice and dice and parse it.

It is not Christian beliefs which get the preferential treatment but rather every other belief system to the EXCLUSION of Christian values and beliefs. Two years ago, the United States Justice Foundation sued McNair Elementary in Petaluma on behalf of a parent (religion unspecified) who said that students should not be allowed to celebrate "El Dia de los Muertos" the "Day of the Dead" because the holiday was religious. Richard Ackerman said the women they represented was upset because the school supported the Day of the Dead celebration even as it banned Christmas programs on the basis of their religiosity. They lost when the Sonoma County judge hearing the case ruled that the Day of the Dead was acceptable to celebrate as a cultural event. In the end Ackerman said "Christmas was (and still is banned) and Day of the Dead went forward.

The wonderful thing about America is that it is the most welcoming, most inviting, most unjudgemental, most tolerant and most of all the best place (THE ONLY PLACE) where ALL are created equal ... where our creator-given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of each individuals pathway to happiness (no matter however or wherever) that journey may go are GUARANTEED ... "FOR ALL" no matter if rich, poor , Christian or Atheist, Muslim or Jew, Hindu or Buddhist, native-born citizen or recent immigrant ... YOU are covered in that "FOR ALL" no matter who you are .... Not because we have guaranteed freedoms "FROM" speech, "FROM" assembly, "FROM" the press or "FROM" religion but because we have freedoms "OF" those things and also freedoms to "NOT OF" those things if we so choose.

Like it or not, agree with it or not ... the facts of the matter are this: We (THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA) are a nation founded on Christian principles, Christian values, Christian morals and Christian Beliefs ... we are a nation which is still founded on those very "self-evident" truths to this very day ... WE are a nation of primarily Christians who reach out to every other belief with acceptance, with respect, with tolerance, as Abraham Lincoln so nobly stated "with malice toward none, with charity toward all" truly respecting and accepting every other type and form of belief (or un-belief) system not by "taunting" them with the superiority of our beliefs but with the same rights for them to be "free to be or not to be" ... free to practice ... free to observe ... truly "FREE" to be whatever, and whoever, and whenever, and wherever as they and all of us as individuals feel is right ....

Only of America can this be said ... only in America can this be factual and true ... only in America where "under God" we live "with liberty and justice for all."

to close i shall remind myself again of the oath i took as a young 18 year old ... to well and faithfully execute the orders of the President of the United States and the officers and superiors over me and will to the best of my abilities, preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States against ALL enemies, foreign or domestic ... so help me God.

Yes, Pam, our religious freedoms are a most important tenet of our being but only so, as we continue to remember why they are there and also to remember all the other important rights we so greatly and graciously enjoy in, as Michael Medved so aptly puts it, "the greatest country on God's green earth."

Tonight as i contemplate which units of our military to select for individual thanks i am driven with the thought that EACH AND EVERY PERSON serving today needs to receive from me an individual THANK YOU ... and so tonight instead of indivudal units from each branch i wish to personally say "thank you" to every living veteran who ever served this great nation either in times of war or in times of peace; to every wife, mother, father, brother, sister, husband, grandparent, neice, nephew, son, daughter, aunt, uncle and friend of every fallen veteran "Thank you" for the sacrifice they made so that this wonderful country "of the people by the people and for the people should not perish"; to every man and woman (and through them all their family members and friends) currently serving and wearing with pride the uniform of our military services, wherever you are "Thank you" and "May the Lord bless you and keep you, May the Lord shine His Light upon you, May the Lord be gracious unto you, and grant you the blessings of Peace now and forever more." AMEN.