A Nation of Free Men

Recently I have had to listen too and read several emails that honestly upset me. I understand the angst by some people against Islam in general, however, if someone truly believes that Islam is evil they have not studied it or they are simply projecting their own brand of hate and bigotry, which makes them no different from those who kill for their religion.

It is important to understand that saying things like, “this is a Christian nation,” is patently false. It may sound good and if we reach back 35-55 years, sure we can find “Acts of Congress” that forced the inclusion of “Under God” into the money and pledge of allegiance. In 1892, a Baptist minister who professed socialism originally penned the Pledge! In 1954, the United States Congress passed the Oakman-Ferguson resolution, which included the phrase, “Under God” into our pledge. Than in 1955 “in God we trust” was included on the paper money. (1896 for Coinage) Sadly, what many good Americans do not understand or neglect to attempt to understand is that this “Act” by Congress was and remains Unconstitutional. However, do not believe me; let us research a bit further back in time.

“Spiritual freedom is the root of political liberty…As the union between spiritual freedom and political liberty seems nearly inseparable, it is our duty to defend both.” Thomas Paine, Thoughts on a Defensive War 1775. Thomas Paine understood the difference between calling this a nation of this religion or that versus allowing “spiritual freedom.” Having seen what happened in England and France personally both he and Thomas Jefferson were well aware of the problems posed by theocratic or similar governments. In France, thousands of Catholics were slaughtered during the latest of their “revolutions.” In England anyone who did not belong to the Church of England was persecuted, murdered, or driven off their lands and could potentially have everything taken from them simply for not believing as others did. As Thomas Jefferson said, “The opinions of man are NOT the object of civil government, or under its jurisdiction,” Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom 1779.

Our very own Declaration of Independence states the following, “the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them…” and the following as well.” We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Yes, that’s right read it again, it says NATURES God – not the Christian God, and it says THEIR Creator, not the Christian Creator. Of course, we should also look at the Constitution itself; the First Amendment states the following. “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” When Congress passed the Oakman-Ferguson resolution, they were in fact passing an illegal resolution.

It should be noted that the author does not believe that the Freedom of Religion should be abridged in any fashion, the free exercise of religion, or non-practice of it should be allowed no matter what one “majority” religious persuasion believes or not. Why should we as a Nation of free men and women be subject to any one definition of what “should” or “should not” be? I have found it incredibly irritating to listen to the hard Right and its constant attack verbally, visually, and otherwise on ANY other belief that is not EXACTLY in line with its own. (Of course, the Hard Left does the same…) Therefore, do not take this personally but “Can a good Muslim be a good American?” is not an American thing to ask- after all for very similar reasons the question can be asked, “Can a good Christian be a good American…”

Every religion has certain areas of their Supreme religious texts, the Bible, Q’uran, Torah and more all have passages that state clearly that no other god should be worshipped. The Ten Commandments clearly states the following, “you shall have no other gods before me…” The Q’uran states, “They were all commanded to worship only one god. There is no god except He.” Therefore, when I hear someone say, “Them dang Muslims, or them damn Christians etc.” I usually shake my head in disgust; because of the ignorance of men, they cannot see that all say the same thing.

To be perfectly honest and logical ONLY atheists can be loyal to a country. We have no religious loyalty that supersedes all else. We are morally driven to follow the laws of the land, (and while we may wish to change them, the law is the law.) We are able to logically look at every terrible moral based law or Act of Congress and see it for what it really is…I.E. Patriot Act, Harrison Act, Marijuana Tax Stamp Act, RICO Act, IRS Act, etc. All of these acts were directly influenced by one or more of the following reasons, religious outrage, moral based arguments, greed or a quest for power- NONE of them have been legal, or Constitutional hence the reason they were put through as Acts and not Amendments or Laws.

Again, please do not misunderstand what I am saying- everyone MUST be allowed the freedom to practice his or her religion, or non-religion. In addition, more of an effort should be made by those of us sane and logical enough to see through the propaganda to keep people from playing into the goals of our “leadership.”

Remember, a people divided and fearful are much easier to control.
Freedom first then personal disagreements, remember why this country was originally founded and remember what our first fore-Fathers fought for in the Revolutionary War. They fought or freedom and that includes what is written clearly in the Constitution of this great nation.

Originally posted at Examiner.com © Jesse Mathewson

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