|
![](/i/fill.gif) |
On 1/12/2011 11:28 AM, Jim Henderson wrote:
> On Wed, 12 Jan 2011 11:01:50 -0500, Warp wrote:
>
>> Jim Henderson<nos### [at] nospam com> wrote:
>>> I fail to see how telling
>>> people "if you believe in something, practice it" comes even close to
>>> establishing a state-sponsored religion
>>
>> For fair balance, shouldn't there be a "Nation Day of Atheism"? You
>> can
>> make the exact same arguments: It's not promoting atheism nor forcing
>> anybody to be atheist. You can be atheist if you want, but it's your
>> choice.
>
> Actually, there is one - and it's usually (now) held on the same day as
> the NDP IIRC.
>
> Jim
I also here there is a "national body awareness day", AKA, "national
nude day", but I don't see anyone in congress, or the president,
standing up and declaring *either* a NBAD day, *or* a, "national day of
keep your clothes on". The people *in* the government are far more
Christian, usually, than the ones that elected them. Few, if any, are
anything else, with the exception of some Jewish people. The presidents
have *all* been Christian. It is irrelevant if the "indended" result
isn't sectarian. You might as well go to Africa and not complain when
the local president, with great cheers from everyone else in the
government, and a lot of stupid speeches about the "blackness" of
Africa, declared a, "National day of not being white."
What matters is the result, the perceived support it lends to the
majority religion, the very narrow list of "faiths" that tend to get
mentioned, and that it *supports*, how ever unintended, the position of
people who *literally* believe that the government *can* be totally
Christian, supporting it, endorsing it, etc., just so long as they
"allow" everyone else to worship as they please (just not marry, have
sex in certain ways, dress, look, speak, think, sell, buy, own, or
publicly display what they wish, if it offends the sort of Christians
that those people believe qualify).
Its this thinking, and the inadvertent support for it, which makes the
national day of prayer a problem. For them, it *does* endorse it, and
they quite clearly do not think that "endorsing" religion, even their
own, is a problem, only denying others their own (save, again, for any
conflicts in expression, in which case their own overrides the "wrong" one).
We see it all the damn time, in everything from the 100% church driven
drive to get Prop 8 passed, to violence against minority religions,
which gets brushed off as, "Well, its a small town, so.. And they won
the case, even if they lost their business, home, etc., due to having to
move.", to you name it. Its the same argument some atheists give
"against" those they call "accommidationists". If you give ground, you
find yourself not addressing one clear issue, you find that the issue
gets buried under a dozen stray men, 50 irrelevant issues, and 100
unrelated cases/assertions. Even if you win, you lose, since merely
trying to win will result in cries of persecution. Nah, merely
suggesting that you might have a relevant point about *any* religion
does, even from the people that don't follow it.
The whole "Nation day of Atheism" thing is precisely what they would
like to see atheists do, or anyone else with the "wrong religion", or
who doesn't pray. We do our thing, you do yours, just so long as its out
of sight, in the basement, with the door locked, and we don't hear any
of it. After all, we outnumber you, and most of us are *sure* God =
Jesus. Suggesting otherwise is persecution, and how dare you do that on
the "national day of prayer".
This is the logic we are trying to deal with here. What is "intended",
never mind "legal" doesn't mean jack, if 10% of the people think its
about *them*, 60% of them don't give a shit, as long as you *are*
praying, and everyone that isn't is seen as stupid, abnormal, wrong
headed, or even Un-American, for not "joining in", and the 20% that
don't care *also* don't care to try to change the situation. Its about
perception, not strict legality. And, just as you can't cry "fire" in a
crowded theater, it is not appropriate to cry, "All you people are
special, if you are one of the ones that prays", in a nation where most
of them see it as reflecting one religion, some see it as *only* about
that one religion, and it actively excludes those that do not believe in
doing it at all, including other religions.
--
void main () {
If Schrödingers_cat is alive or version > 98 {
if version = "Vista" {
call slow_by_half();
call DRM_everything();
}
call functional_code();
}
else
call crash_windows();
}
<A HREF='http://www.daz3d.com/index.php?refid=16130551'>Get 3D Models,
3D Content, and 3D Software at DAZ3D!</A>
Post a reply to this message
|
![](/i/fill.gif) |