Qasim. American religion was not something the founding fathers could have envisioned it would turn into. I think, back then you were a country of 3 million not 300 plus million. Religions got invented to make sure the slave trade continued. Yes there were laws but most of them applied only to black men. The same crimes committed by the whites were not criminal acts back then. American slavery is what formed the religions, that is why they have so many and non of them adhere to the belief of equality for all men. I'll leave women out of this context for now because freedom never came for them until the last 15 to 20 years ago. Selling and trading of black people went on and now still does in the form of lower wages and not being allowed to get mortgages. In some cases as your prez liked to do, not even allowed to rent one of his properties! That philosophy continues. That you are brown and not black is just another variable. You are the "enemy" to these land owners and "Epstein class" individuals. He is deporting not white Scandinavians but only brown and black folk. Why do you think they use the technocrats "racial profiling?" Celebrating July 4th is a performance. Children are never taught their history. They are just taught that they wore the "white hats" and of course the bad guys wore the "black hats." America has so many religions to keep segregation alive and little dick has allowed them to crawl out from under their rocks and give it voice. They have no shame about how they feel because their prez has no shame either. Listen to a speech give by James Earl Jones in 1976. He tells it way better than I ever could. I would like all your subscribers to listen to it too if they want to see real change in America. Only then can they fix this and move on to be better people and a country to be respected for the first time.
I don't see the inclusion of "One Nation Under God" as a declaration of national religiosity. It is a refutation of state athieism, and that could rightly be seen as a weakening of secular resolve. But it can also be seen as consistant with The First Amendment and its promise that the states shall make no laws respecting religion.
One Nation Under God is a deist declaration. True, it does subsume the existence of God, but God is common to all the world's major religion and because the statement names no religion, it only endorces the exercise of one.
The Establishment Clause doesn't proscribe religion either, in fact the words enshrine the practice of any and all religions.
Even the author of the spirit of the American revolution, Thomas Paine, though he detested all religions, especially in the public sphere, believed in God, his God.
But that's all pretty clear and not the problem. The problem is that third of the country that understands none of that and instead is so convinced America is God's country and his representative Donald Trump's to command that they'll crawl, all over our Capitol like rats to prove it. And a good part of the other two thirds don't really get it either. We're in trouble here, please make your govt's stand up to our impunity, it is the source of our dangerous decline. You might not enjoy our fall.
More than 50 years ago, when I had only been living in the U.S. for a few years, I found a columnist in a local paper where I lived named William Edelen. Amongst other things, he had studied religion and wrote on this subject. That was where I first learned that the U.S. was not founded on any religion and that “separation of church and state” meant that no religion was favored. Needless to say, the local biddies and pearl-clutchers got his columns banned, though he did keep on writing and giving talks.
He wrote several books on philosophy and religion, including Native American faiths, which, unfortunately, are not available as ebooks (my poor eyesight makes most books impossible to read) and the remaining paperback copies are quite rare and expensive. I found his obituary online—he was 93–but there was no date of death. Reading his columns back then was a very refreshing take on religions whose sole aim is absolute control over everyone.
1. The United States is no longer a democracy, a democratic republic, whatever, if ever it in fact was. Rather, the United States is an oligarchy with vestigial trappings of democracy to keep the rubes amused, an oligarchy featuring legalized unlimited political bribery, at least for those who can afford pricey lawyers.
No, voting Team D will do nothing to change that. They are as addicted to megadonor money as is Team R.
2. It used to be that democrats and liberals talked about a "living Constitution" (which as a practical matter, means whatever they wanted it to mean at the moment) back when they still had the whip hand. Of course, now that conservatives and republicans are ascendant, they no longer want to be constrained by the written word and proceed to ignore it whenever convenient.
I think, at the time our country was founded, most people had little idea what religions other than Christianity were about. That is why there was so much religious persecution. I was driven by ignorance and misinformation. When there is proselytizing it makes the situation worse, because the lies are deliberately spread in the name of converting others.
Qasim, I am so happy you are only 44. Your vim, vigor and useful fount of information is so needed.
As I child I was watching an episode of The Little Rascals and heard the children recite The Pledge of Allegiance and "under God" wasn't said. Years later I found out about the Red Scare and it's insertion in 1954.
White Christians have been successfully shoving this down our throats for 2 centuries.
What a great and beautiful discussion. I believe that a minority of people in the United States grasp, or are even aware of, the danger in the progressing steps our government is taking toward total dictatorship. The very FOUNDATION has already been set in the network of detention centers and data centers. Stephen King is right, he could not have written a scarier story. And now the President decides who wins freaking SPORTS games. (Didn't totally succeed, but the example is set now.) Aviation is my love, so I'll use that analogy: Qasim, you are like all skilled pilots. When all Hell breaks loose, their total focus is on saving the plane and all souls aboard. Your carefully thought-through analyses set us the example to follow: skill and focus, not panic. You're a rock, man. ❤️
It's the same thing. When we're all close to panic every new day with this administration (haha), there is that person there who gets us to focus on saving ourselves. Panic won't help. And God only knows how much worse this will get.
America was always here. Christian denominations like to steal land and denigrate the garden of Eden so they can claim revelation in an unforgiving land of salvation.
Qasim. American religion was not something the founding fathers could have envisioned it would turn into. I think, back then you were a country of 3 million not 300 plus million. Religions got invented to make sure the slave trade continued. Yes there were laws but most of them applied only to black men. The same crimes committed by the whites were not criminal acts back then. American slavery is what formed the religions, that is why they have so many and non of them adhere to the belief of equality for all men. I'll leave women out of this context for now because freedom never came for them until the last 15 to 20 years ago. Selling and trading of black people went on and now still does in the form of lower wages and not being allowed to get mortgages. In some cases as your prez liked to do, not even allowed to rent one of his properties! That philosophy continues. That you are brown and not black is just another variable. You are the "enemy" to these land owners and "Epstein class" individuals. He is deporting not white Scandinavians but only brown and black folk. Why do you think they use the technocrats "racial profiling?" Celebrating July 4th is a performance. Children are never taught their history. They are just taught that they wore the "white hats" and of course the bad guys wore the "black hats." America has so many religions to keep segregation alive and little dick has allowed them to crawl out from under their rocks and give it voice. They have no shame about how they feel because their prez has no shame either. Listen to a speech give by James Earl Jones in 1976. He tells it way better than I ever could. I would like all your subscribers to listen to it too if they want to see real change in America. Only then can they fix this and move on to be better people and a country to be respected for the first time.
I don't see the inclusion of "One Nation Under God" as a declaration of national religiosity. It is a refutation of state athieism, and that could rightly be seen as a weakening of secular resolve. But it can also be seen as consistant with The First Amendment and its promise that the states shall make no laws respecting religion.
One Nation Under God is a deist declaration. True, it does subsume the existence of God, but God is common to all the world's major religion and because the statement names no religion, it only endorces the exercise of one.
The Establishment Clause doesn't proscribe religion either, in fact the words enshrine the practice of any and all religions.
Even the author of the spirit of the American revolution, Thomas Paine, though he detested all religions, especially in the public sphere, believed in God, his God.
But that's all pretty clear and not the problem. The problem is that third of the country that understands none of that and instead is so convinced America is God's country and his representative Donald Trump's to command that they'll crawl, all over our Capitol like rats to prove it. And a good part of the other two thirds don't really get it either. We're in trouble here, please make your govt's stand up to our impunity, it is the source of our dangerous decline. You might not enjoy our fall.
More than 50 years ago, when I had only been living in the U.S. for a few years, I found a columnist in a local paper where I lived named William Edelen. Amongst other things, he had studied religion and wrote on this subject. That was where I first learned that the U.S. was not founded on any religion and that “separation of church and state” meant that no religion was favored. Needless to say, the local biddies and pearl-clutchers got his columns banned, though he did keep on writing and giving talks.
He wrote several books on philosophy and religion, including Native American faiths, which, unfortunately, are not available as ebooks (my poor eyesight makes most books impossible to read) and the remaining paperback copies are quite rare and expensive. I found his obituary online—he was 93–but there was no date of death. Reading his columns back then was a very refreshing take on religions whose sole aim is absolute control over everyone.
1. The United States is no longer a democracy, a democratic republic, whatever, if ever it in fact was. Rather, the United States is an oligarchy with vestigial trappings of democracy to keep the rubes amused, an oligarchy featuring legalized unlimited political bribery, at least for those who can afford pricey lawyers.
No, voting Team D will do nothing to change that. They are as addicted to megadonor money as is Team R.
2. It used to be that democrats and liberals talked about a "living Constitution" (which as a practical matter, means whatever they wanted it to mean at the moment) back when they still had the whip hand. Of course, now that conservatives and republicans are ascendant, they no longer want to be constrained by the written word and proceed to ignore it whenever convenient.
I think, at the time our country was founded, most people had little idea what religions other than Christianity were about. That is why there was so much religious persecution. I was driven by ignorance and misinformation. When there is proselytizing it makes the situation worse, because the lies are deliberately spread in the name of converting others.
Terrific article, this should be read or read to every American in every language!
People need to contribute to Americans United, I just did they are our voice in the courts.
Qasim, I am so happy you are only 44. Your vim, vigor and useful fount of information is so needed.
As I child I was watching an episode of The Little Rascals and heard the children recite The Pledge of Allegiance and "under God" wasn't said. Years later I found out about the Red Scare and it's insertion in 1954.
White Christians have been successfully shoving this down our throats for 2 centuries.
Not too long after "homosexual" appeared in the Bible, so they could start clobbering people with it.
What a great and beautiful discussion. I believe that a minority of people in the United States grasp, or are even aware of, the danger in the progressing steps our government is taking toward total dictatorship. The very FOUNDATION has already been set in the network of detention centers and data centers. Stephen King is right, he could not have written a scarier story. And now the President decides who wins freaking SPORTS games. (Didn't totally succeed, but the example is set now.) Aviation is my love, so I'll use that analogy: Qasim, you are like all skilled pilots. When all Hell breaks loose, their total focus is on saving the plane and all souls aboard. Your carefully thought-through analyses set us the example to follow: skill and focus, not panic. You're a rock, man. ❤️
Agree, but as a parent, my analogy would be as a mother saving her child/children.
It's the same thing. When we're all close to panic every new day with this administration (haha), there is that person there who gets us to focus on saving ourselves. Panic won't help. And God only knows how much worse this will get.
I spent most of my life staying out of politics. It seemed only polite, given my name.
Let the record show that they were the ones who violated the separation between Church and State first.
America was always here. Christian denominations like to steal land and denigrate the garden of Eden so they can claim revelation in an unforgiving land of salvation.
We all are one!