Blog Against Theocracy - Returns

As before, I've decided to take this opportunity to join the 'blogswarm' against Theocracy found in my country.

Okay, after that brief preamble, I would LOVE to introduce this post with a brief remembrance of my childhood.

I went to Public School (State School to my Brit friends) for grade-school, and transferred to a Catholic parochial school for high school (a-levels/highers).

The thing that really stands out to me, looking back on those 13 years of my life, is the strange dichotomy that I experienced in dealing with religion, and religious identity.

Whilst attending grade school, we were forced to start every day with the "Pledge of Allegiance" and quite often a 'patriotic song' of some sort, you know: "Star Spangled Banner" or "God Bless America" or "America the Beautiful" or any other number of rather dripping with angst type tunes.

The Pledge (as we called it) is spoken thusly:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America; and to the republic, for which it stands: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

And you know what? It's scary, as I was able to reproduce that, without resorting to 'Google'.

Anyhoo.... You'll notice that little "under God" bit, which was added LATE (1954) to basically set us apart from the "Godless Communists" with whom we were then participating in the Cold War.

(My goodness, where's Tuckmac going with this)

I'm getting there, I'm getting there...

The phrase in question, "under God" caused a bit of a sticky wicket, actually... You see, there were two kids in my class in grade school, who didn't stand to give the Pledge. Wow! Were they weird! I mean... Who is so 'anti-American' and blatantly communistic? (Notice that I'm older, and this was 'pre-evil-doer' land... The Commies were the bad guys, not Middle-eastern Muslims.) But I digress...

One kid, it turned out, had parents who were atheists. The other kid was of some religious sect that didn't allow one to use God's name in conjunction with a pledge of a "State" or something like that.

Now, (yeah, here's where I get down to it), these two kids fit in just fine in school. They were allowed (after parental notice to the school) to not participate in the Pledge of Allegiance. And, you know what? No one really cared. I mean, they both got a bit of 'ribbing' and we never actually knew why they didn't have to do the "Pledge" but... All in all, kids just don't care.

I find it rather disturbing that one can't Pledge Allegiance to the Flag of America without believing in a monotheistic god.

Next point:

All the way through grade-school, I was inundated with religion. Oh, it was creepy. It crept into discussions, it showed up in our school choir's concerts... It was weird, looking back, just how much the Christian religion was wrapped into the school system.

Strangely enough, it was in my Catholic high school, were I realised that State and Church are separated for a REASON in America, and how that's a very important right to not only the 'secular' folk, but also to the Church's community itself. And I discovered this in, rightly enough, Church History class.

See there was a big hullabaloo when JFK was running for President of the U.S. Why? 'Cause he was Catholic. "Oh my goodness," said the WASP majority in Washington D.C., "The Pope is going to run America from behind the President's chair!"

In the famous line from Ghostbusters, "Dogs and cats, living together, it'll be mass hysteria!"

Well, obviously the Pope didn't run anything during J.F.K.'s term.

'Cause the Pope is religious. The President is not supposed to let his/her beliefs interfere with his/her Job.

Until, of course, lately. (Anti-choice, anti-stem-cell research, taxes going towards church programs, etc...) Thanks Bushie.

Man, I have GOT to finish this point... Um... Read read read, change that, move this... Keep it together Tuckmac... Get to the point...

Oh yeah...

Church History class...

The leaders of Europe were controlled from Rome for a long time in history. However, forgotten, is the days when Frankish Kings in present day France controlled the POPE. Forgotten is the day that the Holy Roman Emperor controlled Catholicism. Forgotten was the schism of Eastern and Western Catholics... Forgotten is the...

You get the point. The fact was and IS still, that Politics and Religion make a mess of ones country. At times the State has controlled the Church, and vice versa. And in ALL of that time, there were religious wars, 'witch' burnings, torture, Inquisition, et al...

Not a good time to be a person trying to eke out a substandard existence in bad soil.

America's Founding Fathers KNEW history. They supported a framework of separation between the Church and the State, and set the stage for the first TRUE democracy of the modern era.

Allowing the last 20 years of politicians to try to change that, is wrong.

Write a blog. Write your congress-person and senator. Hell, write to the White House!

Make sure our politicians know that WE THE PEOPLE of the United States of America:

"Pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to this republic, for which it stands: ONE nation, under many gods, one god, or none, INDIVISIBLE (regardless of creed/race/colour) for liberty and justice for all.

And that is what America, and the WEST should be about.

We can't let the commies terrorists win!

-- Tuckmac

Please view First Freedom First for more information on this rather important topic. Cheers!