Paths of Righteousness,
Death of Liberty,
For His Name's Sake
Sam Aurelius Milam III
I'll
admit that it probably wouldn't hurt non-Christians to tolerate a Christian
prayer at a football game. Non-Christians don't have to listen.
I also insist that it probably wouldn't hurt Christians to tolerate so-called
pornography on the internet, and elsewhere. Christians don't have
to look. If Christians think their children might be "harmed" by
exposure to sexual material, then they should learn how to control, discipline,
and educate their own children. Raising their children is their problem.
They shouldn't expect the rest of us to live under prohibitions imposed
for the "benefit" of their children. Furthermore, maybe some people
might believe that exposure to explicit sexual information would be beneficial
for their children. They should have as much right to raise their
children according to their beliefs as Christians do to raise their children
according to Christian beliefs. However, if people try to do that,
they're liable to be punished and lose their children, because Christian
beliefs have been imposed upon all of us by legislation. On the other
hand, if we try to use the legislatures to impose our beliefs upon the
Christians, like the Christians have imposed their beliefs upon us, then
the Christians whine about the separation of church and state.
Actually,
I really don't care if Christians want to pray in the public schools.
I'm just tired of their arrogant imposition upon me of their narrow Christian
"morality", using legislation as their weapon of choice. What if,
while the Christians are praying in the classroom (and the non-Christians
don't have to listen) somebody else in the classroom wants to discuss X-rated
movies, nudist internet websites, or even (gasp!) advocate premarital sex?
The Christians wouldn't allow it. They'd be horrified. They
can bring their own personal beliefs into the schools, but others can't.
What if, after that prayer at the football game, somebody wants to take
the microphone and read a few dirty jokes? The Christians don't have
to listen, right? Just like I didn't have to listen to their prayer.
What if I want the hang a Playboy pinup alongside their Ten Commandments?
I'm as entitled as the Christians. Right? Don't kid yourself.
They'd have it removed. The fact is that this isn't about prayer
in schools, or freedom of religion, or even separation of church and state.
It's about intolerance. It's about Christians refusing to tolerate
the exercise by others of different beliefs, preferences, and life choices.
It's about forcing others to comply with Christian beliefs. Christians
(as well as dozens of other intolerance groups throughout the country)
are using the government as a weapon by which to impose their beliefs upon
other people, who don't share those beliefs. The members of such
intolerance groups don't actually want to solve an alleged problem.
That might deprive them of their agenda, and then they might actually have
to mind their own business for a change. Rather, each of these activists
wants his particular faction to dominate everybody else and impose his
own preferred behavior on other people, using the worthy cause as the excuse
and the government as the weapon.
I
can just hear all those Christians now, saying, "but it ain't me what's
doin' it, it's them other guys!" Here's the way I see it. Most
Christians are either actively engaged in destroying our liberty for the
sake of their belief system or passively allowing it to happen. I
don't see many that are actively opposing it. That's what they'll
have to do if they want to avoid complicity in the demise of liberty —
oppose the use of their belief system as an excuse to destroy our liberty.
Otherwise, as far as I'm concerned, they're all guilty.![10x5 Page Background GIF Image](../../Images/10x5_Page_Background.gif)
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for
good men to do nothing.
— attributed to Edmund Burke
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Frontiersman@ida.net |
Frontiersman,
479 E. 700 N., Firth, Idaho 83236
Also see The Pharos Connection at http://www.ida.net/users/pharos/ |
September 2000
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