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With the uproar about cartoons around the world today, I thought I'd post this one.(*)
August 10, 2006
There rages today a conflict in Lebanon and Israel. Terrorists are firing missiles into Israel and the Israeli Army is trying
to capture or destroy the terrorists. Unfortunately, civilians are getting in the way. Some innocent, some not. What you hear
on international news is the reports of all the Lebanese (Islamic) deaths including women and children. Yet how many reports
have you heard of the IsraelI dead, women and children included? Seems the reproting is a bit one sided. All the talk is about
Israeli aggression and yet since 1949, the Israeli's have been simply fighting for their very existance. An existance the
Terrorists would snuff out in an instant, every Israeli man, woman and child.
July 2006
The Pledge of Allegiance. 7/12/2006
The Pledge of Allegiance.
Stop and think about the definition of what you are saying.
"I pledge allegiance" A pledge is a solemn binding promise. So when saying the Pledge, we are promising allegiance
to a flag, symbolizing a republic of 50 states and the citizens in those states.
What is allegiance? Allegiance is loyalty or an obligation of loyalty. So we are making a promise to be loyal to a flag
and it's country. By being loyal, we are saying we will meet our obligations to the country, including obeying it's laws,
paying taxes, upholding it's constitution and defending the country and its citizens, only a few of the many obligations we
have to the United States.
Now that we know what we are doing, let's see what we are making that pledge to:
"to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands,"
"one nation"; is taken to mean only the United States and all 50 of the United States and it's territories.
"under God"; OK, why don't we put that one on hold for a few moments and discuss the most controversial phrase
of the pledge last.
"Indivisible"; Well, here's a problem. "one nation, indivisible" means the country is not divided
and is incapable of being divided, a whole nation who's citizens are in harmony with each other. Now really, we all know that
is just not true. We are so divided today that our founding fathers are probably rolling over in their graves. We are divided
over abortion, women's rights, smoking, gay rights and marriage, congressional benefits and hundreds more issues. We are so
divided, we let politicians walk all over us, stealing our money and civil liberties while we hate each other.
"with liberty and justice for all"; Now that's a kicker. This is the second worst phrase in the Pledge. When
originally written and when instituted as the national pledge, it may have meant what it said, but we as a nation are so far
from living up to that concept that we make it meaningless. We deny so much to so many it's a wonder we have any liberties
at all. Some of those liberties taken away are "for our own protection", such as having to wear a helmet when riding
a motorcycle and being made to wear seatbelts in autos. There are thousands of these liberty denying laws throughout the country.
Other liberties are denied to people for religious reasons. Laws that prohibit what we can read or watch (pornography), laws
that prohibit what we do within the confines of our own homes (sexual taboos), laws that allow grocery stores in some states
to sell hard liquor while in other states the same stores cannot sell alcholic beverages. Laws that prevent gay couples from
marrying and adopting children. While some of these laws were drafted in the name of corporate income, many of these laws
denying personal liberties are solely based on the prevalent religious beliefs of communities and states, not on any reasonable
justification for denial.
Justice. Justice. Where in this country is there Justice" The word is simply an abuse of language to justify the
reasoning of the moment based on which crime is most prominent in the news. Justice. One individual who barely molested his
8 year old daughter then turned himself in to get help, is sent away for 25 years while another who raped a child less than
4 years old is out after serving only 10 years. Where is the justice? One murderer gets a life sentence, one gets 10 to 20
years and one gets the death penalty. Where is the justice? Justice is a farce in the United States. And what do the Victims
get? Nothing
Ok so now we know we are making a promise to a flag and a country, which is heavily divided and inconsistent with liberties
and justice. Now, Lets take a look at that religious phrase.
It wasn't until December 28, 1945 that the Pledge was formally adopted as the national pledge and did not include the
phrase "under God". That allowed any man woman or child saying the pledge to be of any race, of any creed, of any
background and of any religion to pledge his loyalty to the United States. For over 30 years, it read as follows:
"I pledge allegiance to my flag and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and
justice for all".
In 1923 is was changed, to the dismay of the author and read as:
"I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all".
In 1951, a resolution by the Knights of Columbus, a religious based organization started a movement to add the phrase
"under God" to the pledge in their meetings. The idea was noted and encouraged by many fraternal organizations until
a petition was sent to congress asking the Pledge be amended. Congress took no action at that time.
It wasn't until Flag Day, June 14, 1954 that "under God" was added to the Pledge. It wasn't added because everybody
in the United States believed in God. It was because of Joseph McCarthy, the senator who started the communist witch hunts.
McCarthyism changed the Pledgte. Communist Russia banned religion so it was labeled a nation of atheists by Americans who
felt the same as McCarthy. In the United States during the early 50's communists were considered a godless people. If you
were a true American, you believed in God. If you protested the belief of god, you were automatically labeled a communist
and were "blacklisted", which meant no work. So who was to say no to adding "under God" to the Pledge.
No One.
So now, when you say the Pledge, you are not only promising loyalty to the United States, but you are also acknowledging
that it is by God's divine providence that the United States exists.
Yet which God is the Pledge referring to? Is it the God of Hindus, the God of Islam, the God of Israel? No, not by divine
providence, but by the manipulation of "devout" Christians, the phrase "under God" means the God recognized
by Christians of the United States. It's meaning clearly says that the United States exists by the divine providence of the
Christian God, and anybody who does not choose to say the pledge because of the phrase "under God" is evil, ungodly
and deserves none of the liberty and justice promised by the pledge. On the other hand, true Christian believers are entitled
to those liberties and justices set forth by other Christians.
So do you still want to pledge your allegiance?
February 2006
Blame it on religion. 2/9/2006
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We hear the crazed actions of an individual is blamed on the violence in movies, TV and rock music. They are touted as being
the major influences in crime today. Yet, all too often, it's none of these that influence murder or cruel, vengeful acts
of violence. Believe it or not, Religion plays an important part in some of these events. Just look at what is happening in
the Middle East this past week and today. Riots, Murder, Bombings, burnings and hate is rampant. All because of a drawing.
In Massachusetts, USA, a teenager, Jacob D. Robida, 18, influenced by anti-gay teachings used a hatchet and gun wounding
several and killing two. Also in the United States, churches are being burned in the south.
It's not a result of some Rock song singing about the events. It's hasn't been portrayed in movies or appeared on Television.
It's been stirred up by Clerics. Fanatical clerics of Islam, Christianity, Neo-Nazi movements and who knows what else. The
hate and violence has also been stirred up by politics. Red states vs. Blue States, Democrats vs. Republicans, Evolution vs.
Intelligent Design, Public display of the Ten Commandments. Christian protestors at the funerals of gay people.
And the list goes on. Religion is the inspiration behind the hate, cruelty, murder, wars and more deaths than can be counted
for the last 2000 years. The crusades, The Spanish Inquisition, the Salem Witch trials. The Puritan wars in England. The murder
of the Knights Templar by the Catholic Church. And the list goes on. The bombing of abortion clinics, the abuse of children
and more can be attributed to what someone heard a cleric say.
When will it stop? Never. As long as your religion teaches against the lifestyle of someone else. As long as it teaches
that one action of one type of people is a sin. As long as it teaches that those not of your religion are doomed if they don't
believe what you believe As long as your religion teaches you can be better or receive a better reward than those that don't
believe what you believe, the hate, cruelty , murder and insanity of religion will go on and on.
Never ending in the name of GOD!
2/9/2006 What Keeps the Christian Fundamentalists from being just like the Taliban?
(This one came in an e-mail, author unknown)
What Keeps the Christian Fundamentalists from being just like the Taliban?
Both want to prescribe religious teaching in schools
Both oppose equal rights
Both oppose civil liberties
Both demean women
Both are extremely intolerant toward Gays and Lesbians
Both would dictate what clothing styles we could wear
Both would control television, music, and the Internet. And what we could see hear and read.
Both want restrictions on women's access to health care
Both oppose birth control
Both would remove all but their own religious symbols from public display
Both set as its goal the world's most pure religious state, seeking to destroy all views and cultures that threaten that.
What Keeps the Christian Fundamentalists from being just like the Taliban?
Separation of Church and State.
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