Friday, March 27, 2015

America in Transition: From “Freedom from Discrimination” to “Freedom to Discriminate”


"America is undergoing a very troubling transition. For the last 30 or 40 years or so Christian fundamentalists have been systematically pushing a Religious agenda at state and national levels, and when denied because of our Constitution scream "WAR AGAINST CHRIST!!! And Christians." They are slowly gaining traction and now are a major force in politics. This law is just the latest evidence of the infiltration of religion. We are moving in the direction of a Theocracy unless the electorate wakes up and sees the problem. So far, they don't seem to be awake."
The above response was to an Australian friend on a Facebook post regarding the Indiana religious freedom law just past. She asked "What happened to freedom of choice?"
Well, the problem is freedom of choice is going away. Many of my "friends" on Facebook won't agree, but the obvious fact is this: Unless you are a Christian and regularly invoke God (as in God Bless America, or public prayer invoking God or Jesus) your career in politics will be limited or non-existent. 
When a State proposes a law that will make it legal to discriminate against anyone for anything by simply saying 'They offend my religion (read Christianity) and therefore I don't want to serve them", who is safe from this kind of discrimination? In my experience of living, I have seen every possible group and kind of people on the receiving end of discrimination. My own father had a discriminatory epithet for almost everyone other than him and family. He wasn't
alone either. Blacks, Jews, Gays, Hungarians, Chinese, Japanese, Germans, Gypsies,  (although my mother was a German Gypsy), people from New Jersey or Pennsylvania. The list was endless. Had he been in the restaurant business, under the Indiana law he could have posted a sign excluding all these and anyone else he wanted because they offended his "religion".
I am fairly certain that the law in question will be stalled by legal challenges and ultimately ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. Then the people who put the law in place will scream "War Against Christians" again, and it will start over again.
Where and when will it end? When the majority of Americans who do not want discrimination get off their asses and vote the morons out who do. And that, my Friends, is the problem. The majority of Americans currently seem to be solidly on their asses and show no sign of getting off. 
Do not forget Martin Niemöller and his famous statement "First they came for the socialists - - - - - - - " ( 1 ). By the time you wake up, it may well be too late. It may already be too late. 

Image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpsnXLnoijg09nV_dAGMm7PJyRYlngMHSgY_bKL4efXy9cyfCElDaWht7uC6Ff8xpbA4i344lKGS8P-7Su_sRTgAcyhdD23E_yuxRoKhQUlITQdphTmDKj0ks-3BNQrTVw0M7oqtKzGBY/s1600/Poor-Oppressed-Christians-72687787000.jpeg


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