"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