Separation of Church & State

Fuggin' Evangelicals...I was going to say Xtians, or Christians, but then I'd get PalJJ all up in my face because I'm damning all Christians in this manner.

I'm going to address this further, but first, read this for some context.

For the click-averse, essentially this is an essay found on HuffingtonPost.com, talking about the recent bill that passed the House of Representatives, to the tune of 372 - 9, that will recognize "the importance of Christmas and the Christian Faith." (The bill's wording, not mine.)

Before going further, let me state that yes, I am primarily pissed off at the politicians for allowing this travesty to pass. Even then, this is the sort of thing I have come to expect from the Republicans; Democrats, on the other hand...well, I know there are more than 9 of them in there, and I would expect to be able to count more Democrats than I have digits on my hands to stand up against this.

So, yeah, I'm pissed at the selling out of the foundation this country was based on for some fuggin' voting bloc, that will likely turn against the Dems come election time.

But what about the other half of this equation? The half of this entry that will likely set PalJJ, possibly PalLyam, maybe PalDeni, and myself to go through page after scrollable page spewing hot air over.

PalJJ's stance, in essence, is that he doesn't like it when one member of a religious organization points fingers at members of another religious organization and cries "foul."

"When people share what their Truth is, I am engaged," he says, "when people point out what is NOT Truth in others' beliefs, that's when they lose me."

He says this to me, a lot, because I am an outspoken Buddhist (member SGI-USA, a layman organisation that espouses the Buddhist practice established by Nichiren Daishonin, c.1200's) with a tendency to heavily criticize things I see done in the name of Christianity in this country (as well as heavily criticize Christianity in general, but that's a different matter today.)

And, during my more sedate periods, I can dig where he's coming from. But then things like this happen. And the thing is, I'm crying foul, not as a Buddhist, but as a fuggin' citizen of this country. This is a group of people trampling all over my opinions and beliefs, why?

Do I not have the right to call these fuckers out, regardless of their religious orientation? And what am I to call these fuckers?

Sure, "Evangelicals" is accurate, but is that what they call themselves?

"That the House of Representatives --

(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;

(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;

(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;

(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;

(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and

(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world."

I'll let y'all figure out the political implications of the above segment, but please notice the capital "c" word that is sprinkled like jimmies on a donut in this piece of legislation. It ain't cocksmoker.

Who identifies as fervently Pro-Life? Who's against gay marriage? Against porn? Against the legalization of marijuana? Against teaching evolution in schools? Against the separation of church and state?

It ain't cello players.

Look, have I met Christians I can hold a reasonable conversation with, one whose view on life comes close enough to mine that we could get along? Yes, I have. I can't say the same about Evangelicals, but I'm not going to rule out the possibility.

But here's the thing, that is talking about a one-on-one connection. As a collective? Evangelicals, who identify themselves as simply Christian, are fucking with me and mine, and, as a rule, I never sit quietly about that shit.

Now, I head to Denver for the holidays with family.

The Solstice Is The Reason For The Season! Merry Solstice, Bitches!