Hoist the double standard, Day 2: God only knows

     Whelp, here we are on day the second of my little serial rant about the lovely double standards that Americans seem to cling to.  Don't get me wrong, this practice is not unique to Americans.  Pretty sure some version of it is practiced pretty much anywhere there are people, but Americans often times seem like they went back for a second helping when God created everything.
     And speaking of God (Nice slide into the subject huh?), today's talk is about Religion.  (Before I go any further let me state plainly that I am a Christian so this isn't some Atheist Basher speaking here.  Also a healthy chunk of Christians do not fit into this rant.  As usual, my words are aimed at the bad eggs that taint any good thing.)  Okay, onward and downward in a never ending spiral.

      

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

     The US was founded on the very basic principle of Religious Freedom.  Not "Freedom of Christianity" or "Freedom of the Religions that we personally like."  It was also founded on the most basic idea of a separation of Church and State.  We had already seen the fiasco caused in Europe when the Government made one particular religion the official religion and pretty much banned he practice of all others.  (Church of England anyone?)  We wisely realized that we couldn't have true freedom when we limited.  We even spelled it out in big letters in so that people would not get the wrong idea.

    Funny how people can ignore those big bold letters or interpret them in a way that is kind the exact opposite of what the word actually mean.  Over and over again, I hear Christians saying, "We should ban (Insert Religion here, but lets face facts, usually its Islam)."  Several states have actually passed laws that prevent Atheists from holding public office (Which once again, is pretty much the exact opposite of what the 1st actually says.) and several states have laws in the works that would prevent any Non-Christian from holding office.  Matter of fact, one of the big arguments against Obama is that he cannot possibly hold the office of President because he is actually a Muslim.  (He isn't by the way.)

     Radical Right Wing Christians want this to be a nation governed by Christian Laws and only Christian Laws.  They want only Christians to hold public office (Preferably White Male Christians at that.) and all the various cultures and beliefs in the Country to bow down before these Christian Laws.  The RRW Politicians scream against Sharia Law and Sharia Courts here in the US, but want Christian Laws to hold sway in courts.  When raging against Sharia Courts, they also blithely ignore that both the Catholic and Judaic belief systems have had similar courts and such for a long time. 

    We have a incredible amount of rights and freedoms in the US.  It is one of the things that has made us unique and powerful.  However there are forces in the US that want to take those freedoms and rights away.  They want to turn America into what amounts to a Theocracy where Christian Laws and Christian beliefs are the only ones allowed.  This goes against everything that makes us great and directly contravenes what the Founding Fathers believed.  It also insults every single man and woman who gave their lives to defend ALL of our rights.

     In closing, maybe you don't agree with the guy down the street who believes in X Religion.  Maybe you think that Pastafarism is ridiculous.  Maybe you think that anyone who believes that Scientology is more than a little off.   That is cool.  You have the right to believe what you want.  However, you do not have the right, legal or moral, to force Your beliefs on people.  You cannot say "If you life in the US you must follow X religion's laws."  That is not how this country works.  You cannot ever have freedom when you oppress other people's freedoms.

End of Rant

Hoist the double standard! Day one: Amma I right about your "rights?"

     Yesterday's post was the opening salvo on a week long rant about the double standards that a lot of Americans seem to have about...well just about everything.  From Legal Rights to Religious Rights, the good US of A seems to think that THEIR beliefs and rights far outweigh those of everyone else, especially the rights of people they don't like.
     Now, of course, what started this little rant series was the events that occurred at VSU where protestors performed the "unthinkable" act of stomping on the American Flag.  People all over the country rose up in righteous fury claiming that they didn't have the right to do that and they applauded the Military type person turned Porn model when she took the flag away.  They also cried out in indignation  when she was detained by the cops.  People claimed that the protestors had broken the law by desecrating the flag and that the nude model had just been doing the right thing when she had taken it.
     The only problems with this argument is that the protestors actually did have a right to do what they did and the Nude Model had actually broken the law when she stole their property from them.  I could go on and on about this but it has already been rehashed over and over again so I won't.  My Brother, Ben Baker did an excellent blog on the subject which I reposted here the other day. 
     I have to wonder where these righteous individuals were when US Military personnel were urinating on the Holy Books of detainees in Gitmo and various other Black Sites around the world.  I have to wonder where they were when a Baptist Preacher in Florida (Ever notice it is always Florida, Arizona or Texas?  Well almost always.  There was the recent Indiana Flap too.)  An even better question is where were all of these flag loving people when somebody decided it was cool to put the US Flag on bathing suits and underwear?  How is stomping on a flag any more disrespectful than having the flag jammed up your butt crack?  I'd think the latter is much more disrespectful.  Heck on that note, I have even seen toilet paper and tissue paper with the flag on it, so getting upset because someone stepped on it seems a little bit dumb.
     Anyways, I digress.  This rant series isn't about that one incident.  Over the next week, I will cover how strong and illogical the American Double Standard is.  How "our" rights are always important than the right of everyone else.  Be it religion, education or simply having enough to eat, America has a massive double standard that is almost as old as the country itself.  So buckle up and clench em tight, because it is going to be a bumpy ridge.

End of Rant\

Feed and Help Homeless US Veterans

Forget the Freaking Flag, save the people who defended it.

Help the Homeless US Vets

Forget the Flag, how about respect for the homeless defenders of it.

Trash Talk

     Pretty sure everyone has heard at least one version/side of the VSU flag debacle where a soldier turned Porn Model decided that Protestors didn't have the right to step on and destroy the US Flag.  I thought about writing a long diatribe about it, but someone more skilled than me did it for me. 

     The above blog is by my esteemed Brother Ben Baker and pretty much says everything I was thinking about saying and even a few things I wasn't thinking about saying in a very colorful and extremely cranky sort of way.  So read it and then buy the clue.

     For the record, I did a little research and visited 10 different websites that sold US Flags.  Of the ten websites, only two actually sold flags made in the US.  Of the other 8, 5 were made in China and 3 were made in Pakistan.   See as my Brother points out, people are getting peeved about the wrong thing.  Instead of getting annoyed that someone exercise their right of freedom of speech/expression, get peeved that we are EXPORTING the production of our national banner to other countries, one of which is a Communist Nation and the other one is a Terrorist Supporting state.  Better yet instead of sending 100s of thousands of dollars to a bakery that wants to discriminate against Homosexuals, send all that money to the programs that support the THOUSANDS of Homeless Veterans.  If you really want to show your support for the troops that you claim to respect, feed them and cloth them.  Help them find a home or a least a shelter from the storms.

     People in the US need to buy the clue and get mad about the important things.  In the end, a Flag is just a symbol and a piece of cloth.  If you don't respect and support the people who gave all to defend it, you really don't have the right to cry over someone else stepping on it.

End of Rant