Freedom for everyone or What happens when they come for you?

Be a lert, the world needs more Lerts.

"CLM i am thinking that the Islamic people will come into our country and slaughter all the christian people and probably those who are not , just the way the English, Spanish and others from across the pond slaughtered the American Indians. Looks to me like they have already started. I certainly hope all who stisk up for them and who tell the rest of us we are worng to wnat to protcet our kids and grand kids, have a plan, when push comes to shove"

     So during one of my off the cuff and more than a little insulting FB comments the other night.  (My best/worst ones always come late at night after my brain has shut down.), a good friend whom I have never met posted the above comment in response to this comment from me.

"If you truly believe that it is okay to ban Islam in America, then you are truly clueless about exactly what America means and are a major part of what is wrong with the country today. How people can claim to worship the Constitution but deny a principle that was part of this nation before it was even a nation is mind boggling. These people are a greater threat to the American way of life than radical Islam ever will be because their leaders wear a shroud of patriotism and respectability."

     There is much more to the conversation, but that was the parts that inspired this blog.  Before I go any further let me state very clearly that I am not mocking CLMs (Name abbreviated to protect the innocent.) opinion or comment in any way.  In a very real sense, with the addition of one word, her comment could be seen as very accurate.  That word is Radical because Radical Extremist groups like ISIS (ISIL, Daesh woteverdafug they are calling them now.) and other such groups do indeed want to destroy America and any other part of the world that doesn't adhere to their codes.  There is no arguing this unless you are a few nuts short of a fruit basket.  (Wait, that didn't make sense...oh well moving on!) No one should argue that we should do everything REASONABLY and LEGALLY possible to protect ourselves and our country from all threats domestic and abroad.  However, the operative words there are legal and reasonable.  
     There are forces at work in the US that want to ban Islam.  Think about that for a second and really mull it over.  Leaders of a nation who's very founding principle which existed even before we were a nation was Freedom of Religion want to ban a religion.  That should scare the crap out of anyone.  The State wants to tell people what religions they can follow and which ones they cannot.  Two things you hear a lot today from our so called leaders is "the slippery slope" and "police state" usually used to describe any of the current regime's policies.  Funny how both of those things directly apply to the idea of banning Islam.  No, really!  Read on as I explainate it all.
     First let's look at the Slippery Slope Analogy or SSA as I will henceforth call it.  So whats say we ingnore the foounding principle of our nation and that pesky little thing called the Constitution for a second or three and we BAN ISLAM (OORAH!)!  Poof, yay that nasty nasty evil religious CULT is gone!  You've successfully gotten rid of (in the US anyways) that religion that you really really really don't like.  Congratulations!  So what happens when it happens to you?
     Say all the Atheists (Hey Mary Anderson!), Buddhists, Wiicans etc in the US decide that they are sick and tired of Christians?  They are tired of Christmas moving further and further back on the calendar and they are tired of Jehovah Witnesses banging on their door when they are trying to eat dinner.  Suppose this imagined majority decides to ban Christianity for good to save the calendar and dinner for all good folks?  They vote and poof, Christianity is banned from the US.  Are you okay with that?  I mean if a majority of people felt that Islam was bad and banned it then it must be okay that a majority of people could ban Christianity.
     (Of course I already know what the answer is, but that is what they call a rhetorical question.)  
     Second like, lets look at the Police State Issue (or PSI as I will call it.)  People are always going on and on and on about how Obama is trying to install a police state and declare himself dictator.  (For the record, he isn't just FYI.)  If our leaders were to instigate a ban on Islam or any other religion for that matter, they would be directly contravening the Constitution of the US which promises absolute freedom of religion without government intervention.  (Yes yes, there could be a vote to amend the Constitution, but it would never garner enough votes to pass.  Keep in mind that the majority of people support the freedom for all people to worship as they please.  The Ban Islam group is very much in the minority.)
     So the only way our so called leaders could possibly ban Islam is to essentially issue a writ from on high stating that the Government has elected to ban Islam.  That means that the State is telling people how they can and cannot lead their lives.  Sounds like a police state to me.
     We have an almost unheard of amount of freedom in the US.  We have "inalienable rights" promised to us when our nation was born.  It is one of the things that makes us great.  However, those freedoms and rights come with a high price.  They bring risks that people both foreign and domestic will abuse those rights and freedoms to do harm to us and our friends.  This is the price we pay every day for living in a free nation.  We cannot and should not restrict the rights and freedoms of others in the US just so that we can feel safer.  Should we do everything within our power legally and morally to protect all of the citizens of the US?  Heck yeah. but beware taking the freedoms and rights from people that you don't like because there will always be people that don't like you too.

End of Rant