Stand up for the Separation of Church and State

The ignorance of Christine O'Donnell has sparked what now amounts to a shameful, ridiculous national debate on the Separation of Church and State.

http://cnn.com/video/?/video/politics/2010/10/20/ac.odonnell.constitution.gaffe.cnn

In recent months religious conservatives have begun challenging the concept of Separation of Church and State, and even arguing that the US is a “fundamentally Christian nation,” despite over 200 years of jurisprudence and social discourse to the contrary. Its true- the vast majority of people in the US have been Christians, but it is NOT true that religion does, or is supposed to, play a role in our government.

It is really disingenuous to suggest this is an ongoing debate, and not the product of recent political movements. People trying hard to reverse the separation of church and state like to trick you into
thinking this way, but they'd have a LOT of books to burn to hide the
truth. Making it an issue by choice and denying the truth in no way
makes the mountain of evidence go away. The framers wanted religion to play no part in the government. The Framers in EVERY WAY, shape and form thought that there ought to be a
secular government. What they envisioned and brought to fruition
was a secular government where regardless of an individual's faith,
the government would respect all people's rights without special regard to any
religion.

People who make such arguments are just winding us up and wasting everyone's time. They know perfectly well they're in the wrong. The phrase "separation of church and state" doesn't "appear" in the Constitution because the government wasn't made yet. It's a CONCEPT. In exactly the same way "freedom of the press" doesn't appear in the Constitution- it’s a CONCEPT created by the living document of the Constitution itself. We have these definitions TODAY because we've spent the last 200+ years defining what the First Amendment means. The argument that the "Separation of Church and state doesn't exist" in the Constitution is like saying there is no right to "privacy."

From Wikipedia: ( http://www.usconstitution.net/constnot.html#privacy )
-The Constitution does not specifically mention "a right to privacy." However, Supreme Court decisions over the years have established that the right to privacy is a basic human right, and as such is protected by virtue of the 9th Amendment. In addition, it is said that a right to privacy is inherent in many of the amendments in the Bill of Rights, such as the 3rd, the 4th's search and seizure limits, and the 5th's self-incrimination limit.-

The Constitution is a living document, which has been created and changed over time, and it’s constantly (and still) evolving. This also means it can be damaged, messed up, or even destroyed if the wrong people are allowed to mess with it. We must be vigilant. Stand up for the freedoms we have. Speak out against those who twist words, reality, and weak minds into thinking there isn’t (or ought not to be) a separation of church and state. Be aware that people who make this kind of argument are counting on people’s ignorance and YOUR silence, to make it easier for them to get their way. Don’t let them screw you, and all of us. Speak out. Be heard. Don’t let a lie go unchallenged.

One may make arguments against the Separation of Church and State (and privacy, for that matter), but unless you're willing to give up your rights to free speech, privacy, bear arms, practice (or not) your own religion, please stop bastardizing and disparaging our Constitution. Read it, learn how it was made, evolved over time, and get on the same page as the rest of us in the 21st Century. This is not a debatable issue amongst the literate. I'm fine with debating morons regarding new issues that have cropped up in recent politics. I’m fine with having to ask them to apply common sense, common morals, or the simple concept of justice of a six year old to current political events and issues- some people need the help. But if I have to go back 200 years to debate stuff decided long ago, accepted, and now taken for granted by EVERYONE, and in fact emulated by foreign countries as a paradigm for the development of their own laws, then you're beyond my help, and I won't waste any more time with you. Go back to middle school. People who need to pretend the US doesn’t have a Separation of Church and State are in serious need of education, morals, punishment, or ostracism.

Get out of my country if you can't support the Constitution that protects you.

What have I done?!

I... I was trying to do a good thing. Honestly.

I was trying to stay informed, and current, and... you know- be smart.

So when I heard someone was giving away free pocket copies of the Constitution, I thought "Hell, I've not had a pocket copy of the constitution since my college reporting days... I'll get one."

So I called the number, or signed up on the website- it was so long ago I can't remember. I meant well. A few weeks later, my copies arrived, and I was really pleased to have them. I've not even had a chance to look through the pocket Constitutions yet... more on that in a minute.

Well I'd given my name and address to the Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation is an untra-conservative, bordering insane organization bent on humanity's destruction. I might be overstating this somewhat but consider this:

The Heritage Foundation supports, and is endorsed by, and is spoken for by, Sean Hannity. I'm now getting weekly mail from Sean Hannity. And he's asking me for money.

I had planned on writing a blog about some of this... but there's too much material. They've sent me a "Tax Increase Impact Survey" that is laugh-out-loud funny, if I wasn't so busy sobbing at how underhanded and evil they and thier "survey" are. Also a "Survey for Conservatives."

I'm trying to decide what will be more effective; answering them truthfully and sending them back, in the hope that I and others sane respondents will sway the results slightly, or simply gluing the Business Reply Envelope to a brick so they'll have to pay a ton in postage, and thereby cutting into the profits that would otherwise go into further ravaging the Constitution they recently sent me.

Come to think of it, I'd better read through that sucker. Lord knows what kind of creative "edits" they might have made in the constitutions they sent out. Heck- they didn't get to be one of the world's largest, most insane conservative organizations because thier contributors were SMART. Maybe they figure if they send out enough of these, they can get people to think the Second Amendment actually provides for the "right to shoot liberals..."

Stay tuned to this space for more updates regarding my Love Letters from Hannity.