Each day, on my way to work, I'll listen to one of two things. I'll either listen to what I've got on the jump drive, or I'll tune in to talk radio to hear what's going on in the political world. Usually I end up listening to Rush as he comes on at that time. And I do agree with much of what he says... until he reminds me why I'm so worried about the direction this country is headed in. Yesterday, that reminder came in the form of him practically crowing over the vote in North Carolina. I'm sure most of you who will read this are familiar with what happened, so I won't go into detail. Suffice it to say, I was not happy when I heard about this.
The reason I don't like this isn't simply that I'm for gay marriage (I am). The reason I don't like this is because it points to a disturbing trend in the way this nation is being governed. From where I stand, it looks very much as though the conservatives of this nation, whose influence is most definitely in ascendancy, would very much like to see the United States become a theocracy. All you have to do is look at some pf the policies they support to see this isn't far off the mark.
Two of the biggest conservative policies I can think of at this point are the pro-life and anti-gay marriage policies. These policies very obviously strip American citizens of specific rights that, in the case of marriage, is a right all other citizens enjoy. If there were some empirical evidence to prove that allowing these things was detrimental to our society, I may be inclined to agree. But there is none. One would think that in today's society that would be enough to stop these agendas in their tracks. But because they are based in the faith of so many people, that just isn't the case. And that's what makes me wary.
You see, in the case of gay marriage and abortion, these people are using the bible to justify passing legislation to strip specific groups of their liberties. Now, while I personally will never ask a woman to have an abortion, I will also never force a woman to relinquish control of her life or body by making it illegal to even seek out or provide the treatment. As for gay marriage, every other man and woman in this country is allowed to be "married" why not those who share a love with someone of the same gender? There is no legitimate reason. Only a handful of lines in an ancient text seems to make it unacceptable to so many.
What I'm trying to get at is that this nation was founded on a basis of escaping persecution and the ability to live life according to one's own plans. The church was deliberately left out of our governing document specifically to prevent religious interference. The Constitution specifically makes no mention of any god or religious edifice, except to say that no one shall be required to go through a test of faith to hold office. And yet we see examples of religious interference on a daily basis. States passing laws making same sex marriages impossible. Statues of the ten commandments sitting outside courthouses. Public schools painting christian themed murals on their walls.
I will be the first to say that what you do on your own time and in your own home is your business, and I have no say in it. But the government and all its arms must remain impartial to guarantee that all citizens receive the same rights. To allow a single religious philosophy to so dominate the functions of government is to create a tyranny of religious oppression that cannot be allowed. I realize that it is nearly impossible to separate a person from their faith. But when that person is responsible for helping guide the direction of this nation, that person must be able to take a step back, distance themselves from their own beliefs, and remember that this is not a nation of one faith, one belief. It is a melting pot of thousands, if not millions of individual faiths and beliefs, many of them different from, or even at odds with, each other. To govern by the values of a single faith is to persecute all others who do not share that faith.
We are a nation of all peoples, and all faiths. We were created based on freedom and individual responsibility for all citizens. If we continue down the path we are currently following, we will end up in a society where the only free individuals are those who follow the tenets of a single faith. We will become the new Catholic Spain. We will be the seat of a new inquisition, a new holy crusade. May whatever gods you pray to help us should that ever come to pass.
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