In last night's SOTU (which I didn't watch), I understand there was a large discussion of Bush's plans to privatize social security, and a brief mention of a plan headed by Laura to expand faith-based initiatives in gang-ridden neighborhoods.
Watch that sleight of hand.
The social security fight is huge. Don't get me wrong. It goes to the heart of what Democrats stand for -- protecting the little guy against greedy corporations. But the faith-based initiatives (by the way: paging Frameshop, Frameshop can you hear me?) is more insidious, pernicious, and strikes at the heart of what it means to be an American.
Our land was founded on freedom of religion. It was a principle canonized in the very first words of the very first right our founders set out:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion
Bush is trying to sneak around that. He wants to bring big government into your churches, your temples, your mosques. Let's say that again. He wants to bring the federal government into your church. How do we feel about that? Is it time for the United States Government to start moving in on your pastor? Or should we keep our churches and temples inependent and free of the government? Here's my answer:
Get your filthy hands off my religion!
This movement is critical, because it is about principles. It is not just who gets medical care, who gets welfare, who gets their social security check. We need to fight all those fights too. But this movement is about whether we remain a country where our government trusts in God, but our God is not owned by the government. We can't start moving our government into the churches, and try to tell them what to do. We are a nation under God -- not a nation above Him.
(To those atheists among you - hi, how ya doin'. I'm one too. But we are not getting anywhere with anti-religion rhetoric. We are so outnumbered it is not even funny. I think it is the fight of the next 50 years to keep religious extremists from taking over our government -- but we can't frame it that way. We can frame it as keeping the government out of our religion, and appealling to spirits of independence and libertarianism, distrust of big government -- which used to be a Republican bell! -- and the founder's intents. We've got all the ammunition on our side, but we've got to load the cannon from the right end. This diary is my little attempt at it.)
What can we do? We can file lawsuits, charging that these programs are an intrusion of big government on our private religious life. Any lawyers out there in Kosland? Better yet, any preachers? (PastorDan?) Because maybe the best thing we could do is start getting a group of priests and rabbis together to put out a statement framing this as just what it is -- an intrusion of big government into their houses of worship -- and move from there.
Anyone on good terms with your local holy man or woman? Have you ever talked about it with him or her this way? What happened?
empty.