Where did you GO, USA?
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights,that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."
~Declaration of Independence
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door"
~Inscription of the Statue of Liberty
"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,-as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen,-and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries"
~Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11 [treaty process started under Washington, concluded under Adams]
this may not be new reading to anyone but me:
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n24/mohammed-elgorani/diary
it's a "diary", an account of several weeks of interviews between the writer and the subject: a former detainee in Guantanamo...
it's parts boring, parts depression, and parts ranting. Read [the post] at your own risk
,,,a former detainee in Guantanamo
who was picked up in Pakistan at the age of 15 as a "suspected Al-Qaida terrorist".
see, his parents were from Chad. theyyemigrated to Saudi Arabia before Mohammad was born. but as a non-Saudi, neither he nor his parents could own a business, it was all but impossible for he and his siblings to access education or medical care, etc. it's actually incredibly difficult for non-Saudi's to live in SA [there are soooooooo many discriminatory laws, and in fact most of the non-Saudi's who work in SA that we HEAR about are specialized contractors...] so at 14, he heard about a "class" that taught English and computer skills that he could afford - except it was in Pakistan. so he went to the Chadian embassy, where he was told to lie about his age, got a passport to Pakistan, and went to school [without parental permission or approval - he ran away]
he was picked up in a sweep for terrorists - he was asked if he was Saudi, and he said "No, i'm Chadian". they called him a liar, took him to a jail, and started asking questions.
"Where is Osama bin Lauden?"
"Who is that?"
*beating*
"When did you join Al-Qaida?"
"What is that?"
*beating*
"What's the next target?"
"For what?"
*beating*
the Pakistani guards [i'm not sure if they were cops, military, or prison guards, actually] told him that they knew he wasn't Saudi and wasn't part of Al-Qaida - and told him to LIE, and say he was, "because the Americans want terrorists, so we have to give them terrorists" [paraphrased]
HE WAS 15 FUCKING YEARS OLD.
he was transferred to American guards - who refused to believe A) that he wasn't a Saudi citizen; B) that he didn't know who bin Lauden was; C) that he wasn't a member of Al-Qaida; D) that he hadn't been to a "terrorist training camp"; and E) that he WAS 15
but they sure did love calling him a n*****.
at one point, i think after he was transferred to Guantanamo, an interrogator came in and told him "we have footage of you working with a terrorist cell in Britain in 1993"
and he said "you need to try harder, maybe say 98 or 99 - i was 6 in 93" and the interrogator laughed.
one [American] interrogator told him that he KNEW Mohammed wasn't a terrorist, that he didn't know the answers to ANY of the questions - but that he had a wife and family, and couldn't "afford" to lose his job by admitting Mohammed wasn't any of the above.
and so i ask - WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED to my country?
or, i should ask rather, what DIDN'T happen, that we CONTINUE to ignore the whole fucking POINT of the ideals of our country?
WHY did we rebel against the Crown, why did we fight, not one, but TWO wars against Britain to be free? why did we have a war to stop the expansion of slavery*? why did we fight against tyranny in the War of 1898 [Spanish-American war] and the Mexican American War during and after the Spanish-American War? why did we join WWI against Germany and Austria? why did we oppose fascism, Hitler, and mass genocide in WWII? why did we EVER bother opposing the USSR and "communism**", with their concurrent human rights' violations and genocide? why Korea and Vietnam and Desert Storm I? why did we meddle with damned near EVERY country on the Western Hemisphere to prevent further Communism? why did we place Saddam Hussein in power*** to begin with?
as ANYONE with more than 2 functioning brain cells can learn from reading the 3 quotes with which i began this post, the United States was created with certain founding ideals.
1. ALL PEOPLE ARE EQUAL. no measure of birth, of wealth, of advantage, EVER makes one person "better than" another person. yes, some people are better at THINGS than other people - but the intrinsic WORTH of a person cannot be measured. human life is precious****.
2. it is NOT COOL to discriminate for ANY reason.
3. difference is not bad
further study of relevant texts, laws, court decisions and etc. show that the US was created, and has continued as an entity, with even more, and continuously evolving, Ideals -
A. all people have the SAME rights.
I. to a fair trial, with competent representation, full disclosure of relevant details, ability to face their accuser, the presumption of innocence and a jury of their peers
II. to a punishment that is commiserate with the crime, but that is NOT "cruel and unusual"
III. to not be forced, through physical violence or mental cohersion or emotional manipulation or any other means, to incriminate oneself
B. these rights are UNIVERSAL
I. it doesn't matter if a person in a US citizen, they possess the same basic rights. what they don't possess are the privileges and duties of Citizenship.
II. this applies both within the borders of the US and without; any place the US is active, the government is required to hold this standard towards ALL people, EXCEPT those that
i.) we have actively - and DIRECTLY - declared war against [and even then, we must treat NON-COMBATANTS, i.e. civilians, with the SAME standard we apply to everyone else]
ii.) a person or group has actively attack us or our allies and we are DEFENDING same.
III. there is an unspoken mandate. to whit; it is the responsibility of the United States to uphold the rights of all people, to whatever extent is possible for the government at the time. this has justified countless "actions" the US has taken. it is OUR job, as Citizens, to ensure that we elect leaders who understand that we are to practice what we preach.
C. we are a SECULAR nation, and as such can neither wage a religious war, nor penalize people for having a religion [so long as the religion is not breaking any law, and members are not themselves being forced to follow the religion]
I. as such, there are two main points
i.) the government SHALL NOT impose any religion, nor ANY religious observances, on any portion of the populace
ii.) the government SHALL NOT prohibit, proscribe, nor attempt to infringe upon the rights of any religion or member thereof, providing that neither the religion nor the member is breaking any law.
II. further, the only "action" the US government, or any sub-government [State, County, City, etc.] may make with regards to religion is that which
i.) prohibits discrimination of religions or the members thereof
1.) this includes, but is not limited to, a "religious" test for employment or public office..
ii.) prohibits attempts to force a religion, or aspects of a religion, onto those who are not members of that religion.
1.) this includes, but is not limited to, mandated staff-led prayer in public schools, Public displays of religion that are funded in any part by tax-payer dollars, teaching religion in public schools ["Creationism" is AN example]. note: teaching ABOUT religion is acceptable, so long as there is no requirement to *convert*, and all [or at least the main 5] are taught with equal attention and no bias.
to sum up: every living person on this planet has basic rights, these rights are universal, and the United States was created based, in part, upon the idea and ideal that all people in all nations have these rights. the purpose of any government should be, at heart, to protect it's citizens and their rights. as one of the first nations to declare for human rights, it is the privilege and responsibility of the United States to uphold those rights. if nothing else, it is the responsibility of the United States to NOT, itself, ignore these rights.
but WHERE are we? because we've captured, detained without trial, and tortured non-enemy non-combatants. we kidnapped, by proxy via Pakistan, a 15-year-old CHILD, whose only "crime" was to be a black Muslim in the wrong place at the wrong time. we then proceeded to torture this CHILD who had never even HEARD of bin Lauden, then removed him from his country of residence [which wasn't his native country] to a country that was NOT the United States, unlawfully detained him without benefit of trial, outside communication, or even an accusation [it was inferred that he was a terrorist. many, many guards CALLED him a terrorist. neither is an actual, lawful, accusation]. during the YEARS he was unlawfully imprisoned, he continued to be physically tortured, and received numerous punishments that were "cruel and unusual" and often wildly disproportionate to the "offense". [it's one thing when he punched a guard and broke his nose; it's another thing when he papered over the AC unit that was set to a temp as low as the snowy winter weather outside the building.]
after YEARS of this continual unlawful imprisonment, torture and systemic abuse, what happened? he was returned NOT to his parents - still in Saudi Arabia - or even to his place of residence at the time he was "arrested"; he was "returned" to a country that he'd never before been to - Chad, his "native" country. where he was kept under surveillance and refused the right to leave the country for further years. when he *DID* manage to leave, he was VERY quickly "arrested" AGAIN - because, apparently, ANY movement on the part of a black Muslim means he's gone off to be a terrorist and commit terrorism.
WE HAVE BEEN WAGING A RELIGIOUS WAR FOR A DECADE.
and not just in the Middle East - i'm sure everyone who wants to, has seen Rick Perry's latest commercial ["Strong"]. where Perry starts off stating "I'm not afraid to admit that i'm a Christian." as if there were ANYONE in the US who has ANY reason to be "afraid" to admit to being a Christian.
a specific type of Christian, sure - but Perry is HIMSELF the type of Christian who would attack members of other denominations; Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Unitarians, "Liberal Christians", etc. that's a rough list, not of those that Perry has discriminated against/attacked, but the most commonly discriminated against/attacked sects of Christianity.
but Christians make up over 70% of the population. they have more than ONE of their Holy Days as a NATIONAL FUCKING HOLIDAY. [Christmas and Easter are both "national holidays". yes, Easter fall on a Sunday... speaking of Sunday] the government is CLOSED on their day of worship. many businesses are also closed on Sundays, as well as on various Christian Holy Days. i don't mind the businesses, really, but the government? that i DO mind. as i mind that Christian, and ONLY Christian, Holy Days are also National Holidays
why isn't Samhain a National Holiday? or how about Passover [the last day, at least...]? there are people of almost EVERY religion that live in the US - small minorities, compared to Christians - but ONLY Christian Holy Days are National Holidays?
and he could, somehow, "afraid" to "admit" that he's a Christian, except he's "strong enough" to "admit" it despite his "fear"?!?!
a short list of various ways a certain and specific portion of the Christian populace is waging war, both within and without our borders:
attempting to outlaw abortion
attempting to outlaw contraception
as an action to combine the two above, attempt to define "personhood" as being created at the "moment of conception", thereby making it MURDER or similar to use many forms of BC, to have a zygote fail to implant, to miscarry, to have a still-birth, or get an abortion*****.
attempting to impose mandated school prayer
opposing anti-bullying measures, as "being against their religion" [have they READ the Gospels?]
oppose same-sex marriage and any/all rights for same-sex partners
attempting to roll back "sodomy" and similar laws, thereby outlawing homosexuality
continuous attempts to have "homosexuality" re-classed as a mental illness listed in the DSM [as it used to. sigh]
continuous attempts to place Biblical language or artifacts in Public/Government buildings - for instance, having the 10 Commandments displayed in a Courthouse.
continuous attempts to stop members of OTHER religions from practicing their religion, or being allowed the same rights as Christian churches - attempting to prohibit Mosques, for instance, and attempts to prohibit non-Christian religions from practicing other religious rights, like tax-exempt status for religious enterprises [churches are tax-exempt - they don't have to pay taxes on the tithes they receive]
continuous attempts to impose their religious law on those who aren't of their religion.
continuous statements along the lines of "The US is a Christian Nation" or "The US was founded as a Christian Nation", despite all evidence to the contrary.
continuous religious discrimination in their businesses - doctors who won't prescribe birth control, pharmacists who won't dispense it; refusal to hire non-Christian in a non-religious business [they're allowed to discriminate when it comes to employment by a CHURCH - but not a private business]
continuous attempts to force the teaching of Creationism and other religious ideas, as fact, in public schools
continuous attempts to PROHIBIT classes and teachings that they say "are against my religion", things like The Theory of Evolution, or a Religions of the World overview class.
continuous attempts to prohibit the religious practices of non-Christians in public areas. Christians can and *DO* pray in school, the only thing prohibited is a REQUIREMENT that there be prayer; so they're, on the one hand, demanding that THEIR prayer be mandated, while on the other, demanding that OTHER types of prayer, ESPECIALLY Muslim, be completely prohibited.
they have succeeded in forcing the US to discriminate based on religion to a LARGE extent - we now have "religious profiling" of Muslims, to go with the "racial profiling" of Arabs. [not all Arabs are Muslim; not all Muslims are Arabic. fuck me if i can get THIS type of "Christian" to UNDERSTAND that!]
they have succeeded in getting us into not ONE, but TWO wars - one against a nation that had was a SECULAR nation headed by an atheist who hated bin Lauded almost as much as bin Lauded hated HIM. and neither war was justified, neither was legal, and the second was based on out-right-fucking LIES.
they have succeeded in convincing large swaths of both the government and military to ignore the laws and the Constitution they swore to uphold.
they have succeeded in making it MUCH harder to emigrate to the US, and made it MUCH worse to be "caught" as an "illegal alien" - punishing NOT the people who profit by using said workers, but the workers themselves - which has meant FURTHER erosion of those basic fucking rights that the US, unlike a religion, *WAS* created upon.
they have succeeded in forcing the US to back ANYTHING Israel does - even if Israel is the aggressor, even if Israel is breaking treaties with the UN or the US in they way it "deals" with Palestine... even when Israel resorts to "terrorism".
has succeeded on forcing the government to yet AGAIN "declare war" on something that is not a NATION - NATIONS being the ONLY thing that it's lawful to declare war on.
have themselves declared war, not on poverty, but on the POOR. they wish to LOWER taxes for the wealthy while RAISING taxes on the not-wealthy, and they want to cut ALL government aid - programs that keep people alive, programs that we ALL pay into. they want the poor to die. also on LGBTQUI people, women, and people of other religions. as in, they have ACTIVELY SPENT MILLIONS, opposing SSM, opposing womens' right to control their own bodies, supporting governments that kill gay, queer and trans* people.
and they want to take over our government and turn the US into a fucking THEOCRACY - using the "justification" that the US was "founded on Christian ideals and customs". they LIE. about the founding of the US, about gay people, about there being a "gay agenda", about feminism [and a "feminist agenda"], about how BC works, about fetuses and their development, about liberals [calling ALL liberals "socialists" and "communists"], about socialism and socialistic programs here in the US, about Muslims and Islam, they lie when they say they're anti-abortion because they "love" children - if they DID love children, they wouldn't be trying to cut WIC and FoodStamps [both programs? over 70% of those fed by them are CHILDREN] and they lie when they say that they're "Just doing what Jesus said to do".
THEY LIE ABOUT EVERYTHING. they are ANTI-AMERICAN and ANTI-AMERICAN IDEALS. they believe that NO ONE DESERVES ANY RIGHTS EXCEPT THEM - and they are DEMANDING the right to force THEIR version of Christianity on ALL of use, the right to PUNISH people for not being Christian in the narrow-non-Christ-like way they SAY is "Christian". they want the right to "punish" LGBTQUI people with death; they want the right to force all women to carry all pregnancies to term or death. they want the right to "punish" people who have had abortions and the people who provide them. they want to right to interfere with our lives in any way they want. they want the right to prevent women from working outside the home - and the right to force women into a Christian version of a burka.
* it wasn't, originally, about "ending" slavery right then. the whole reason the South seceded is because Lincoln was elected, and they knew that Lincoln's policy on admitting new states to the Union included NOT allowing any more "slave states" - until Lincoln, every slavery-is-illegal-state admitted had to balanced by a slavery-IS-legal-state.
Lincoln WAS anti-slave - but he believed, as MANY abolitionists did - that if slavery were isolated to only the states that already had slavery, that the slave-states wouldn't be able to compete economically and would have to voluntarily end slavery.
the slave owners knew this was true - it's why they INSISTED that every non-slave state be balanced by a slave-state. they seceded in an attempt to NOT be made economically irrelevant and thus forced to stop the practice of slavery.
and now i feel dirty.
**i reiterate a point i've made many, many times - we have YET to see an ACTUAL Communist government. or Socialist. just because a country names itself with "Communist" doesn't mean they ARE Communist - a point we should have learned from all the various countries with "Democratic" or "Republic" in their names, but not a shred of democracy or republicanism to be found in the government. fuck, most were and are outright dictatorships!
***yep. the US helped Hussein take over Iraq. for 2 reasons - the Afghanistan, and USSR plans ABOUT Afghanistan, and to balance Iran's religious dictatorship while creating a "friendly nation" in the M.E.
in fact, when Hussein invaded Kuwait, he thought he had US permission, because Kuwait had been slant-drilling into Iraqi oilfields - aka, Kuwait was practicing economic warfare. the US Ambassador told Hussein he was "in the clear" - it's been speculated as to what he REALLY meant by that - Hussein took it to mean "go ahead and defend yourself, the US won't stop you." but the-then Ambassador says, no, he DIDN'T mean that, he somehow meant "you have the right to file a grievance"
one day, Iraq was an ally and Hussein was our friend. the next, news reporters are saying shit like "it's WWII all over again - Germany invading Poland, except it's Iraq invading Kuwait!"
and remember: KUWAIT had been the aggressor and started the war.
**** i know that i sound like a forced-birther with that. but human life IS precious - so very fucking precious that we shouldn't EVER value a POTENTIAL human life over an ACTUAL human life. i am in no way saying that fetuses aren't "precious", especially WANTED fetuses - but i AM saying that they are NOT *MORE* important than the living, breathing mother, if a choice comes between the mother's health/life and the child's, the mother wins. or should. i mean, rationally, dead mom = motherless child+no more children. [after birth it mostly switches]. and if a person gets pregnant who - for ANY reason doesn't WANT to be, then it's HER body, and she can choose who she let's reside there; she can choose to NOT donate an organ, and what is pregnancy if not the donation of MOST of one's organs to sustain a fetus
*****as a note on this "personhood" thing - women have already been arrested and punished for miscarriages, still-births, refusing C-Sections that were NOT medically necessary, drinking or using drugs [legal or illegal] while pregnant even if they didn't know they were pregnant, NOT taking meds that were prescribed [couldn't afford], NOT going on immediate-and-permanent bedrest at less than 3 months pregnant [single mother of 2 already-born who HAD to work 2 jobs to pay the bills as it WAS, because her husband just up and walked, after she was pregnant but before she knew. and he refused to come back. the day after the doctor ADVISED her - and that's ALL a doctor is LEGALLY allowed to do, is ADVISE - that bedrest would be best for the embryo, he showed up at her house with cops and a fucking WARRANT and FORCIBLY ADMITTED her to a hospital - not even allowing her to either call someone to get her kids OR take them with her - when she miscarried the next day, he tried to have her arrested and charged with "negligent homicide of an infant", and when THAT didn't work, he tried to have her arrested for negligence because he forced her to leave her 2 kids at home with no adults.]
~Declaration of Independence
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door"
~Inscription of the Statue of Liberty
"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,-as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen,-and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries"
~Treaty of Tripoli, Article 11 [treaty process started under Washington, concluded under Adams]
this may not be new reading to anyone but me:
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n24/mohammed-elgorani/diary
it's a "diary", an account of several weeks of interviews between the writer and the subject: a former detainee in Guantanamo...
it's parts boring, parts depression, and parts ranting. Read [the post] at your own risk
,,,a former detainee in Guantanamo
who was picked up in Pakistan at the age of 15 as a "suspected Al-Qaida terrorist".
see, his parents were from Chad. theyyemigrated to Saudi Arabia before Mohammad was born. but as a non-Saudi, neither he nor his parents could own a business, it was all but impossible for he and his siblings to access education or medical care, etc. it's actually incredibly difficult for non-Saudi's to live in SA [there are soooooooo many discriminatory laws, and in fact most of the non-Saudi's who work in SA that we HEAR about are specialized contractors...] so at 14, he heard about a "class" that taught English and computer skills that he could afford - except it was in Pakistan. so he went to the Chadian embassy, where he was told to lie about his age, got a passport to Pakistan, and went to school [without parental permission or approval - he ran away]
he was picked up in a sweep for terrorists - he was asked if he was Saudi, and he said "No, i'm Chadian". they called him a liar, took him to a jail, and started asking questions.
"Where is Osama bin Lauden?"
"Who is that?"
*beating*
"When did you join Al-Qaida?"
"What is that?"
*beating*
"What's the next target?"
"For what?"
*beating*
the Pakistani guards [i'm not sure if they were cops, military, or prison guards, actually] told him that they knew he wasn't Saudi and wasn't part of Al-Qaida - and told him to LIE, and say he was, "because the Americans want terrorists, so we have to give them terrorists" [paraphrased]
HE WAS 15 FUCKING YEARS OLD.
he was transferred to American guards - who refused to believe A) that he wasn't a Saudi citizen; B) that he didn't know who bin Lauden was; C) that he wasn't a member of Al-Qaida; D) that he hadn't been to a "terrorist training camp"; and E) that he WAS 15
but they sure did love calling him a n*****.
at one point, i think after he was transferred to Guantanamo, an interrogator came in and told him "we have footage of you working with a terrorist cell in Britain in 1993"
and he said "you need to try harder, maybe say 98 or 99 - i was 6 in 93" and the interrogator laughed.
one [American] interrogator told him that he KNEW Mohammed wasn't a terrorist, that he didn't know the answers to ANY of the questions - but that he had a wife and family, and couldn't "afford" to lose his job by admitting Mohammed wasn't any of the above.
and so i ask - WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED to my country?
or, i should ask rather, what DIDN'T happen, that we CONTINUE to ignore the whole fucking POINT of the ideals of our country?
WHY did we rebel against the Crown, why did we fight, not one, but TWO wars against Britain to be free? why did we have a war to stop the expansion of slavery*? why did we fight against tyranny in the War of 1898 [Spanish-American war] and the Mexican American War during and after the Spanish-American War? why did we join WWI against Germany and Austria? why did we oppose fascism, Hitler, and mass genocide in WWII? why did we EVER bother opposing the USSR and "communism**", with their concurrent human rights' violations and genocide? why Korea and Vietnam and Desert Storm I? why did we meddle with damned near EVERY country on the Western Hemisphere to prevent further Communism? why did we place Saddam Hussein in power*** to begin with?
as ANYONE with more than 2 functioning brain cells can learn from reading the 3 quotes with which i began this post, the United States was created with certain founding ideals.
1. ALL PEOPLE ARE EQUAL. no measure of birth, of wealth, of advantage, EVER makes one person "better than" another person. yes, some people are better at THINGS than other people - but the intrinsic WORTH of a person cannot be measured. human life is precious****.
2. it is NOT COOL to discriminate for ANY reason.
3. difference is not bad
further study of relevant texts, laws, court decisions and etc. show that the US was created, and has continued as an entity, with even more, and continuously evolving, Ideals -
A. all people have the SAME rights.
I. to a fair trial, with competent representation, full disclosure of relevant details, ability to face their accuser, the presumption of innocence and a jury of their peers
II. to a punishment that is commiserate with the crime, but that is NOT "cruel and unusual"
III. to not be forced, through physical violence or mental cohersion or emotional manipulation or any other means, to incriminate oneself
B. these rights are UNIVERSAL
I. it doesn't matter if a person in a US citizen, they possess the same basic rights. what they don't possess are the privileges and duties of Citizenship.
II. this applies both within the borders of the US and without; any place the US is active, the government is required to hold this standard towards ALL people, EXCEPT those that
i.) we have actively - and DIRECTLY - declared war against [and even then, we must treat NON-COMBATANTS, i.e. civilians, with the SAME standard we apply to everyone else]
ii.) a person or group has actively attack us or our allies and we are DEFENDING same.
III. there is an unspoken mandate. to whit; it is the responsibility of the United States to uphold the rights of all people, to whatever extent is possible for the government at the time. this has justified countless "actions" the US has taken. it is OUR job, as Citizens, to ensure that we elect leaders who understand that we are to practice what we preach.
C. we are a SECULAR nation, and as such can neither wage a religious war, nor penalize people for having a religion [so long as the religion is not breaking any law, and members are not themselves being forced to follow the religion]
I. as such, there are two main points
i.) the government SHALL NOT impose any religion, nor ANY religious observances, on any portion of the populace
ii.) the government SHALL NOT prohibit, proscribe, nor attempt to infringe upon the rights of any religion or member thereof, providing that neither the religion nor the member is breaking any law.
II. further, the only "action" the US government, or any sub-government [State, County, City, etc.] may make with regards to religion is that which
i.) prohibits discrimination of religions or the members thereof
1.) this includes, but is not limited to, a "religious" test for employment or public office..
ii.) prohibits attempts to force a religion, or aspects of a religion, onto those who are not members of that religion.
1.) this includes, but is not limited to, mandated staff-led prayer in public schools, Public displays of religion that are funded in any part by tax-payer dollars, teaching religion in public schools ["Creationism" is AN example]. note: teaching ABOUT religion is acceptable, so long as there is no requirement to *convert*, and all [or at least the main 5] are taught with equal attention and no bias.
to sum up: every living person on this planet has basic rights, these rights are universal, and the United States was created based, in part, upon the idea and ideal that all people in all nations have these rights. the purpose of any government should be, at heart, to protect it's citizens and their rights. as one of the first nations to declare for human rights, it is the privilege and responsibility of the United States to uphold those rights. if nothing else, it is the responsibility of the United States to NOT, itself, ignore these rights.
but WHERE are we? because we've captured, detained without trial, and tortured non-enemy non-combatants. we kidnapped, by proxy via Pakistan, a 15-year-old CHILD, whose only "crime" was to be a black Muslim in the wrong place at the wrong time. we then proceeded to torture this CHILD who had never even HEARD of bin Lauden, then removed him from his country of residence [which wasn't his native country] to a country that was NOT the United States, unlawfully detained him without benefit of trial, outside communication, or even an accusation [it was inferred that he was a terrorist. many, many guards CALLED him a terrorist. neither is an actual, lawful, accusation]. during the YEARS he was unlawfully imprisoned, he continued to be physically tortured, and received numerous punishments that were "cruel and unusual" and often wildly disproportionate to the "offense". [it's one thing when he punched a guard and broke his nose; it's another thing when he papered over the AC unit that was set to a temp as low as the snowy winter weather outside the building.]
after YEARS of this continual unlawful imprisonment, torture and systemic abuse, what happened? he was returned NOT to his parents - still in Saudi Arabia - or even to his place of residence at the time he was "arrested"; he was "returned" to a country that he'd never before been to - Chad, his "native" country. where he was kept under surveillance and refused the right to leave the country for further years. when he *DID* manage to leave, he was VERY quickly "arrested" AGAIN - because, apparently, ANY movement on the part of a black Muslim means he's gone off to be a terrorist and commit terrorism.
WE HAVE BEEN WAGING A RELIGIOUS WAR FOR A DECADE.
and not just in the Middle East - i'm sure everyone who wants to, has seen Rick Perry's latest commercial ["Strong"]. where Perry starts off stating "I'm not afraid to admit that i'm a Christian." as if there were ANYONE in the US who has ANY reason to be "afraid" to admit to being a Christian.
a specific type of Christian, sure - but Perry is HIMSELF the type of Christian who would attack members of other denominations; Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Unitarians, "Liberal Christians", etc. that's a rough list, not of those that Perry has discriminated against/attacked, but the most commonly discriminated against/attacked sects of Christianity.
but Christians make up over 70% of the population. they have more than ONE of their Holy Days as a NATIONAL FUCKING HOLIDAY. [Christmas and Easter are both "national holidays". yes, Easter fall on a Sunday... speaking of Sunday] the government is CLOSED on their day of worship. many businesses are also closed on Sundays, as well as on various Christian Holy Days. i don't mind the businesses, really, but the government? that i DO mind. as i mind that Christian, and ONLY Christian, Holy Days are also National Holidays
why isn't Samhain a National Holiday? or how about Passover [the last day, at least...]? there are people of almost EVERY religion that live in the US - small minorities, compared to Christians - but ONLY Christian Holy Days are National Holidays?
and he could, somehow, "afraid" to "admit" that he's a Christian, except he's "strong enough" to "admit" it despite his "fear"?!?!
a short list of various ways a certain and specific portion of the Christian populace is waging war, both within and without our borders:
attempting to outlaw abortion
attempting to outlaw contraception
as an action to combine the two above, attempt to define "personhood" as being created at the "moment of conception", thereby making it MURDER or similar to use many forms of BC, to have a zygote fail to implant, to miscarry, to have a still-birth, or get an abortion*****.
attempting to impose mandated school prayer
opposing anti-bullying measures, as "being against their religion" [have they READ the Gospels?]
oppose same-sex marriage and any/all rights for same-sex partners
attempting to roll back "sodomy" and similar laws, thereby outlawing homosexuality
continuous attempts to have "homosexuality" re-classed as a mental illness listed in the DSM [as it used to. sigh]
continuous attempts to place Biblical language or artifacts in Public/Government buildings - for instance, having the 10 Commandments displayed in a Courthouse.
continuous attempts to stop members of OTHER religions from practicing their religion, or being allowed the same rights as Christian churches - attempting to prohibit Mosques, for instance, and attempts to prohibit non-Christian religions from practicing other religious rights, like tax-exempt status for religious enterprises [churches are tax-exempt - they don't have to pay taxes on the tithes they receive]
continuous attempts to impose their religious law on those who aren't of their religion.
continuous statements along the lines of "The US is a Christian Nation" or "The US was founded as a Christian Nation", despite all evidence to the contrary.
continuous religious discrimination in their businesses - doctors who won't prescribe birth control, pharmacists who won't dispense it; refusal to hire non-Christian in a non-religious business [they're allowed to discriminate when it comes to employment by a CHURCH - but not a private business]
continuous attempts to force the teaching of Creationism and other religious ideas, as fact, in public schools
continuous attempts to PROHIBIT classes and teachings that they say "are against my religion", things like The Theory of Evolution, or a Religions of the World overview class.
continuous attempts to prohibit the religious practices of non-Christians in public areas. Christians can and *DO* pray in school, the only thing prohibited is a REQUIREMENT that there be prayer; so they're, on the one hand, demanding that THEIR prayer be mandated, while on the other, demanding that OTHER types of prayer, ESPECIALLY Muslim, be completely prohibited.
they have succeeded in forcing the US to discriminate based on religion to a LARGE extent - we now have "religious profiling" of Muslims, to go with the "racial profiling" of Arabs. [not all Arabs are Muslim; not all Muslims are Arabic. fuck me if i can get THIS type of "Christian" to UNDERSTAND that!]
they have succeeded in getting us into not ONE, but TWO wars - one against a nation that had was a SECULAR nation headed by an atheist who hated bin Lauded almost as much as bin Lauded hated HIM. and neither war was justified, neither was legal, and the second was based on out-right-fucking LIES.
they have succeeded in convincing large swaths of both the government and military to ignore the laws and the Constitution they swore to uphold.
they have succeeded in making it MUCH harder to emigrate to the US, and made it MUCH worse to be "caught" as an "illegal alien" - punishing NOT the people who profit by using said workers, but the workers themselves - which has meant FURTHER erosion of those basic fucking rights that the US, unlike a religion, *WAS* created upon.
they have succeeded in forcing the US to back ANYTHING Israel does - even if Israel is the aggressor, even if Israel is breaking treaties with the UN or the US in they way it "deals" with Palestine... even when Israel resorts to "terrorism".
has succeeded on forcing the government to yet AGAIN "declare war" on something that is not a NATION - NATIONS being the ONLY thing that it's lawful to declare war on.
have themselves declared war, not on poverty, but on the POOR. they wish to LOWER taxes for the wealthy while RAISING taxes on the not-wealthy, and they want to cut ALL government aid - programs that keep people alive, programs that we ALL pay into. they want the poor to die. also on LGBTQUI people, women, and people of other religions. as in, they have ACTIVELY SPENT MILLIONS, opposing SSM, opposing womens' right to control their own bodies, supporting governments that kill gay, queer and trans* people.
and they want to take over our government and turn the US into a fucking THEOCRACY - using the "justification" that the US was "founded on Christian ideals and customs". they LIE. about the founding of the US, about gay people, about there being a "gay agenda", about feminism [and a "feminist agenda"], about how BC works, about fetuses and their development, about liberals [calling ALL liberals "socialists" and "communists"], about socialism and socialistic programs here in the US, about Muslims and Islam, they lie when they say they're anti-abortion because they "love" children - if they DID love children, they wouldn't be trying to cut WIC and FoodStamps [both programs? over 70% of those fed by them are CHILDREN] and they lie when they say that they're "Just doing what Jesus said to do".
THEY LIE ABOUT EVERYTHING. they are ANTI-AMERICAN and ANTI-AMERICAN IDEALS. they believe that NO ONE DESERVES ANY RIGHTS EXCEPT THEM - and they are DEMANDING the right to force THEIR version of Christianity on ALL of use, the right to PUNISH people for not being Christian in the narrow-non-Christ-like way they SAY is "Christian". they want the right to "punish" LGBTQUI people with death; they want the right to force all women to carry all pregnancies to term or death. they want the right to "punish" people who have had abortions and the people who provide them. they want to right to interfere with our lives in any way they want. they want the right to prevent women from working outside the home - and the right to force women into a Christian version of a burka.
* it wasn't, originally, about "ending" slavery right then. the whole reason the South seceded is because Lincoln was elected, and they knew that Lincoln's policy on admitting new states to the Union included NOT allowing any more "slave states" - until Lincoln, every slavery-is-illegal-state admitted had to balanced by a slavery-IS-legal-state.
Lincoln WAS anti-slave - but he believed, as MANY abolitionists did - that if slavery were isolated to only the states that already had slavery, that the slave-states wouldn't be able to compete economically and would have to voluntarily end slavery.
the slave owners knew this was true - it's why they INSISTED that every non-slave state be balanced by a slave-state. they seceded in an attempt to NOT be made economically irrelevant and thus forced to stop the practice of slavery.
and now i feel dirty.
**i reiterate a point i've made many, many times - we have YET to see an ACTUAL Communist government. or Socialist. just because a country names itself with "Communist" doesn't mean they ARE Communist - a point we should have learned from all the various countries with "Democratic" or "Republic" in their names, but not a shred of democracy or republicanism to be found in the government. fuck, most were and are outright dictatorships!
***yep. the US helped Hussein take over Iraq. for 2 reasons - the Afghanistan, and USSR plans ABOUT Afghanistan, and to balance Iran's religious dictatorship while creating a "friendly nation" in the M.E.
in fact, when Hussein invaded Kuwait, he thought he had US permission, because Kuwait had been slant-drilling into Iraqi oilfields - aka, Kuwait was practicing economic warfare. the US Ambassador told Hussein he was "in the clear" - it's been speculated as to what he REALLY meant by that - Hussein took it to mean "go ahead and defend yourself, the US won't stop you." but the-then Ambassador says, no, he DIDN'T mean that, he somehow meant "you have the right to file a grievance"
one day, Iraq was an ally and Hussein was our friend. the next, news reporters are saying shit like "it's WWII all over again - Germany invading Poland, except it's Iraq invading Kuwait!"
and remember: KUWAIT had been the aggressor and started the war.
**** i know that i sound like a forced-birther with that. but human life IS precious - so very fucking precious that we shouldn't EVER value a POTENTIAL human life over an ACTUAL human life. i am in no way saying that fetuses aren't "precious", especially WANTED fetuses - but i AM saying that they are NOT *MORE* important than the living, breathing mother, if a choice comes between the mother's health/life and the child's, the mother wins. or should. i mean, rationally, dead mom = motherless child+no more children. [after birth it mostly switches]. and if a person gets pregnant who - for ANY reason doesn't WANT to be, then it's HER body, and she can choose who she let's reside there; she can choose to NOT donate an organ, and what is pregnancy if not the donation of MOST of one's organs to sustain a fetus
*****as a note on this "personhood" thing - women have already been arrested and punished for miscarriages, still-births, refusing C-Sections that were NOT medically necessary, drinking or using drugs [legal or illegal] while pregnant even if they didn't know they were pregnant, NOT taking meds that were prescribed [couldn't afford], NOT going on immediate-and-permanent bedrest at less than 3 months pregnant [single mother of 2 already-born who HAD to work 2 jobs to pay the bills as it WAS, because her husband just up and walked, after she was pregnant but before she knew. and he refused to come back. the day after the doctor ADVISED her - and that's ALL a doctor is LEGALLY allowed to do, is ADVISE - that bedrest would be best for the embryo, he showed up at her house with cops and a fucking WARRANT and FORCIBLY ADMITTED her to a hospital - not even allowing her to either call someone to get her kids OR take them with her - when she miscarried the next day, he tried to have her arrested and charged with "negligent homicide of an infant", and when THAT didn't work, he tried to have her arrested for negligence because he forced her to leave her 2 kids at home with no adults.]