Interesting, I believed that America was a place where one could practice religion freely, the Protestants sure believed so when fleeing from England to come to a land where everyone had the right to hold their own truths and live by them freely. For those who do beliieve man was created, that is a fact to them, because some disagree with fact stated does not make either one person right or wrong. Truth and belief go hand in hand, if I believe something then in my own life it is my truth, untill disproven by a weight of concrete evidence to the contrary. Many will not believe even if someone claims that they are wrong producing the evidence, that is their own truth they subscribe to, good or bad to any one else is of no matter they can be governed by their own laws it in thier persuit of happiness.
Seperation of church and state was not meant to deny religion, only to keep goverment officialls out of the moral and value judgments out of goverment policy towards the people. Cases such as the Southern Baptist practice of tithing 10% of your household income BEFORE tax is common in this spiritual community. The state, even if a majority was Baptist could not make that into law. The other religions would be forced by a Faith based law making it enforceable by the state. The practice of fasting is practiced in some faiths as well, because the majority of the state is fasting for faith based reasons, the people of the state can not deny school children meals, shut down restaurants and supermarkets, or close goverment offices for this time of fast. The basis of the law was to keep spiritual text based laws out of the goverment and from being lawfully enforced on those not of that faith and belief practice. How in the world it became against any symbol such as the statues of the commandments recently is puzzling. I see the bible in a court too, upon wich witnesses take their oath to tell what is true. As long as a law is not forcing you into a religious practice, then what is wrong with everyone practicing their own. If the ten commandments in a court of law makes the people feel more secure within the justice system, and no one is forced to read them, believe in them, or even practice them the people there should be free to have their courts reflect a part of that belief. The minority then has a choice, stay and work to create change-unless the goverment labels your efforts radical and works to devalue you opinion- or find a state where a majority of the people created a law to suit your views and do not allow religious symbols in the courtroom.
True democracy can not be only black or white, democracy seeks out and creates the states between allowing for them all to be accepted, maybe not by you personally and you too have that right. We should all have the right to be free in the laws of our land, subject only to what governs our civil behavior despite our beliefs. I do not know what is best for the people of Maine here on the west coast, if I were to get into federal politics I should not have the right to make laws governing their civil behavior. The laws may even be well intentioned geared to save them all based on my opinion, the fact may remain even then that just pehaps, they do not want to be saved.
KMS
KMS
