Read this article (free registration may be required) and you’ll see some, shall we say, interesting comments from a few individuals, notably Senator Dan Patrick. I kind of like the “this country prohibits a child from bringing a Bible to school.” A close second favorite is the remark, “That doesn’t mean we (the government) have to endorse all faiths.”
Senator Shapiro, though, is doing the right thing. I feel sorry for her, having to work with such incredibly dense individuals.
Well, there’s an old maxim that a given society gets the government it deserves. In an era where being photogenic on TV is more important than substance, and where a 15 second soundbite stresses the outer limits of the average attention span, I’m not surprised that a dummy can make it into politics - in any country in the world.
The irony for me is that the USA is a country which explicitly stipulated the separation of Church and State in it’s Constitution, and yet, so many of her modern day politicians are seemingly so hung up on religion in some manner or another.
Er, no, they should be taking care of state business. You know, what we’re paying them to do
Of course, it was indeed wise of Sen. Patrick to step out. One wouldn’t want to catch the Islam, after all.
I think the fact that they explicitly wrote it into the constitution indicates that they were hung up about it then too.
Oh, it’s the Texas Senate. Given that, nothing would surprise me.
He forgot to add, “Just don’t get uppity.” Actually, I wonder what exactly he meant by “others”. What others? Is he saying that the U.S. is a Christian country, and the millions of Americans of other religions are “others”? That would mean that only Christians can be real Americans, which does seem a bit silly. (Or, to be charitable, maybe he’s only referring to the imam, Dr. Yusuf Kavakci, being from Turkey.)
Unless I’m mistaken, Patrick is still a radio talk-show host, while serving as a State Senator. Is that proper? Al Franken gave up his radio show to run for the U.S. Senate, saying that he didn’t think it would be right to do both.
If memory serves he stopped broadcasting during the election but resumed afterwards.
And which country prohibits bringing a bible to school? Not here, certainly not in Texas. You can’t smack somebody on the head with it (metaphorically) but you’re welcome to bring it.
Just to play the Devil’s advocate here:
This is a country founded by Christians.
And stolen from god-less heathens. Your point would be…?
(That sounds far snarkier than it was intended.)
It may have been founded by Christians (actually Deists, but whatever), but it most certainly was not founded on Christianity.
…aaannnd away we go…
A majority of the founding fathers were Anglican/Episcopalians and there were no Baptists (or Mormons of course). Can we tell the Baptists to sod off?
If your opinion is that only Christian prayers should be permitted to be spoken at state legislative sessions, feel free to say so.
And, more importantly, can I call dibs?
That’s not playing Devil’s advocate; that’s just being a silly-billy. (I’m trying to use milder invective these days.) The Devil, at least according to his reputation, is a sharp debater; in your shoes, he’d have an actual argument prepared.
Let’s look at what Patrick said again:
Maybe the Senator just left out a few words, as one often will when speaking off the cuff, and he meant to say, “a nation in which we are tolerant of each others’ dreams and faiths.” Maybe.