[QUOTE=Der Trihs]
And of course the only possible alternative to dog-eat-dog Christian Capitalism is the Soviet Union. :rolleyes:
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It’s called sarcasm. Look into it.
[QUOTE=Der Trihs]
You can’t have freedom of religion without freedom from religion; it’s impossible. As for the original colonists, they came to set up their own little religious tyrannies, and were misogynistc thieving slaveowning genocidal monsters. I’d never use them as a role model.
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No. Freedom of religion means
. You cannot be forced to practice a religion and you cannot be prevented from worshipping (or not). The original colonists were leaving countries that told them what and how to worship. Naturally, they brought their own beliefs with them. But Jefferson, in the very first right in the very first Amendment said the government could not and would not interfere with our individual expression (or not) of our beliefs. As for the “misogynistc thieving slaveowning genocidal monsters” you have to look at the established roles of man vs woman and the economies at the time that found slavery practicable and acceptable. Theivery (I suppose you mean of Native American lands) and genocide (again against the Native Americans and, I gather, the slaves) again the idea of nation building and expansion set forth through Manifest Destiny put the settlers and colonists against whomever was in their way. Of course, looking back, it was wrong and insensitive but that was the culture and mind set and was accepted. When you were one year old you used to be quite content sitting in your shit. Should we be disgusted at you now because you didn’t know better back then?
[QUOTE=Der Trihs]
And of course, the United States is strictly run according to the Principles of Television. :rolleyes:
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No, but if we were so run by the “Fundies”, as you call them and as you insist on saying, then those shows and entertainers would not be accepted and would not be promoted. They wouldn’t have gotten greenlighted and theperson proposing it would probably been kicked out on his ass.
[QUOTE=Der Trihs]
They and the rest of the government are the ones doing it; of course it’s up to them.
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The governemtn is chosen by the people. If the citizens want leaders to make a change, then they have to push for and vote for leaders that will make the changes. It’s easy to talk the talk, but people let inertia keep them in place. Unless it is handed to them on a silver platter by Uncle Sugar, they won’t do anything about it. An amenedment can be added by popular vote. But if the people don’t push for it, nothing will happen.
[QUOTE=Der Trihs]
Of course not. Like I said, America is dominated by Christian fundies, and was even back when the ERA was around; they just weren’t as strong. America is a Christian country, and the hatred of womankind is a central part of Christianity. As for the gays; since they made the mistake of coming out in a basically ChristoFundie country, I expect they will be dead or fled within 20 years. I believe we’ve passed the apex of gay rights in America, and are headed back to the days when they were imprisoned or killed.
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Please tell me this is a whoosh?!? “hatred of womankind is a central part of Christianity”!!! I’ve been a Christian (Catholic) for 41 years and nowhere in my life or in any church I have attended (5 different Catholic, along with attending Protestant, Lutheran, Baptist, Episcapalian, Seventh Day Advantist and bible study groups) have I ever heard those kinds of ideas espoused.
And gays being killed or imprisoned within 20 years? WTF doesn’t even begin to come close to my astonishment.
[QUOTE=Der Trihs]
I bet you’d have opposed desegregation back when MLK was around.
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As I have said in other threads, my uncle was gay. He died in 1986 from what was then called ARC (Aids Related Complex). I support gay rights and always have.
The will of the people pushed the government to end segregation or have you forgotten about the marches in Selma, Montgomery and DC? Enough people standing up together to tell their politicians how they think and eventually the politicians listen. It also helped to get us out of Viet Nam.
Our government isn’t perfect. Our country isn’t perfect. But I will do everything I can to try to make it a better place because I believe in the ideals it was created with. I vote, I write to my legislators, I collect signatures on petitions. I volunteer my time and I work. It’s easy to sit in our homes and type about how crappy things are. You can piss and moan about how shitty things are. Or you can actually work to solve the problems.
And apparently our country can’t be too bad if people are willing to risk their lives to come here. Vietnamese boat people, Cuban refugees making boats out of old cars, Mexicans cramming into trucks or running through deserts all are willing to die for a chance in our country. I don’t remember hearing about a group of Americans stuffing themselves into a cargo container, loaded onto a cargo ship and being carried across an ocean to become French, South African or Japanese citizens?
