Wednesday, February 25, 2004

Prepare to meet the lubricated rubber glove of government-sponsored religion

A republican congressman from Alabama has introduced "The Constitution Restoration Act", a bill requiring that federal courts strive to maintain the historical levels of ignorance and prejudice that our country was born with.

"Federal courts prohibiting the acknowledgment of God is a denial of the very source of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness which our founding fathers specifically recognized in the Declaration of Independence," said Congressman Aderholt. "Our founding fathers acknowledged this as an unalienable right given by God. Prohibiting public officials from recognizing God violates the Constitution's Tenth and First Amendments."

"Today, you'll find the recognition of God by state and federal authorities in oaths, mottos, documents, prayers, and monuments; and it is the duty of the Congress, under Article III, to regulate the appellate jurisdiction of the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal courts. This is a check on the Judicial Branch to prevent it from exceeding its jurisdiction. The Constitution Restoration Act would preserve and restore the acknowledgment of God to our law and government," added Congressman Aderholt.

"Therefore, whether it is a public display of the Ten Commandments, the Pledge of Allegiance in the classroom, or a nativity scene at Christmas, all would be protected since it is in essence the acknowledgment of God."

Something just locks up in my head when I read news items like this one... where someone's walk and talk are so ridiculously out of phase, yet they don't seem to see any problem. It's a 'Through the looking glass' level of absurdity:

"There is no use trying," said Alice; "one can't believe impossible things".

"I dare say you haven't had much practice", said the Queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast."

It's easy to see why they fight so hard to defend their position, however... they need to maintain a certain level of ignorance and fearfulness or their demographic will disappear. It's the same reason the church only let priests read for so long, and history shows that they were right: as soon as people started reading on their own, instead of being read to by the priests, they started thinking on their own as well... which took away the priest's mojo.

Well, it looks like the grey and faceless men want their mojo back... and the current batch of republicans is willing to stoop so low as to take advantage of the climate of fear and intolerance they've fostered these past few years to give it to them. Turning back the clock seems to be a common theme of this administration... 4 years forward, 40 years back.

The thing that scares me the most is the possibility that this is the administration we deserve.