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Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Pretty simple-enough sounding. We the People have the right to speak our minds, to dissent, to praise, to say anything we feel. We the People have under this Amendment, the first one listed to our Constitution, the right to meet others in peaceable assembly for any reason. We also should have a free press, who has the right to know and research, and to report to We the People what hey find. Under this Amendment We the People have no State-Sanctioned religion.

Originally, this was intended to help protect the churches from the Government. Bluff King Hal made himself the Head of the Church of England, seized its assets, broke with Rome, and annulled his marriage so he could marry Anne Boleyn. Henry VIII was looking for a son, and instead, he got one of the greatest monarchs to ever rule England.

But that's not important right now.

What is important is that churches and places of worship are for the governing of men's souls, not their worldly affairs. As we are seeing, that is not the case any longer.

This article in the Times describes how.

An Air Force panel sent to investigate the religious climate at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs found evidence that officers and faculty members periodically used their positions to promote their Christian beliefs and failed to accommodate the religious needs of non-Christian cadets, its leader said Wednesday.

And as usual, when a body investigates itself

But the panel said it had found no "overt religious discrimination" - only "insensitivity" - and praised the academy leadership for working aggressively to confront religious problems in the last two years.

That's like saying the Japanese were "insensitive" to its POWs during World War Two. But I digress.

Most authentic religious people I can tolerate, even respect. To have faith is a difficult thing, and can be a source of great comfort. I despised the trainees who got religious during Basic Training or deployments. I know I wasn't the only Atheist. Just the most vocal. My dog tags even said so. "godless" was what I requested. I got "Atheist". Close enough.

I had a fighter jock try to mathematically prove it was in an airman's bet interest to believe in god. Called it a "Zero - Sum" equation, and proceeded to draw a grid with a plus in one corner, and 0s in the remaining three.
Like this:

+|0
----
0|0

He then labeled the quadrants

God No God

+ | 0 God
--------
0 | 0 No God


He then explained the diagram:

If you believe in God, and there is a God, then that's a "+", 'cause you're going to go to heaven

If you don't believe in God, and there is a God, that's a "0",'cause you're not going to go to heaven

If you believe in God, and there is no God, then that's a "0", 'cause you're not going to go to heaven

If you don't believe in God, and there is no God, that's a "0",'cause you're not going to go to heaven

I was too hungover to deal with this, I had to chime in.

"You forgot one axis of the equation."

The Captain asked me to explain.

"If you believe in the WRONG god, there's a potential "-" in the equation, because most of them are of the jealous variety."

He then tried to say that there was only one true god, and I then asked him (respectfully) to prove which one it was. With using more than just the bible.

" "

I went to get more coffee. And then on to work.

The point is, we mere mortals will never know one way or the other. Faith is hard to have when times are good. Easy when times are hard and we feel powerless. That more than anything is why the Conservatives and Religious nuts are so embattled. They thrive on persecution.

And the Liberals on college campuses ply right into that game. Stop attacking. Listen, and then calmly and peacefully counter the argument. Always focus on your point, but acknowledge the opponent, but stay focused on winning. And quit doing protest marches. They are ineffective on most occasions. Get in on the local politics, and make no noise until you know you have a majority. Then crush them without a moment’s hesitation. It's worked for them.

When and how did a religion based upon a man of peace sacrificing himself so his followers could be saved from eternal damnation ever turn into an aggressive blend of Amway and Starbucks in its approach to gaining members?


And why are we letting them get away with what they're doing?