We are country "by the PEOPLE, for the PEOPLE", not "by God, for God."
I know that many of us are religious people. I sure am. But we are not here to impose our Religious Morality onto others. Our laws ARE meant to help uphold moral issues. However, they are not meant to uphold RELIGIOUS morals, but secular morals. They are meant for the protection of people, society, and INDIVIDUALS.
We are country "by the PEOPLE, for the PEOPLE", not "by God, for God."
US is not a theocracy, but a democracy. We have the right to vote, and the right to make up our own darned minds. However, we do not have the right to enact laws that only favor the dogma of a few religions, even if those religions encompass the majority of the country. Remember, our government is also meant to preserve the rights of the minority. If you want to support a law, support it based on it's effects on people, not on what you believe God wants.
We are country "by the PEOPLE, for the PEOPLE", not "by God, for God."
Sure, one could argue that religion is ULTIMATELY the source of all of our morality. Well, convince me of that before you start giving me religious arguments. Sure, you could say Religion is the only source you have for morality. Well, open your eyes. You can make a moral decision without relying on scripture or divine providence. If you can't understand morality outside of your Religious beliefs, then learn. I can respect anyone willing to at least try to learn what it means to make a moral decision outside of religious beliefs. But I cannot respect someone who will not try.
So how does secular morality work? Well, here's a start. You are entitled to do anything that does not infringe on anyone else's rights. That's not everything, not does it always hold perfectly, but it's a place to start from.
We are country "by the PEOPLE, for the PEOPLE", not "by God, for God."
I'm not here to say that we should all ignore our religions when making decisions. If your friends are looking for advice, you can heed your religion. When making decisions about yourself and you family, you certainly should be heeding your religion. But decisions made on rules for the general populace should be made on the worldly effects it will have on the general populace. That is the realm of legislated law in a democracy. Anyone who wants laws to be based on "God's revelation" needs to go find themselves a theocracy.
We are country "by the PEOPLE, for the PEOPLE", not "by God, for God."
I know as well as any of you (though some would disagree) what it means to live a life for God. And I can still make the distinction between religious morality and secular morality. It's about time that the rest of this country do the same.
We are country "by the PEOPLE, for the PEOPLE", not "by God, for God." We must never forget that.
In theory, America isn't a theocracy. But remember, our leaders tend to be religious, and we must note that Bush has, several times, claimed that he receives messages from god. Whether or not he is is clearly debatable (no religion promotes the murder of thousands of innocent people), but I won't go into that.
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If a society is willing to give freedom for temporary security, they deserve neither.
http://www.progressiveu.org/181343-who-are-you-yelling-at
true.. the romans stressed that moral education was essential to classic repulicanism though, along with a standard religion. i'm not promoting that at all, but some of the ideas remain true in my opinion.