According to Wikipedia, "Judeo-Christian" refers to a set of beliefs and ethics held in common by Judaism and Christianity. America was of course founded on Judeo-Christian principles.
In other words; the really good stuff contained in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament were used as the basis of America's founding.
But I opine that America would be an even better country if we began including atheistic principles in America's general philosophy.
First of all, because atheists don't believe in god, we can take, "In God We Trust," off our money and remove all crosses from public land.
Wow, that wasn't so bad. I doubt anyone will be too traumatized by the above actions; even Christians and Jews who enjoying curling up in bed with a wallet full of cash to read before sleepy time. (I'll try not to give away what's on the back of the twenty-dollar bill, but, SPOILER ALERT, it has something to do with a pale mansion...)
The Ten Commandments are always a thorny issue, so why don't we just stick with displaying on public property the specific ones on which we can all agree...
May I now present to America, the Four Commandments:
Drum roll please...
Do not commit murder
Do not steal
Do not covet your neighbor's wife
Do not bear false witness against your neighbor
I think the commandment about coveting your neighbor's wife covers the adultery commandment, and we certainly don't want to be redundant. Plus, maybe you're cheating on your ratfink husband, as opposed to divorcing him, for the sake of your precious children, or vice-versa. I mean vice-versa in that maybe you're cheating on your ratfink wife for the sake of your precious children, not; maybe you're cheating on your precious husband for the sake of your ratfink children.
While honoring your father and mother is generally a good thing; if I were a Simpson offspring I doubt I would have much inclination to visit Papa OJ in the graybar hotel. And if I did, our conservations would consist of nothing but me asking, "Why didn't getting away with a brutal double homicide satisfy your lust for felonious behavior?" which I don't think anyone would consider, "honoring".
But I digress.
Now that the commandments have been condensed, public lands stripped of all religious symbols, and our money made free of god promoting phrases, we can begin the process of changing the region of the country known as the "Bible belt".
In many parts of the south and Utah you're not allowed to purchase alcohol at certain times of day. In some areas, the sale of alcohol is forbidden altogether. Perhaps a few of these laws were genuinely constructed with public safety in mind, but I don't think I'm being disingenuous in claiming that the majority of these ordinances were passed with the express purpose of discouraging the consumption of alcohol for the simple fact that it's considered a sin.
If religion played no part in drafting alcohol related statutes and individuals were free to purchase adult beverages whenever and wherever they pleased, abstaining religious folks could simply refrain from buying liquor.
If we took off the books all laws only in existence for religious regions, everyone would have more freedom and individuals wouldn't be subjected to senselessly living in accordance with religions they don't follow.
Christian conservatives constantly speak of freedom. They claim the Obama Administration is hindering our ability to live as we choose. However, in my estimation, conservatives are the number one culprit when it comes to limiting liberty.
They say, "Obama is going to prevent us from selecting our own doctor. Obama is going to prevent us from consuming the amount of energy we deem sufficient to live in comfort," and, "Obama is going to prevent companies from paying CEOs an amount they consider fair."
But when conservatives are asked, "Should people be free to buy and sell libations whenever they please, should people be free to marry the companion of their choice," or, "should people be free to walk public lands without subjection to religious spamming," they emphatically answer, "no!"
But it's clear to me that, if we were to include atheistic principles in our philosophy, Americans would have even more freedom and therefore receive greater enjoyment from life.
The problem, of course, is that the people of America will reject my proposal without consideration because the mere mention of an atheist conjures up images of Satan worshippers and Nazi skinheads. The religious majority's PR machine has been so successful in portraying individuals who reject a supreme being as whining degenerates that a feeling of disgust washes over the average American at the sight of an atheist that's so prevalent each time it occurs Pavlov nods his head and says, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm talking about!"
So, religious fanatics; keep touting freedom through Judeo-Christian principles when you know full well that true freedom would only exist were America founded on Judeo-Christian-Atheist principles.
Actually, you could take Judeo-Christian out of the mix and things would be darn near perfect.
No comments:
Post a Comment