Why, are some people, Republicans, so concerned with the freedom of religion and then trampling on the rights of individuals? They are concerned with the church not having to pay for contraception and yet there is no concern for the rights of an individual to choose. They say it violates the church to pay for birth control and yet they want to take away the rights of women to even use birth control at their own expense. The Constitution is first and foremost a protection of individual, personal rights.
My other concern is when religion is brought into the conversation, Rick Santorum is very hypocritical. He judges based upon his religious views. He wants everyone to follow his path and judges those that see their religion differently. Santorum ignores the Bible about God being the judge, not people. "Judge not , lest ye be judged." This is ignored by Santorum. He stated the President has a phony theology. I want a President that keeps their faith separate from their decisions on governing. I understand that faith and beliefs will guide how they make their decisions, but faith should not determine their decisions. Santorum is scary, in the way he twists everything around religion. Do you want a President that will force his religious views on everyone? This is an attack on the First Amendment.
The First Amendment states , "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."
The right, and Santorum attacked the President for his, supposed assault on the first amendment, concerning the Catholic Church and having them pay for birth control. I do not see how this applies to the first. Where did he try to establish a religion? Where did he prohibit the free exercise of the Catholic Church? Rick Santorum is trying to make everyone follow his beliefs and if you do not then you are a false follower. He is restricting the right for me and others to believe or not believe in religion. This is dangerous and in my opinion a direct assault on the First. Santorum will try and is trying now to make everyone accountable to him and his beliefs. To Mr. Santorum I say, stay the hell out of my religion. Stop running for President and start running for Pope, if this is your agenda. Stop hiding behind your candidacy for the Republican nomination and be honest. You want to change America into a nation of religious fanatics, driven by your agenda. That is the biggest difference between you and the President. He has his beliefs and this helps shape his views. You have your beliefs and this drives your views. Stop taking away my First Amendment rights.
I was called today with a survey, the question was, "is abortion an important issue to me?" This was supposed to be a political survey! Here is the problem, the answer is too obvious, of course it is important! Who is calling the dems or republicans?? Who can tell anymore?
ReplyDeletePeople of America stand up...please, important issues like birth control, abortion, health decisions are not for the public arena. Important yes, but politicians business, NO! Rick Santorum and party are on task with their agenda of Christian Nationalism and America better wake up. The first amendment states that no religion is to be favored, so why does Santorum insist the nation and founding fathers were ALL Christian based on the term, GOD? God is not necessarily Christian, and the types of Christians in our country are many.
I am a Christian, and for the sake of my religion and my personhood I hope we will wake up and keep on with the idea that church and state must remain separate.
I am so tired of the so called Christians who have no regard for the less fortunate, who want to get rid of the school system while they treat politics like a team sport and talk about heath insurance as though a regular family can afford it. These Christians have no heart at all!
By the way insurance companies are not churches. If the church offers insurance why are they given special privledge to dictate to the insurance companies how a policy is written? All insurance should offer all choices to all people and the church can direct its members to do the right thing. If we are keeping government out then all choices for coverage should be present, otherwise we are showing a preference. Doesn't the church trust it's own members, or does it just see itself as the "HOLY Dictator" while it dictates away the first amendment rights of our society?
These are personal subjects, and I am so hoping that these subjects can continue to be private for all Americans, between them and their health professional. This is what our founding fathers intended. Obama probably did the right thing trying to make the church happy and not offend, but in truth he is showing religion a preference above the rest of society. Religion is not automatically entitled to respect any more than any other group or person, and the disrespect I see coming from so-called religious people in regard to President Obama is shameful and actually so offensive that as a Christian it is embarrasing!
If Rick Santorum bases being free and the honoring of first amendment rights only through his own religious view, then why would anyone else agree with him? He simply does not listen, he is narrow in mind and spirit and cannot see that while imperfect our First Amendment rights do not, and can not bend to theology. It is imperfect, but it serves to protect, and right now I feel like I want protection and even more so, I need it. So often religion seems to become a matter of ego when ideas become a literal truth and no one else matters. How did faith beome the new test for adequecy in public policy matters, and better yet who's faith and how can it be verified?
ReplyDeleteAny questions about President Obama in regard to his faith are the same questions that can be asked of all people. No person can offer indesputable evidence of their goodness, so give it up Rick, check your ego in at the door and get back to government policy rather than church or religious policy, oh wait I forgot you are the expert on God, excuse me.
For all of you who want your religion mixed in with government please read your history books. A religious government is simply not a good idea. Talk about a phony theology, try to remember that dominance doesn't stop at nature's door, it is by definition the ruler of all and never stops, and once it enters Government it will be a short step to the day we are all told by government who God is, this new state and federal endorsed God will be dictated and you will be the author of the new dominion of a dictated Christ.
Some Christians are destroying our First Amendment rights by claiming your First Amendment rights are being stomped on. The ego involved here is remarkable and the failure to recognize that the only way we remain free is by not injecting religion into Government is ignorant, and ignorance to this degree in this day and age is just sad.
The religion injected into politics today comes with a deep double standard. How can Santorum possibly talk about man's dominion openly without people understanding what it means? If you don't know it, here is what it means, according to these Christians, Government is overreaching in anything and everything they do, but dominion by the church would be Right and wonderful! Are Americans really ready to throw the baby out with the bath water? Thanks to the Republican party courting these ideas and Democrats and Independents not standing up enough, evidence of the 2010 election as well as the very disturbing narrative of the 2012 Presidentital election prove that we are in danger of losing all. Those who claim their rights are being stepped on will end up the destroyers for the sake of a one sided ideology now exposed as a one sided theology that seeks to dominate everyone and everything in our country. Why do these caring people want to get rid of public education? Simple, if the schools cannot teach their religion they do not want to support it, they would rather just tear it down, call it left wing indoctrination. I suppose we should all apologize to the Santorum crowd that society has been unable to create a different school for each theology that exists. Or is it just that we need to teach his theology. The non-reality of all of this is striking! We do not have the resources for this type of thinking! Does anyone other than Obama care to get back to the real issues like employment and the economy?
How is this anything but a huge step backwards, ignorance of history is no excuse, and selfishness in regard to religion is the worst excuse ever.
Rick Santorum claims that Obama has stepped on the First Amendment rights of the church. I would invite Mr Santorum to read the First Amendment over and over so it can sink into his holier than everyone else brain......
ReplyDeleteInsurance companies should not be allowed to pick and choose what is covered according to religion. Insurance companies are not churches, medical decisions should not belong to the insurance companies or we will be giving them the power and right of refusal and they are already unaffordable and difficult enough. In addition the Government should not be giving special rights to churches allowing them to dictate to people what medical services are available. This would be overstepping of government power by granting special powers to a particular group, which if you listen to Santorum overstepping is apparently okay as long as it is the church doing the stepping. Afterall they are a holy group to be admired by all so then its all good, right? I mean why be bossed around by government when the church can do such a good job at the same thing?
It is the job of clergy to influence its own church members, so why ask the government to do your resrictive measures for you by dictating to insurance companies? Insurance should just be insurance with no special rules, leaving the church to impose its own rules within its own membership so people can choose is exactly how government remains impartial! The church is not condoning anything by utilizing policies that do not agree with them, because insurance policies are public not religious!
For those church members who want and choose to follow their leaders, go ahead. My question is can you not do this without government help? After all many of us True Americans do want to keep government out of our personal lives!