There is a lot about democracy lately in the whole world. There is a major shift toward democratic forms of government among those nations that have some other kind of rule. Those that don’t have a democracy in some form want it for their nation. That is a wonderful trend. One hopes that all people will eventually have a voice in their government and determine who represents them in their government. We applaud the efforts of those who go through torture and great personal loss just to bring a better form of life for their fellow citizens. They are heroes in every sense of the word. Democracy is a form of government to be desired by all people of all nations.
Having said as much, we are deeply worried about American Democracy. Nothing ever stays healthy without upkeep. You can’t just put up a house and expect it to stand forever just as strong as the day it was built. Every house always has something that is wearing out or no longer fits. Light bulbs need to be replaced. Furnaces need new electric motors for the fans. Hot water heaters need to be replaced. Broken pipes need to be mended. Damaged carpet needs to be replaced. New guttering is needed to replace leaks. The water filters have to be replaced. The smoke detectors need to be checked. The yard needs dandelion treatment, fertilizer, mowing, trimming. The flower plots need to be weeded. New plants are needed. Batteries need to be replaced. Our house needs constant maintenance, replacement of worn out or rotten parts, and protection from those outside elements that want to destroy it. Are we doing that for our house of democracy? It appears not.
There are two major areas in which our democracy has rotten pieces, and our leaders seem oblivious to the fact that if these areas of corruption are not replaced, they will corrupt everything else and destroy our precious form of government. It will no longer be the home of the brave and the free. It will be the home of religious bigots and authoritarian dictators.
One of those areas is Christianity in America. It seems to get worse every year. These religious zealots are clamoring for religion to be in every part and fabric of our government. They want the Ten Commandments posted in every government building and on every government property. They want Christian prayers before any government business anywhere. They want the government to subsidize church run programs. They want the military to turn to religion for moral support. They want the government to subsidize education in Christian schools. They want our president to be a Jesus Christian. They want no laws to be passed without the consent of the religious right. They want Christianity to be everywhere exclusively in our society without consideration for Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Confucianists, Taoists, or any other religion.This is a disaster in the making. This is not what our founding fathers established. This is exactly the opposite of what they knew was necessary to form a strong democracy.
Our founding fathers and mothers saw what had happened in the past when religion and government combined. They were well aware that the dark ages occurred because of the suppression of the church. The Roman Empire fell in good part because that empire adopted Christianity as its official religion. All other religions were persecuted. All other original thought was punished. Universities of pagan origin were torn down, their libraries demolished, their books burned. The Church felt that any other thought or philosophy that did not adhere to the myths of their religion was heresy, deserving of torture and death. Philosophy, mathematics, astronomy, geography, naturalism and all forms of scientific study were condemned. Inquisitions followed to force all people to believe the myths of the Christian church or face death and torture. Marriage was condemned as evil. All social structure fell into lassitude, because the church, in cahoots with the governments and warlords, controlled everything. Not a pretty picture. Why do you think our founding fathers said that there should be separation of church and state? This is why. They knew that if religion was allowed to become an integral part of our government, the whole system would deteriorate into suppression and bigotry. Guess where we are headed folks, if we don’t listen again to what Jefferson, Paine, Adams, Washington and Lincoln said.
The other alarming feature of American Democracy that is accelerating in the last few years is our rapid loss of privacy and freedom. The Patriot Act deserves another name. It should be called the Callous Bigotry Act. Supposedly to protect us, we now find that we have no defense against wrongful accusation and wrongful detention. We have hundreds and thousands of people in jail without rights of defending themselves, without access to an attorney, without access to a system of justice, just because someone didn’t like their looks or their words. They are accused of treason without knowing how or why. We have government agents snooping into all our personal material, our bank accounts, our phone bills, our purchases, our correspondence. The bare fact is that any one of us can at any time be hauled off to jail and kept there for the rest of our lives, stripped of all our possessions by our caring government. Are you ready for more Branch Davidian disasters? Better prepare yourself. They are on the way. We are no longer the Home of the Brave and Free. We are the home of the Political Correct and Suppressed. If any of us demonstrates in any way against the actions of our government, we can expect to get our wires tapped. The sooner the Patriot Act is repealed, the sooner we can get a breath of fresh air.
Please do not misunderstand us. We believe that if our nation is attacked, we should defend ourselves with honor and courage. We believe that strong religions lead to a strong moral base in our society. Yet make no mistake. We believe that there has to be absolute separation of church and state. We also do not believe that defending our democracy and our country will be served by placing us all under guard, lock and key. It’s time we mended our house, Mr. President.
Give us back our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.