I really didn't want to have to do this. This country's going to hell and Rick Perry is certainly not my first choice for the Republican nomination. But after hearing about people constantly make fun of Perry about this advertisement, I feel like I have to address it because it does raise some good issues.
Here is the ad, just in case you haven't seen it yet:
I'm going to start with where he talks about how gays can serve openly in the military. On Don't Ask Don't Tell's repeal, I took Herman Cain's view of asking the generals to see if allowing gays to openly serve in the military caused any distractions for the soliders. If it did, then put it back into law, if not then keep it repealed.
This view changed, however, when I saw that as a result of DADT's repeal a bill was passed in the Senate that repealed sodomy and bestiality in the military. What's next, are they going to legalize polygamy, incest and/or peadophelia? I'm sorry but I just don't think that sex has any place in the military.
Now the other part Perry brings up in this ad, the War on Christmas. I agree with him on this too. Firstly, despite what those conga line of freaks and goons on MSLSD and the Communist News Network (CNN), the War on Christmas does indeed exist.
Today on the Culture and Media Institute, Erin Brown lists examples Christmas censorship. These include Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee, an Independent, renamed the state Christmas tree to a "holiday tree", schools not being allowed to celebrate Santa Claus or exchange gifts, and people not being allowed to sing Christmas carols near a Post Office.
I had two different doctors appointments to go to today. Both times I was wished a "Happy Holiday". Excuse me but I would rather hear "Merry Christmas". Yes I consider myself to be Jewish and I celebrate both Chanukah and Christmas. But I don't get offended when people say "Merry Christmas" to me just because they didn't wish me a "Happy Chanukah" as well.
I feel this way because, even though the Left tries to deny it, America is and always will be a Christian nation. Our country's founding documents, the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, guarantee to us unalienable rights given to us by God. If it is humans that give us rights, then humans can just as easily take them away from us. If it is God that gives us these rights, then these rights can never be taken away. Even if you don't believe in God, you at least respect the fact that that's how America was founded. This is what sets the boundaries for the Civil Society, built off Judeo-Christian principles.
The Left will still cry foul at the saying of "Merry Christmas" and the celebration of Christmas in schools or use of Christmas decorations on government property because it violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment- "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion".
But it simply is not a violation. The establishment clause just meant that Congress couldn't establish a national church. In fact, states were allowed to establish churches. George Washington gave a national prayer to God within days of the first vote on the Bill of Rights. Thomas Jefferson, the Founding Father cited the most by Leftists since he was the least religious, attended church in the U.S. Capitol building because they were voluntary and non-discriminatory. The whole "separation of church-and-state" was written in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists, not from the Constitution. It's clear from Jefferson's attendance of church that he didn't intend for religion to be banned from public property.
If you think about it, the reasoning behind the lack of faith in the public square is out of a fear of offending people. Basically, a right to feel not to feel uncomfortable. Is that a right given by the Constitution? I feel uncomfortable anytime one of my professors spews Marxist views. I feel uncomfortable if I have a question on a test that I don't know. Do I go around complaining that those kinds of things shouldn't happen and sue about it in court? No because that's ridiculous.
Besides, I think it's a good thing to have religion in public. Religion serves as a reminder for people to behave morally. In fact, statistics show that since 1963, when the Supreme Court banned school prayer, teenage violence, rape, drug addiction, assault on teachers, etc. has gone up.
So come on, I want to hear "Merry Christmas" rather than "Happy Holidays". People shouldn't be offended- we are a Christian nation. Rick Perry is right about the War on Christmas and I give him credit for standing up for his beliefs.
I agree, sex has no place in the military, but people of all sexual orientations are still going to have to abide by the same fraternization rules as everyone else. Yes they will be able to talk about their sexual orientation openly if they so choose and be able to do as they please with their partner while off duty, but it isn't as if there's going to be sodomy in military showers.
ReplyDeleteAs for asking the generals, yes their opinions should be taken into consideration, I don't disagree with you there. That said, I think that the question should not be whether it would cause distractions, but whether it will cause significant losses in efficiency or danger to life. Furthermore, the D.O.D.'s study on the repeal of DADT stated that there would be very little harm in allowing gays to serve openly. As for "legalizing sodomy" the purpose of striking that from the UCMJ is so that, in keeping with the repeal of DADT, people are not punished for their sexual orientation. They probably should have only repealed the sodomy part though... little bit of an oversight there...
I'm all for people being able to say merry christmas, that's their right, and I appreciate the thought, for the same reason though, I feel no discomfort in saying Happy Chanukah in reply. I agree with you about the first amendment, it's not a reason to ban any religious activity conducted or sponsored by the government. However, it does need to stay out of schools, religious activity in schools marginalizes certain groups and and forces religion onto children. Statue churches may have been legal at the time of the constitutions writing, but are not now(incorporation).
The "war on christmas" that Rick Perry speaks of is more of a social phenomenon than a legal one. It's not illegal to say "Merry Christmas", but private businesses and state/local governments try to use non-denominational greetinings/celebrations in order to avoid offending people of any faith or favor one group over another because as they deal with people of many different faiths. Naming a tree a holiday tree is complete bullshit though, if you're going to have a Christmas tree, have a Christmas tree. That said, the name change is a policy decision, not a law against Christmas celebrations, and definitely not an act of "war on Christmas".
The declaration of independence is not a law, the united states did not exist at the time when it was written. As for the constitution, there is NO MENTION WHATSOEVER of god or Christianity.
Seperation of church and state was written in the treaty of Tripoli, Which was ratified by the senate, expressly stating that the united states was NOT founded as a christian nation.
Okay, lets take this point by point. First, I agree that we should ask the generals about how the repeal of DADT went, and I think they will all pretty much say it had no real impact on day to day operations. Next, all the articles seem to me to indicate that the latest version of the bill does not have the repeal of Article 125, so that point is moot. As to your point about that leading to polygamy and incest, why not? I don’t actually see any particular reason that either of those are illegal. They are both private acts by consenting adults, and they should be able to exercise that right.
ReplyDeleteAs to this “war on Christmas,” I agree that some of those examples may be taking it a bit more than they have to. However, there is a good reason why most people say “happy holidays” instead of “merry Christmas.” While you might prefer to hear that, a random person saying that cannot possibly know what you will prefer. Therefore, they default to saying “happy holidays” so that they don’t offend whoever they might be talking to.
Also, America certainly isn’t a Christian nation, in any form. It has always been secular, regardless of those points you mentioned. The constitution doesn’t even mention God, and there’s no way that wasn’t deliberate. And humans can certainly take those rights away from us. It’s called amending the constitution. If we wanted to, there’s nothing that would stop us from repealing the first amendment. If those rights were given by god, then why can they be repealed by humans?
I also don’t see how either of your examples make any difference to the fact that church and state should be separated. Anyway, there’s a difference between that and public displays of religion, which are perfectly fine with me. I don’t really like them, but I see that they are perfectly fine.
When you make a point to say that statistics show that since school prayer was banned, you don’t seem to get the point of statistics. Just because certain crimes went up, there is no good reason to suspect that it was caused by the ban on school prayer. Also, your source doesn’t seem to be too reliable. When it says that after 1963, divorce rates increased by 300% per year for 15 years, it is frankly wrong, if you just do some basic math. If you assume that there were only 100 divorces in the US in 1963 (which is crazy), there would have been 1.5 billion divorces per year in 1978, which doesn’t seem right to me.
And no, I’m not offended by “merry Christmas,” but I will still say “happy holidays” to people I don’t know.
Ok to address some of the points made here.
ReplyDeleteThe Constitution may not specifically mention God, but it does give rights "endowed by our Creator". Our Creator is God. I don't care about the Treaty of Tripoli- it does not trump the Constitution or the principles this nation was founded upon.
The amendment argument flawed logic lies in the fact that an amendment like that would not pass. It would not get the approval needed.
Argue if you want that the stats don't show a causal relationship, but I think they do because religion sets moral standards for people to follow that helps maintain the society. I think it's no coincidence and that crime and disrespect has gone up since the banning of school-led prayer. I'm pretty sure they're right because I've seen them in multiple sources. I don't think allowing them in schools would force them onto children- forcing them onto children is a violation of the First Amendment.
And come on really legalize incest and polygamy? That's just disgusting.........