I always listen to NPR while exercising. Tonight the show was about the judiciary and whether it's under attack from the Judeo-Christian religious right and Congress, or would activist judges simply being properly treated through an impeachment process. One thing really struck me. One person advocating judicial impeachments kept referring to "people of faith". He kept saying that the "people of faith" were fine until activist judges started removing prayer from the schools, the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments from courthouses, making abortion accessible, saying s od om y is legal and allowing gay marriage. I find this use of the term "people of faith" used to describe those who oppose these court decisions to be unbelievably conceited and insulting. I am a person who has a great deal of religious faith. I am not, however, someone who believes in the Judeo-Christian god. I want prayer out of the schools and the Ten Commandments off of public property. I believe that gays should marry and the goverment has no business creating laws regarding the s ex life of consenting adults. Don't use the term "people of faith" unless you mean to include people of ALL religious faiths.

While I am on this topic, the Pledge of Allegiance annoys me to no end. Specifically, the inclusion of the words "under God" is irritating to me. These words were added in the '50s during the Cold War as a way of seperating the US from the "Godless Communists". First, I see it as state-sponsorship of religion. Second, if the US wants to acknowledge a higher power, who gets to pick which one? Why must it be "God" rather than the name of another diety such as "Buddha", "Allah", "Goddess" or whatever? Why isn't it just "One nation, under {insert diety name here if desired}, indivisible with liberty and justice..."? So many children are forced to say this in public schools, and that just makes me sick. Sure, it's called voluntary, but how many kindergarteners are going to tell their teacher that they don't want to recite this because their family doesn't believe in God? How many seventh graders are willing to withstand peer pressure and the idea of being perceived as different because they don't want to say the Pledge or the word God? It's voluntary%


ARGH. This post was a lot longer, but somehow part disappeared in publishing. I'm too tired to recompose it. Surfice to say there was more ranting about the Pledge as well as complaints about people claiming this is a Christian nation founded by Christians, and I gave this link.