Okay. I am having a REALLY hard time with this whole separation of church and state thing and politicians that just don't get it. If you are a Congressperson or Senator, chances are you have heard that this is a democracy. What that means is that you can pray to any god you want, but when you go to school (if it's public) or work (if it's not as a missionary or some religious affiliated position) then you check your religion at the door. This comes from the history of religious persecution with the Puritans and all that other stuff that happened very long ago. Remember the Pilgrims? Plymouth Rock? Ah, forget it.

The reason I bring this up is because I just read a very disturbing article- Kerry Affirms Support for Abortion Rights. I was not disturbed that John Kerry is pro-choice. I am extremely happy to see that he is moving towards more of a proactive campaign in which he is discussing his position on issues instead of lambasting Dubya. His timing is perfect too, considering there will be a huge March for Women's Lives this Sunday in Washington. Where will our president be? Camp David. He is taking a vacation from his family home in Maine where he was taking a vacation from his job in Washington D.C. Cue JayZ's "Big Pimpin" right about now.

What I was disturbed to read were quotes like this:

Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt countered that Kerry's views on abortion were "outside the mainstream" and said the president "supports a culture of life."

What mainstream is he talking about? What culture of life is the president supporting? If it is a question of Christian culture and the Christian mainstream that the Bushies have been so fond of then check this stat out from later in the article:

"Among American Catholics, 56 percent of non-Hispanic Catholics and 59 percent of Hispanic Catholics oppose making it harder for a woman to get an abortion, according to the Pew Research Center."

But those are catholic statistics. Is there still a cat fight between Catholicism and protestants? I haven't a clue. You are entitled to have your religious beliefs as long as you keep it out of our government. We are not a theocracy, last time I checked, and if we are then who voted on Christianity? I would much prefer a religion that is not so involved in what's going on in my uterus. I have nothing to worry about because we are a democracy. Right???

Read further:

Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Texas, was criticized by Republicans recently for keeping track of the votes of Catholic members of Congress and whether they are in keeping with church doctrine. He said the vote tallies grew out of meetings by a group of lawmakers exploring their own beliefs, "knowing many of us want to bring as much of our faith as we can to our action in Congress. We are trying to live the teachings of our church and we try to bring that to work," he said. At the same time, he added, Catholic congressional members struggle with adhering to their faith while representing people of many religions. "I am not here to represent the Catholic church," he said.

Number one, if you are a democrat and you are doing this Nixon-like score keeping, then you need to get your membership card revoked. Number two, if you turn to your faith as a way of finding a moral center in order to deal with a multifaceted constituency, then that is not a problem. If you are trying to take away a woman's right to choose what happens to her own body because God told you to, then you must step down immediately. If many of you want to bring as much of your faith as you can to your actions in Congress, then you are more of a danger to the fabric of our nation than any amount of abortions ever will be. If it is such a struggle to stay Christian and still make sure your fellow man and woman have equal rights and opportunities than maybe there is something wrong with your faith. If your religion is telling you that by oppressing your fellow man and woman you will be in his grace and have a position in heaven or at least your fair share of virgins, then maybe its time to find another religion. Chances are though, it's just your interpretation and the way you are practicing your religion. In situations like this, as a Christian, you may want to ask yourself: What Would Jesus Do? Would he stand outside an abortion clinic cursing and harassing (or killing) the doctors? Hmm, maybe not. Would he send men and women off to war "pre-emptively"? Probably not. If Jesus believed in preemption, I think with his psychic abilities he would have kicked Pontius Pilot's ass way before he had a chance to crucify him. Would Jesus destroy the environment, deny AIDS medication to places like Africa and Brazil because of patents and legal issues? Would Jesus support the NRA? Would Jesus support our current Fuck All foreign policy? Would Jesus give tax cuts to the rich while children are starving in this country and all over the world? Would Jesus want to live in this country where there is a need for affirmative action because of all of the institutionalized racism, where there is so much consumerism and greed, where there is such a lack of spirituality and compassion for people that look and sound and smell different from each other but share the same hopes and fears and desires?

NO. He wouldn't. So, Rep. Nick Lampson of Texas, I just solved your fucking moral crisis. Ask yourself what Jesus would do next time you want to thump your bible when discussing legislature. And if you come up with answers that tell you Jesus would support any of the above, then you need to go back to church.

I get really pissed off at the arrogance and privilege associated with this kind of thinking. You don't see any Muslim or Jewish representatives or congressman calling for a ban on pork and shrimp products. You don't see them introducing "partial-crustacean" laws. You don't see Joe Lieberman keeping score of who has a ham sandwich in the cafeteria. You never hear him complain about how difficult it is for him to be a Jewish Senator while representing non-Jewish people.

You know why you don't hear that? Because Jews have been persecuted enough to know that there is a time and place for temple talk and it is not the time when you are making your campaign speeches. Why? BECAUSE NOT EVERYONE IS JEWISH. I don't even know if there are any Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Pagan, or Atheist politicians. The fact that I don't know shows you how well they are separating church and state. There is this Christian privilege in this country that assumes everyone would want to take off December 25th each year. That their holidays are everyone's and that their opinions SHOULD BE everyone's and they have a right to speak these opinions whenever they want to whomever they want. It's just not so. That is part of the brilliance of the constitution and the insight that went into writing:

"..(P)roscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to which, in common with his fellow citizens, he has a natural right; that it tends also to corrupt the principles of that very religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing, with a monopoly of worldly honors and emoluments, those who will externally profess and conform to it" (Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, 1789).

That was Thomas Jefferson. AMEN! People that have been persecuted for religious reasons can appreciate their freedom to worship more than people that have lived their entire lives with that privlege. It's easy to forget why we have this separation but we should never forget how important it is. For more great quotes on the separation of church and state by founders of this country, check out Separation of Church and State Homepage.

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