 |
Wiccan priestess Wendy Avis at her altar in her home. Photo credit Dan Toulgoet
|
A friend of mine, an older lady who does not use social media, forwarded me an email today. Although I realize this is supposed to be political humor and taken in jest, the very last paragraph provoked me to want to raise my fist to the ceiling and shout!
Since replying to her e-mail will not satisfy that urge, I must post it here (and in my other various SM accounts) with my rebuttal at the end.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following has been attributed to Lewis Napper, a Jackson, Mississippi computer programmer. He didn't expect his essay -- a tart 11-point list of "rights" Americans don't have -- to become an Internet legend.
'We the sensible people of the United States, in an attempt to help everyone get
along, restore some semblance of justice, avoid more riots, keep our nation
safe, promote positive behavior, and secure the blessings of debt-free liberty
to ourselves and our great-great-great-grandchildren, hereby try one more time
to ordain and establish some common sense guidelines for the terminally whiny,
guilt ridden, delusional. We hold these truths to be self evident: that a
whole lot of people are confused by the Bill of Rights and are so dim
they require a Bill of
NON-Rights.'
ARTICLE
I:
You do not have the right
to a new car, big screen TV, or any other form of wealth. More power to you if you can legally acquire them, but no one is guaranteeing anything.
ARTICLE
II:
You do not have the right
to never be offended. This country is based on freedom, and that means freedom for everyone -- not just you! You may leave the room, turn the channel, express a different opinion, etc.; but the world is full of dummies, and probably always will be.
ARTICLE
III:
You do not have the right
to be free from harm. If you stick a screwdriver in your eye, learn to be more careful; do not expect the tool manufacturer to make you and all your relatives independently wealthy.
ARTICLE
IV:
You do not have the right
to free food and housing. Americans are the most charitable people to be found, and will gladly help anyone in need, but we are quickly growing weary of subsidizing generation after generation of professional couch potatoes who achieve nothing more than the creation of another generation of professional couch potatoes.
ARTICLE
V:
You do not have the right
to free health care. That would be nice, but from the looks of public housing, we're just not interested in public health care.
ARTICLE
VI:
You do not have the right
to physically harm other people. If you kidnap, rape, intentionally maim, or kill someone, don't be surprised if the rest of us want to see you get the blue juice.
ARTICLE
VII:
You do not have the right
to the possessions of others. If you rob, cheat, or coerce away the goods or services of other citizens, don't be surprised if the rest of us get together and lock you away in a place where you still won't have the right to a big screen color TV or a life of leisure.
ARTICLE
VIII:
You do not have the right
to a job. All of us sure want you to have a job, and will gladly help you along in hard times, but we expect you to take advantage of the opportunities of education and vocational training laid before you to make yourself useful.
ARTICLE
IX:
You do not have the right
to happiness . Being an American means that you have the right to PURSUE happiness, which by the way, is a lot easier if you are unencumbered by an over abundance of idiotic laws created by those of you who were confused by the Bill of Rights.
ARTICLE
X:
This is
an English speaking country. We don't care where you came from, English is our language. Learn it and USE it!
Lastly
ARTICLE
XI:
You do not have the right
to change our country's history or heritage. This country was founded on the belief in one true God. And yet, you are given the freedom to believe in any religion, any faith, or no faith at all; with no fear of persecution. The phrase IN GOD WE TRUST is part of our heritage and history, sorry if you are uncomfortable with it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I agree with very single ARTICLE listed above except the last, ARTICLE XI. And I explain why here, in a brief American History lesson:
Contrary to our "fairytale" history books, from the very beginning days of this country, religious beliefs have been used to discriminate, suppress, and even kill the foreign, the "heretics", the "unbelievers", and even the “heathen” natives already here.
And while the majority of the Settlers were "Christians", there was certainly no RELIGIOUS TOLERANCE from the get go... the slaughter of the French Protestants by the Roman Catholic Spanish settlements in Florida in 1565.
And if the settlers of New England in the early 1600's had their way, we would all be Pilgrims and Puritans because Catholics were banned from the colonies. Quakers were hanged in Boston simply because they returned to the city to stand up for their belief.
After the revolutionary war, states formed their own laws regarding religion. In Massachusetts, for example, you could only hold public office if you were Christian, and if you were Catholic, you had to renounce the Pope's authority first. But in NY, Catholics were banned from office, and in Maryland Catholics had full civil rights but Jews did not. Several states had state-supported churches.
Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Bill of Rights guaranteed legal equality for citizens of all religions, including those of no religion. He wrote “But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg." Around the same time, Patrick Henry was introducing a bill that called for state supported teachers of the Christian religion.
In argument of Mr. Henry's bill, future president James Madison wrote an essay "Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments" where he eloquently pointed out reasons why the state had no business supporting Christian instruction. One point in particular is his statement that “the Religion then of every man must be left to the conviction and conscience of every...man to exercise it as these may dictate. This right is in its nature an inalienable right.” This idea eventually became a fundamental piece of American political philosophy.
We can completely separate Church from State (or Religion from Country, as the case may be), in order for the Bill of Rights to be complete.
It was not until 1956 that Congress passed a joint resolution declaring the term "IN GOD WE TRUST" became the national motto of the United States The law was signed by President Eisenhower and it was added to our money in 1957.
These two actions are in direct violation of our United States Bill of Rights, and should NEVER had occurred in the first place. So, therefore, Article XI in the Bill of NON-Rights above is NULL and VOID!
#BillOfNonRights #LewisNapper
