A Political Rant...you may not like it.

Okay, neither Bryan nor I have decided who we are voting for yet. We are not working on any of the campaigns, and neither he nor I are a spokesman for any of the candidates, obviously.
However, there are some troubling emails circulating, and I've had a few discussions with some folks as of late, and I feel the need to say something:

Barack Obama DOES salute the flag, and he DOES say the pledge of allegiance.
Barack Obama was sworn in on the Bible, not the Koran.
Barack Obama, is not, nor has he ever been a Muslim; he is a member of the United Church of Christ, a non-denominational Christian Church.

Now here's the deal folks, you may not like what I have to say. Why would being a Muslim make someone incapable of being a good president?
Muslims are not the enemy. The Islamic Fundamentalists who are members of Al Quaeda, the people who flew airplanes into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon, the people who we are fighting in Afghanistan now, they are the enemy. Their interpretation of the Koran could be compared to the KKK's interpretation of Bible.

Faithful Muslims, who are the VAST majority, are not terrorists. And when I say vast majority, compare this to how many Christians in America are not members of the KKK...then multiply it by, oh 1000. At least.
(I'd love to take credit for this analogy, but in fact, it comes from "The West Wing, Abraham & Ishmael")

Furthermore, (and remember, I am a Christian) we have in this country a thing called the separation of powers. You are allowed to use whatever basis upon which to judge how you will vote, that is the beauty of living in a free democracy. But when you are evaluating the candidates, please remember that there is a reason we have a separation of church and state, and it is a very good one. For the same reason that you don't want someone telling you which God to believe in and when and where you can and cannot pray, no more should we be doing that to our leaders in government.

Also, if we are going to take a hard-nosed stand on the whole "saluting the flag" business, then let's get all the facts out there. The phrase "Under God," was added by Congress at the urging of President Eisnhower in response to fear of a Communist threat, it has not always been there.

Commandment Four of the 10 in Exodus 20 says "You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth below. Thou shall not bow down to them or worship them..."

I'm not saying we are bowing down to the flag. But we are "pledging allegiance" to it. One could argue (and many have) that to pledge allegiance to the flag, a symbol of American Nationalism is the same thing as bowing down, and in essence, those who are followers of both the Christian and Jewish faiths would be, in essence, breaking the fourth commandment by pledging allegiance.

I cannot tell you how many times we went 'round and 'round in my political theory classes at college, discussing this very issue.

Now, I salute the flag. Some don't. And they have that right, and to exercise that right is the very foundation of what it is to be American, thanks to the First Amendment.

Choosing to not salute the flag does not make you a bad American.

Finally, our forefathers were not all devout Christians; Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson were Agnostics. Thomas Jefferson, for example, actually re-wrote the Bible, taking all miraculous events OUT. I'm just saying.

Sorry my panties are all up in a twist. But when people start calling me and telling me things that are just plainly un-true, I have to respond. I may be home on poopy patrol right now, but I am a history teacher after all.

Okay, I'll get off my soap box now. I promise to return to much friendlier topics tomorrow.