Amen

Oh, boy. I don't know why I feel compelled to write about this dicey subject. I guess it's because I am continually confused about the use of religion by politicians to alienate and divide the citizenry. Us, the Christians, against them, the heathens.


The issue took a hard right turn when George H.W. Bush sold his soul to the religious right during the Republican Convention, in order to become president. He opened that Pandora's box, and that opening was all the wackos needed. Since then, it has just gotten worse.


Don't get me wrong. I'm not putting down religion - far from it. I'm just against zealots trying to shove their brands of religion down other peoples' throats. And, it does happen. Our founding fathers saw the danger. This is the reason the separation of church and state is crucial.

It is also the reason that some of the lawmakers wanted a law against religious harassment in the workplace. I saw an example of it first hand. Most of the people where I worked were definitely right of center politically. They knew, from my big mouth, that I was left of center. They assumed that I was not a Christian.

I made it a point never to discuss religion at work. But, in the group of us who ate lunch together, two of the women insisted upon piously discussing the Bible every day. It was their right to talk about anything they chose, so when I got tired of hearing their views, I just took my book with me, and ate lunch in my office.

Then, we got a new Human Resources manager who made it clear that he agreed with them. Before long, I started finding religious tracts in the front seat of my car when I left work. OK. I didn't say anything, thinking whoever was doing it would get tired of it and find another target. But, it kept up, so I went and talked to the HR manager, and told him that I felt very uncomfortable not knowing who was leaving the literature, and wanted it stopped. He told me he didn't see anything wrong with it.

So, I went to see my boss, Roger, the Plant Manager, and explained what was going on. He said, "Areyou getting those things, too?" I told him that HR didn't seem to see anything wrong with it, and Roger assured me he'd take care of it. And, after that day, I never got another piece of religious literature, and neither did he.

The point is that I wasn't insulted by the literature, I was insulted by the assumption that I needed, somehow, to be saved, by someone who didn't even know me.

The same type of things happen at schools. Both of my children had a teacher in grade school who made them raise their hands on Friday, if they were planning to go to church the coming Sunday, and then made them raise their hands again on Monday, to say that they had gone. She could get away with this because our area isn't all that diverse, religion-wise. But, Kell used to get upset on the Mondays she couldn't raise her hand.

A couple of years later, Jay was in this harridan't class, and she pulled the same stuff on them. One day, Kell asked Jay if it bothered him and he said "No." She asked "Why?" And, he said, "Because I just raise my hand whether we go or not. "

I thank God for the Separation of Church and State.