Friday, November 18, 2016

The Establishment Clause

Remember that we are always in the process of determining what America is. If you believe that the Constitution was meant to protect *everyone* and not just whoever happens to be the majority at the time, then you have to fight with those who don't understand that fundamental fact.

Notably this part of the First Amendment, known as the Establishment Clause:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..."

The Establishment Clause is a limitation placed upon the United States Congress preventing it from passing legislation respecting an establishment of religion. The second half of the Establishment Clause inherently prohibits the government from preferring any one religion over another.

That we undermined this with the "In God We Trust" business in 1956 because of the Red Scare is proving detrimental to peoples' understanding of what the EC means. We should go back to "E Pluribus Unum", which is something we can all get behind, regardless of religious affiliation (or unaffiliation, as the case may be).

"Those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it." This is not just some random collection of words, it explains what happens in human communities over and over again.

Do your part to understand what the Constitution means, and how it has granted us the freedoms we have. And then, armed with that knowledge, help your fellow Americans understand it so that we can all move forward together. Dark forces are all around, hoping to deprive us of our freedoms. Don't let them win.

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