Keep Your Church Out of My State

All major religious traditions carry basically the same message, that is love, compassion and forgiveness the important thing is they should be part of our daily lives.
Dalai Lama

At my office, when some someone is frustrated with their situation, they will blame the managers for not attending to them. Managers believe they are helping the employees by focusing on long term solutions, not immediate fixes.

Take this to the national level. People are frustrated with their economic situation and turn their anger to the leaders and government for not fixing it now.

News commentator Glenn Beck recently led a rally in Washington DC. The New York Times said, "Mr. Beck told the crowd, in what was part religious revival and part history lecture. “America today begins to turn back to God.”" While the Tea Party movement doesn't specify religion as their platform, it invariably arises in their speeches. They're bringing out the "forefathers" and their original intentions. They claim our freedoms are at stake because the government is involved.

I wish more Americans could visit a country where they truly lack freedoms. If they are able to hold rallies and public congregations without police action, arrest and detentions, they are obviously enjoying American freedoms. If women are allowed to have their own income, own name, and own control of her body, we have freedoms the government cannot take away. I find it intriguing that immigrants are not engaged in this movement. Based on my experience, immigrants tend to have a different mentality and perspective than those who have been American for generations.

I had to laugh at the NY Times article where a woman states: "Becky Benson, 56, traveled from Orlando, Florida, because, she said, “we believe in Jesus Christ,” and Jesus, she said, would not have agreed with the economic stimulus package, bank bailouts and welfare. “You cannot sit and expect someone to hand out to you,” she said. “You don’t spend your way out of debt.”

Really? Jesus Christ does not support helping the sick and poor and believed in capitalism?

However, that raises the whole other point about religion. A growing number of Americans think that President Obama is Muslim. Is it because he plays golf on Sundays instead of going to church? He doesn't make a big display of his religion so he is not seen as a valid Christian politician, and not one of "them"? Yes, he was born Barack Hussain, but Christianity is a religion that encourages conversions. How are these people forgetting this? George W. Bush was known for his substance abuse with alcohol before he found religion. So, that's been cleared from his record. I hope that President Obama will stay true to himself and not parade his religion now to assure the ignorant Americans he is not one of "them". However, this is American history repeating itself as Lincoln and Roosevelt's religions were also subject to criticism.

Honestly, I don't want my President to be religious. He (or she!) will be representing millions of Americans. Some believe in the same God and some do not believe in anything. I don't want their religion influencing legislation. First of all, we do not have the same religion. A quote from John Locke English philosopher, "If each of them [state and Church] would contain itself within its own bounds, the one attending to the worldly welfare of the Commonwealth, the other to the salvation of souls, 'tis impossible any discord should ever have happened between them."We don't have a uniform religious code and shouldn't. We simply need to turn outward and see other countries with religious agenda in politics.

A lot of the controversies these days could have been squashed had the media not been involved. The media wants to show they are "balanced" by showing different points of views. This is only effective if it's true. They show askewed angles. It's like giving a blind man an elephant's trunk or tail and asking him to describe the elephant.

The problem with our society is the need to have everything now. Journalists need to kick out articles for the web instaneously; time to research is an obsolete concept. The media churns news like cotton candy -- sweet and alluring fluff, no substance.

Last year, we had Obama's spirit of change sweeping across the country. It didn't happen fast enough, people say. This reminds me of a server at work that needs to be replaced. It's about to die and if it dies, we're goners. Replacement is there and it could be stood up in a week. But, if we're going to do it right, it may take longer. It's been 6 months now and it's partially stood up. This is ONE server in ONE building for ONE company. Let's multiply this by millions of Americans and the government bureaucracy. Yeah.