Political correctness is a pain in the butt. I often write about empathy, compassion and social injustice, but even the strong belief in those areas does not stop me from saying that I cannot keep up with the sensitivity that exists across the board disguised under the banner of political correctness. It is important to be empathetic toward others, but political correctness is sometimes stifling and overwhelming to try and keep up with.
In general, they say that you should avoid talking with people about religion and politics. Normally I avoid those discussions. For the last two years politics has been nearly impossible to avoid all together.The more recent Trump administration’s attempted ban on immigrants from seven predominately Muslim practicing countries, has made those discussions increasingly difficult to avoid as well.
On those occasions, when I am asked if I am religious, my answer has been surprisingly succinct; I am not religious but rather spiritual. If pressed further I will simply offer that I do not believe in or follow the tenets of any organized religion, but I have a strong and resounding faith in God or a higher being. Thankfully, that answer normally suffices for most. I am sure that my “don’t push me. cause I’m close to the edge, ” voice and expression probably help eliminate any further digging.
I will talk about social injustices at every turn. Politics, while related, is often a complicated and emotional topic for many and I avoid getting into specific political discussions, because if pushed neither party’s advocates would like my unfiltered opinion of the state of both major United States political parties. Religion is an even more emotional and convoluted topic. I have strong opinions on the subject, which I will share in even greater depth another time, but what I am comfortable in always sharing is that I am not a fan of organized religion but have an absolute profound respect for others rights and beliefs in worshipping whatever god they do in any manner that they do… as long as those rights do not infringe on the rights and beliefs of others… Is there theme music for a slippery slope?
The known and accepted tenet that there needs to be separation between Church and State, is generally credited to Thomas Jefferson from 1802. The principal behind the statement was a re-enforcement of the idea that the freedom and protections of the free speech provided by the First Amendment of the United States’ Constitution must be in place to ensure that people’s ability to freely practice their religious beliefs were not impeded upon by governmental laws.
That is an important and necessary tenet to both believe and enforce. However, I think over time, America has gotten confused and really needs to make sure that the idea of separation of Church and State is really enforced, but for the opposite reason. In the most literal and legal sense, all religions and practices are generally protected by the United States Supreme Court. However, what is at issue, from my perspective, is that religions and morality hidden by specific religious beliefs have become to dominate and obtrusive a component to how politicians and legislators act.
Judaism is a religion. Islam (which is what Muslim’s practice) is a religion. They are not ethnicities. They are not countries. They should not be political ideologies. Yet, those separations are not clearly made, by both practitioners of those religions as well as by many others who simply misunderstand or are just uninformed. The United States has some of the most comprehensive protections of religious freedoms, yet often lost within those protections are intolerance and political agendas at suppressing those with different religious views as well as trying to enact legislature with the sole purpose of promoting a religious agenda.
It is of course impossible to totally separate morality and even spirituality from people’s religious beliefs. Yet, we must do a better job, because just like the government must be prohibited from trampling on people’s religious freedoms, religions must be stopped from forcing their agendas on the overall general public when it comes to public policy and rights. Your right to practice and believe is your right. Just stop trying to force those beliefs on others!
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