I was looking at this book that happened to be sitting around at the customer service desk at work--it was about stupid laws. I found two that infuriated me.
ARTICLE IX DISQUALIFICATIONS, SECTION 2: Constitution of the State of Tennessee
No person who denies the being of God, or a future state of rewards and punishments, shall hold any office in the civil department of this state.
Wow, that almost sounds WORDED to sound ridiculous--"in the civil department of this state," haha . . . yeah, you've obviously got your priorities straight, and you've got "separation of church and state" down pat. I think I understand the *reasoning* behind the establishing of this law, namely that the people who put it into effect probably believe that people who don't consider themselves accountable to a God and His laws must have no morals (and we don't want IMMORAL people in government, heavens no) . . . but that's all ridiculous. But I've said this before already--I'm not saying it again. See my rant on "Atheism does not equal immorality."
Here's another one:
SECTION 5 (IC35-46-I-5) Constitution of the State of Indiana
a) A person who knowingly or intentionally fails to provide support to the person's dependent child commits nonsupport of a child, a Class D felony. However, the offense is a Class C felony if the amount of unpaid support that is due and owing is at least $10,000.
c) It is a defense that the accused person, in the legitimate practice of his religious belief, provided treatment by spiritual means through prayer, in lieu of medical care, to his dependent child.
WHAT?
In layman's terms, that means that you can't be found guilty of not providing for your sick kid if you can claim that you prayed for them. First off, who the hell WOULDN'T use this defense to get out of being found guilty of a felony? "Oh . . . you can't lock me up for that, I asked God to heal my son. It's not my fault that He said no!" And what about me? I'm not Christian, but as a Pagan I do occasionally do what most people would consider to be witchcraft, I have been known to cast spells. And in our Craft that is the same thing as prayer--expressing through manipulation of energy and materials (for improvement of focus) that we wish for something to happen. Could I get out of buying my kid's medicine by saying "Sorry, officer, you can't charge me--I cast a spell for my daughter. Look, I lit a candle and anointed her with oil and everything! I'm not guilty!" (Setting aside the fact that they'd probably say that *isn't* prayer while just clasping your hands and asking God to do it IS, either way this is frigging ridiculous!)
The worst part about it is that this law sounds like some freaky archaic law that was written into the constitution of the state when everyone was still really superstitious and government was actually based on religion. But no! This was ADDED to Indiana's constitution in 1976!!! And it was amended to its current wording in 1978, the year I was BORN! This is happening in the here and now, folks! And you know it was probably added not as a wild hair but as a direct response to something happening. "Come on now, you're reasonable folks--I know she didn't cough up the money for her kid's prescriptions, but she SAYS she prayed--she asked the Lord to heal the kid! Every NIGHT she prayed! That's got to be worth SOMETHING!"
I shake my head. I shake my head and say WHAT THE HELL, and then shake my head again because I remain naïve enough to still feel righteous indignation over shit like this when it's common knowledge that religion is all over the government. If it wasn't, our motto would never have been changed to "In God We Trust"--what kind of a motto is that for a secular government, anyway??--and "Under God" would never have been slipped into a pledge that is supposed to indicate allegiance to the GOVERNMENT, not any religious agenda. Seriously--the freedom to believe in God and to worship Him/Her/It however you want is inherent in the definition of America, but that very freedom is skewed when specific religions are insinuated to be the nation's standard through our mottos and creeds. Oh yes, that is very specific when you say "Under God," because the polytheists and atheists of the country--who by the Constitution's laws, also live here by rights--do not jive with that, turkey. Maybe we should leave the Pledge the way it was before "Under God" was ADDED way after the fact . . . and change the motto back to the unofficial one that we used to have, the one that's still on our money, the one that actually makes SENSE and describes what America is.
E Pluribus Unum.
OUT OF MANY, ONE.
Notes:
I'm with you one hundred percent! [Dandel]
Bravo, my dear. I can't tell you how much it means to me that SOMEONE sees the farce. And even "intelligent" people are blind. There is no justice.
Load of bullshit floating around...
That's so wrong.
[katqueen]