What’s Wrong Today:
On Tuesday, the PA House of
Representatives decided it made sense to declare 2012 the “Year of the
Bible”—and unanimously passed a resolution doing just that, 193-0.
The resolution, sponsored
by state Rep. Rick Saccone, of Allegheny and Washington Counties, is
about a page long. Here’s an excerpt:
WHEREAS, Deeply
held religious convictions springing from the holy scriptures led to the early
settlement of our country; and
WHEREAS, Biblical
teachings inspired concepts of civil government that are contained in our
Declaration of Independence
and
the Constitution of the United States; and
WHEREAS, Many of
our great national leaders, among them
President Washington, President Jackson, President Lincoln, President
Wilson and President Reagan, paid tribute to the influence of the Bible in our
country’s development, as exemplified by the words of President Jackson that
the Bible is “the rock on which our Republic rests”; and
WHEREAS, The
history of our country clearly illustrates the
value of voluntarily applying the teachings of the scriptures in the lives of
individuals, families and societies; and…
You get the idea. It’s a
resolution. It holds no real power. Rep.
Saccone thinks it’s just like recognizing Girl Scout Week, or honoring Jewish
chaplains…
So, What’s Wrong?
Way to go Pennsylvania! You are showing
America how to ignore the Establishment Clause of the first amendment to the
Constitution of the United States.
AND nice job of wasting
time and taxpayer money on ancient myths instead of real problems! The
Wrongologist’s message to state and local politicians in Pennsylvania and elsewhere:
Get
off your knees and get to work! The economy is in shambles, many
Americans are jobless and homeless.
The
Freedom From Religion Foundation
is protesting the resolution, saying PA House Resolution 535 arrogantly exhorts
citizens to “study and apply the teachings of the holy scriptures.” FFRF Co-Presidents, Dan Barker and Annie Laurie
Gaylor go on to say “The Pennsylvania Assembly is strictly prohibited by the
Pennsylvania Constitution from controlling or interfering with the limits of
conscience, or showing any preference by law to any religious establishments or
modes of worship. It is no more permissible for members of the Assembly to
‘bless’ the bible than it would be for them to endorse the Koran.”
“Our
constitution grants sovereignty not to a deity or a ‘holy book,’ but to ‘We,
the People.’ There is no reference to God, the bible, the Ten Commandments or
Jesus in the U.S. Constitution, just as there are no references to ‘consent of
the governed,’ ‘civil liberties’ or ‘democracy’ in the bible. Those who have
truly studied the bible realize that it is a moral quagmire, a behavioral grab
bag, which has been used to justify automatic rule, tyranny, slavery, the
degradation of women and gays, child abuse, war, atrocity and mayhem,”
noted the FFRF.
Once the government enters into the religion business, conferring endorsement
and preference for some religions over others, it strikes a blow at religious
liberty, forcing taxpayers of all faiths and of no religion to support a
particular religious view.
Which is probably the worst
part about this: It’s more fodder to the idea that our state governments can
take their sweet time writing resolutions such as this one, instead of focusing
on rebuilding the economy.
This nothing new, many
state legislatures are being taken over by nut cases. Readers of the
Wrongologist know that he follows the New Hampshire legislature’s antics
closely. In recent weeks it has proposed legislation grounded in nothing but
hate and ignorance. Here are a few examples:
- A bill to allow businesses to deny services
to gay people
- A bill to defund Planned Parenthood
- Bills to weaken Domestic Violence laws
- A bill to allow the teaching of the bible
in public school
A
quote we like: “Politicians are people who, when
they see the light at the end of the tunnel, go out and buy more tunnel.” –(John
Quinton)
State legislators everywhere have always had the
capacity to be a little ridiculous, but now, things are getting downright
dangerous.
And it’s simply WRONG!
