Of Being Alienated

I got up around 10 a.m. so that I could get some homework done (and that I did - around 50 pages of Archaeology and two chapters of Psychology), and then I made some macaroni and cheese for lunch. I sat down at my computer to see what was in the news, and lo and behold, I find this: Obama’s Religious Rhetoric Puts Faith in Spotlight.

Let me give you some background information. I am an agnostic atheist (which in a nutshell means that I am an atheist who acknowledges the fact that as of this time it is impossible to know what created this weird thing known as the Universe, but believes that it’s probably not likely that a divine hand was involved.) I do not hate faith or religion — it’s just not for me. I also believe completely in this idea called “separation of church and state” and even though it is not actually in the Constitution, I do believe that is exactly what the founding fathers meant when they drafted the Constitution. I believe America’s basis lies in the idea that everyone is welcome, that everyone can believe what they want to believe, and that part of living in America is respecting that your neighbor might have ideas radically different than you own and, despite that, you can coexist in peace.

I am sick and tired of this election being tied to faith. I am sick and tired of hearing about how Candidate A is a Christian and so they are therefore better than Candidate B because they don’t make faith such a prominent part of their life. This election is about who can run this country in a way that is best for everyone, not about who is going to “get into heaven”.

I’ve come across all kinds of people who want to see this country put back on a “moral track” because apparently America is dive-bombing straight to some abysmal level of morality. I don’t think so. I think that there are aspects of society that are certainly wrong (murder/crime rates, violence in schools, for instance) but I find it almost hilarious that one point that is equally as frequently brought up is that marriage has been denigrated and divorce rates are just too high. Since when has it been the government’s job to try to “fix marriage”, especially when there are things like a war, terrorism, nuclear weapons in North Korea, and human rights violations in China? Divorce rates are bad, but if people want to get divorced, that’s an issue of their choice. People would probably be better off if they would make sure that marriage is for them before they go through with it. Sometimes during the course of marriage you realize that the person you’re with just isn’t who you thought they were, or maybe they’ve become abusive or unfaithful. I’m not saying any of these things aren’t a problem but they certainly aren’t the government’s problem.

I’m getting off track, however. This “moral track” is so often associated with Christianity and I’ve on more than one occasion read that maybe if those nasty atheists quit trying to take religion out of government (they always say religion, but really they mean Christianity - because I’m certain that a great number of people would be in an uproar if someone suggested that the US would be better with more Islam in government). Wait a minute, now… why is it that you can’t have morality without religion? I like to think that I’m a perfect example of “morals” without religion because I do none of the following that many of my so-called “religious” peers do:

• smoke (cigarettes or otherwise)
• drink (alcohol of any form)
• act slutty (I have been with the same guy for over three years)
• spend inordinate amounts of money on things that I don’t need (isn’t being thrifty in the bible? I don’t know)

Oh, but wait, you argue. Those people aren’t real Christians. I would like to say this: “Whatever.” If you took the percentage of people who aren’t “real” Christians out of the total number who claim they are, then I would really like to see those statistics. Really. Because I’m pretty certain there would be a very small number of them.

But, I think I’m getting off track again. I would like to point out that religion != (does not equal, for those non-programmers) morality. It doesn’t. I have reasons other than because some book said so for not doing the above but yet I’m still “moral” by most standards. I’m tired of this huge surge of people calling for more Christianity in government (let’s call it like it is) because it will cure society’s problems. No, it won’t. What it will do, though, is alienate those not “lucky enough” to be in the government’s faith of choice which goes against what I said above: “I believe America’s basis lies in the idea that everyone is welcome, that everyone can believe what they want to believe, and that part of living in America is respecting that your neighbor might have ideas radically different than you own and, despite that, you can coexist in peace.” When the government starts endorsing a particular set of “morals” that just happen to coincide with a particular faith is the day that America failed. There exists a basic moral code that should be in place in government but it certainly does not completely coincide with Christianity or any other faith. This moral code will simply keep the equilibrium: to make sure that everyone can coexist in peace, that everyone can believe what they want to believe, that everyone is welcome.

Let’s start talking about the real issues in politics instead of this religious circus masquerading as politics.