Has the Supreme Court stepped outside the bounds of the Constitution?
Not sure - I'm not an attorney or a judge - and you'd have to go over the thousands of cases that appeared before the Court to come up with an example of it. Of course, it would all be opinion anyway. In regards to the monument issue, however, I'd say no.
See, here's what I don't get. The citizens in most of these cases have voted in these people who put up nativity scenes or Ten Commandments or whatever. If the logic here is going to be based on a simple majority, it seems that what is happening now is representative of that, which makes me wonder why those here who constantly cite the "rule of the majority" would take any offense at all.
It's not a matter of what the simple majority wants, if what the simple majority wants flies in the face of the constitution. Taxpayer funds should not be used to promote any one religion. That means no nativity scenes, no ten commandments statues, nothing. Now, if a private group wants to come and put their nativity scene on public square and the government wants to permit it, that's fine, but they have to do the same if the Hindus come along with displays of their own.
I don't know why this issue is such a big deal to so many. How hard is it to ignore a nativity scene or a red crescent or a menhorah? God forbid you're exposed to something that runs counter to your beliefs.
I see things that run counter to my beliefs every single day and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. There are at least 6 churches within a 10-minute walk of my house, and while I sometimes wish they'd knock it off with the bells on Sunday morning when I'm trying to sleep, other than that I don't give them any thought at all.
Those who understand my political persuasion must realize that the courthouse itself is something that completely runs counter to my beliefs. Am I questioning your right to build it? No. I'm simply questioning your right to make me build it and sanction it. If a Muslim is forced to build a nativity scene against his will, I have a problem with that. If a Catholic is forced to pay for a menorah against his will, I have a problem with that. But if people believe they have a right to simply squash the expressions of others, what right do they have to their own expressions?
I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to squash anyone's expression. If the government wants to allow private religious groups to put displays on public land, that's fine with me as long as the same accomodation is given to all groups. What I absolutely don't want them doing is using public funds to pay for such displays, or for the labor involved in putting them up. I'd prefer that the government confine itself to matters of governance.
"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." ~ MLK, 1963
How about America quit focusing on bullshit like Christmas Trees or "Happy Holidays" as a greeting or Gays getting married and focus on the fact that we are in a fucking WAR in the Middle East?
Who gives a fuck about a goddamn dead pine tree covered with lights and Pagen ritual fertilitiy balls when we have young men and women getting killed or maimed in the name of Fear? I certainly don't... I think the lives of the people who serve to protect us are much more important than some bullshit socio-political religious/non-religiuos symbol.
Allen Fieldhouse, home of the 2008 NCAA men's Basketball Champions! Go Jayhawks!
Hail, Hail!!!
They can have their christmas tree, but I want a big model of the human genome.
I necessarily have the passion for writing this, and you have the passion for condemning me; both of us are equally fools, equally the toys of destiny. Your nature is to do harm, mine is to love truth, and to make it public in spite of you. - Voltaire
Comments
Has the Supreme Court stepped outside the bounds of the Constitution?
I see things that run counter to my beliefs every single day and it doesn't bother me in the slightest. There are at least 6 churches within a 10-minute walk of my house, and while I sometimes wish they'd knock it off with the bells on Sunday morning when I'm trying to sleep, other than that I don't give them any thought at all.
I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to squash anyone's expression. If the government wants to allow private religious groups to put displays on public land, that's fine with me as long as the same accomodation is given to all groups. What I absolutely don't want them doing is using public funds to pay for such displays, or for the labor involved in putting them up. I'd prefer that the government confine itself to matters of governance.
Who gives a fuck about a goddamn dead pine tree covered with lights and Pagen ritual fertilitiy balls when we have young men and women getting killed or maimed in the name of Fear? I certainly don't... I think the lives of the people who serve to protect us are much more important than some bullshit socio-political religious/non-religiuos symbol.
Hail, Hail!!!