Aw, Cheese and Rice

Libertyhound has been making fun of my accent lately, and rather than saying Jesus Christ, some people say Cheese and Rice since it sounds similar. You kind of had to be there, but I laughed.

Anyway... back to the news. Apparently it is in the Kentucky Department of Homeland Security charter that they have to officially thank God for his help in maintaining the security of the Commonwealth. I have a few questions. Whose God? Even after you pick a religion, there are several different interpretations of the deity in each. So after whose god, which of their gods? Let's just go with the Christian Southern Baptist Male Father God. If the government thanks Him for His divine intervention, does that mean that the government is both supporting the belief in and invoking the name of one deity of another? I'll make it easy, yes. That breaks with the founding fathers' desire to prevent state-sponsored religion.

This country wasn't started by a bunch of Christians who wanted to get away. That's what started the colonies, sure, but they were British Christians. When we became Americans we wanted to prevent another Anglican Church and therefore allowed citizens to practice if and how they wanted and also kept it out of the government. Money says, "In God We Trust" because many of the founding fathers were deists who believed in the existence of a supreme power, but didn't label it or persecute others.

Sorry, I got off on a tangent. It comes from my actual study of American history. It is not for the government to pray for the protection of any deity. Members of the government are free to do as they please and religious organizations are formed for that very purpose. God and government do not go together like peanut butter and chocolate. God, I mean any non-specific deity, is good and government, I mean any non-specific ruling body, is not. Worshipers of gods may not be good and members of governments may be good, but that is a reflection of the duality in humanity not the nature of the groups they are in. Basically, keep your god out of my government and I'll keep my government out of your god. That's how Thomas Jefferson and a few others wanted it anyway.