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Admittedly, that's mostly because I haven't been paying attention to the news much of late, between quitting my TSA job, the horrendous faff I dealt with starting here at UAA, and the peristeronic insanity that has enveloped much of my Saturday afternoons of late....
But I digress.
A little while ago, a story about something called "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" came to my attention. Apparently, a number of preachers across the US are planning to spend part of their morning this coming Sunday to endorse one of the candidates for President, in protest/violation of the IRS mandate that prohibits religious organizations from being involved in the political process in order to receive tax-exempt status, claiming that it's a violation of the preachers' First Amendments rights to freedom of speech and religion.
Honestly, this seems like an absolutely childish idea to me, because what I'm basically interpreting this as is wanting the "separation of church and state" idea to become a one-way street, stopping the government from getting involved in the church's business without stopping the church from getting involved in the government's, and getting tax-exempt status without giving back anything (such as staying out of the political process) in return.
To be brutally honest, I'm really hoping this movement is a complete failure; the people leading it need to realize that you can't get something for nothing. I'm not saying they shouldn't have the right to free speech, I'm just saying they need to understand that those rights come with responsibilities, and that curbing the exercise of your rights is sometimes necessary to get certain things in exchange. You have the right to live out in the middle of a barren wasteland, but if you don't want to live in a part of the world with civilization in it, don't be surprised that you don't have electricity, running water, or a Starbucks within 20 feet of you; that's all I'm getting at.
If they want to be involved in the political process like that, that's their right...I just don't go want them to go crying when the IRS sends them Form 1040s in exchange for the recordings of their acts.
A little while ago, a story about something called "Pulpit Freedom Sunday" came to my attention. Apparently, a number of preachers across the US are planning to spend part of their morning this coming Sunday to endorse one of the candidates for President, in protest/violation of the IRS mandate that prohibits religious organizations from being involved in the political process in order to receive tax-exempt status, claiming that it's a violation of the preachers' First Amendments rights to freedom of speech and religion.
Honestly, this seems like an absolutely childish idea to me, because what I'm basically interpreting this as is wanting the "separation of church and state" idea to become a one-way street, stopping the government from getting involved in the church's business without stopping the church from getting involved in the government's, and getting tax-exempt status without giving back anything (such as staying out of the political process) in return.
To be brutally honest, I'm really hoping this movement is a complete failure; the people leading it need to realize that you can't get something for nothing. I'm not saying they shouldn't have the right to free speech, I'm just saying they need to understand that those rights come with responsibilities, and that curbing the exercise of your rights is sometimes necessary to get certain things in exchange. You have the right to live out in the middle of a barren wasteland, but if you don't want to live in a part of the world with civilization in it, don't be surprised that you don't have electricity, running water, or a Starbucks within 20 feet of you; that's all I'm getting at.
If they want to be involved in the political process like that, that's their right...I just don't go want them to go crying when the IRS sends them Form 1040s in exchange for the recordings of their acts.
