Liberals and the war on religion
By Joe Roessler
web
posted October 18, 1999
Part II In the Series "The Liberal War on America"
Next time you are listening to your favorite radio station, listen for this ad:
"Jesus Freak!" "Religious Nut!" "Religious Right Wing Extremist" "Fascist!" "Weak-minded Moron!"
"These are words of intolerance. Intolerance of people's religion and faith is a form of cancer in our society. Do your part to accept other people's beliefs and make religious tolerance a daily part of your life. This has been a public service announcement brought to you by this station and the ad council."
It will be a cold day in hell before anyone will ever hear a public service ad like that on television or radio. Yet liberals push their agenda of tolerance of alternative lifestyles and racial diversity (notice political diversity is always missing?) as well as gun control messages and an occasional sexual harassment sketch using public service ads. Ever notice whom they portray as the perpetrator? There are only two types of bigots in this world. They are White Male Conservative Christians or White Male Conservatives.
The liberal war on religion in America is evident in daily life. In public schools, Christmas holidays are no longer referred to as Christmas vacation but to pagan terms such as Winter Break. Christmas concerts or the politically correct term "Winter Program," in public schools cannot make any references to Jesus or Christmas. In the name of multiculturalism Hanukkah and Kwanza are mentioned regularly and as well as it's songs being sung. Gone from the program lists are Silent Night, Oh Holy Night, We Three Kings and any Christmas songs that refer to Jesus or Christmas with religious intonation.
The Pledge of Allegiance is no longer recited in many public schools because it contains the words "One Nation under God." Patriotic songs such as Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" are banned because of the song's reference to who? God. Today's children do not know what inspired Irving Berlin to write that song or know who Irving Berlin is. Nativity scenes are banned from public parks. In places where crosses have stood for years, atheists and the ACLU have joined forces and sued to have them removed.
State invoked atheism has taken a foothold in America where legislation must occur to do something innocent as to post the Ten Commandments in schools and public buildings. Students have to resort to suing in courts to be able to say a prayer at football games or commencement ceremonies. The paranoia of religion is so pathetic that a memorial tile to the slain students at Columbine could not contain any reference to religion due to a fear of lawsuits. The ACLU and the courts will force school districts to accept gay clubs and turn right around and forbid a song with religious overtone to be sung at a graduation ceremony. Atheists sue school districts to forbid student religious clubs to hold meetings after hours in public school buildings. Liberals are going after municipalities that allow Boy Scouts to hold meetings in city owned facilities because of Boy Scouts affirmation in belief of God. Not only do they want to banish the Boy Scouts from using public facilities but also recent New Jersey State Supreme Court ruling is forcing the Boy Scouts to accept gay scoutmasters. The liberals do not bother to hear opinions and reasons from parents of boys who may be affected by these rulings. Instead they label those parents as "homophobic bigots."
The battleground in the liberal war on religion is not confined to schools or the Boy Scouts. Recently a federal court in Minneapolis, Minnesota ruled in favor of three Department of Corrections employees who read their bibles during a state- mandated training course "Gays and Lesbians in the Workplace". Despite the fact that other employees were reading magazines, books, knitting and sleeping, the only employees who faced punishment were the ones reading the bible. They were charged with "inappropriate and unprofessional conduct."
Other areas in the liberal war against religion is the use of taxpayer money to fund "arts." Such as Crucifixion of Jesus inside a jar of urine and recently in New York City the Brooklyn Museum of Art showing of "Sensation", which included a painting of the Virgin Mary covered in elephant dung. President and Co-President Clinton found the art "objectionable" but disagreed with Mayor Rudolph Guliani in reference to withholding of city funds to the Brooklyn Museum of Art. Naturally Madame Clinton would disagree as she is contemplates running against Mayor Guliani for the New York Senate seat being vacated by Patrick Moynihan. It doesn't end there. At a recent press conference, White House spokesman Joe Lockhart said
"The President has indicated that he supports the first lady's position. My understanding of the first lady's position (is) while she would find this objectionable, wouldn't see it, she doesn't agree with the action that the mayor's taken," Mr. Lockhart continued by saying "In many fields of art there are those who are offended, but we do have a grand tradition of freedom of expression in this country, and a rich cultural art and humanities history that I think should not become part of, or be attacked in the political context,"
The Virgin Mary covered with elephant dung being part of a "rich cultural art and humanities history?" The use of public money to display this is just as repulsive as the "art" itself! Public money should not fund any type of art at all. If the protesting artists, writers and entertainers wish to exhibit such "art" then do it with your own money and not the public's. Let's say the painting of the Virgin Mary not covered in elephant dung was in a position of prayer and displayed with a religious quote. How fast would these "artists, writers and entertainers" sue in court under the deluded status of "separation of church and state?" All because the Brooklyn Museum of Art was receiving public money?
In a carefully orchestrated speech at a fund raising dinner with Silicon Valley executives, President Clinton compared recent "hate crimes" in America to the ethnic violence in Yugoslavia and political violence in East Timor. He specifically mentioned the slayings of gay college student Matthew Shepard in Wyoming. James Byrd, a black man in Texas who was dragged to death behind a pick up truck driven by two avowed racists. A Korean student and a former college basketball coach killed in a shooting spree by "a crazy guy" in Illinois and the death of a Filipino postman and wounding of a Jewish child in shootings in California. Missing in the president's speech was the shooting of Christian teenagers at the Baptist Church in Fort Worth. If we were to believe Attorney General Reno and the president, when it comes to hate crimes involving religion, only non-Christians can be victims.
During the Cold War, a Defense Department training film showed how Marxists taught children atheism and dependency on the state. By today's standard it would be laughable as propaganda but the substance of the film is rather frightening. It showed a young boy sitting at a school desk and a teacher tells him to pray to God for an apple. The young boy looks upward, folds his hands in prayer, closes his eyes and starts to pray. After he is done praying he opens his eyes and looks at his desk and sees there is no apple. The teacher tells him to pray again and see if God will listen this time. After the young boy is done praying still there is no apple sitting on the desk despite praying to God twice. Then the teacher tells the young boy to pray to the state for an apple. The young boy closes his eyes and prays to the state. While he is praying to the state, the teacher puts an apple on the desk and when the boy opens his eyes after completing his prayer, ALAS! The state had delivered what he had prayed for. Not only has the Nanny State replaced parents, but its replaced God! The techniques shown from this Cold War film is all too familiar.
Why is discrimination against religion tolerable? A liberal counterpart in debate years ago told this writer that there was nothing wrong with prejudice against religious people. As far as he was concerned this type of discrimination should be legal and never be outlawed. To him religion is a matter ofchoice and anything associated with choice was subject to discrimination. He rehashed all the persecution done by religious groups (all Catholic or Christian) throughout history. To him and many of his counterparts in our discussion panel, if you are a liberal, two wrongs do make a right when it comes to discrimination against religions and religious individuals. Multiculturalism is sanctioned as long as it omitted any reference to religion.
Liberals, atheists, humanists and the ACLU, uncork the champagne and
make a toast to you. Pat yourself on a back for a job well done. You managed
to do what Marx, Lenin and Stalin failed to do during 70 years of global
communism. Ban God and religion from society. 
Joe Roessler is married with two children and a former columnist for Right Magazine who wrote "Thoughts from an Average Joe" and is a businessman in Burlington, Washington.