/2011/08/18/what-i-will-teach-my-children/
{"item":{"status":"visible","url":"\/2011\/08\/18\/what-i-will-teach-my-children\/","trash":"","name":"what-i-will-teach-my-children","parent":"","title":"What I will teach my children","date":"2011-08-18 08:58:10","filepath":"posts\/2000406_what-i-will-teach-my-children.xml.json","type":"post","content":"This is my response to a relative after receiving one of those \"This is a Christian Nation\" bulk emails.\n<blockquote>I'm not going to convince you of anything. You're going to hold to whatever beliefs you want. You're unshakable; solid, like a stone.\n\nI'm just going to teach my children the following:\n\nThe country, when founded, was primarily Christian. The founding fathers that drafted and wrote the foundation of our country were philosophers and deists (popular back then). They understood that to have a free country there will be no establishment of religion by the government. Sure; you can say that it is because the people that came to the continent 100 years before to escape religious prosecution (by the government and majority of people). This is probably the best argument for a separation of church and state. Just because the people back in the day were mostly Christian, it doesn't mean the government was.\n\nI will also provide my kids with this quote from Jefferson from the Treaty of Tripoli (Muslim nation):\n\"As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion; as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen; and, as the said States never entered into any war, or act of hostility against any Mahometan nation, it is declared by the parties, that no pretext arising from religious opinions, shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.\" (<a href=\"http:\/\/avalon.law.yale.edu\/18th_century\/bar1796t.asp\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/avalon.law.yale.edu\/18th_century\/bar1796t.asp<\/a>)\n\nI will also teach my kids how to get along in a society of intolerance and how to deal with situations where money and the pledge of allegiance have references to religion. They won't think it's fair, but I'll explain that with prosperity and education the nation will eventually remove these old and unnecessary references to mythology.\n\nI'll also explain how other nations are mostly non-religious and are very prosperous. Japan is something like 12% religous and Europe is also very secular. Religion is not needed in government. It is quite the contrary. Religion in government is actually bad for nations. I'll explain how fundamentalist countries never prosper and are never successful.\n\nI'm not sure where I'll explain this to my children. I may be in a different country. I'm getting tired of people shitting on my country and throwing slop in the law books just to get a bonus point with some bullshit god. This country is getting stupid very quickly and it's not because of communism.<\/blockquote>"}}
