Thursday, June 10, 2004

Jumping Off Point: Some members of the Religious Right want to make a pilgrimage to South Carolina, then secede from the union. (Hat tip: Andrew Sullivan)

The Christians are apparently tired of living in a Godless country that allows homosexuals to be, well, homosexual. Every time I hear Christian conservatives rail against homosexuality because it's forbidden in the Bible (Lev. 18:22), I always want to ask why they don't protest against Red Lobster and other restaurants that serve shellfish, which is an abomination (Lev. 11:10), or why it's okay for men to shave their beards, although it's explicitly prohibited (Lev. 19:27).

Therefore, I say, Bon Voyage! We're better off without them. Then finally we can see what medical breakthroughs can come through stem cell research, let our terminally ill die peacefully with physician-assisted suicide, and just be allowed to have a good time without somebody whining about the moral fabric of something or another.

Unfortunately for both of us, these Christian conservatives don't know their history. South Carolina has already tried to secede from the union -- twice! (1832 and 1860) Both times the sitting president got permission from Congress to use military force to keep the state from splitting the nation in two. I doubt Bush will let South Carolina sail away across the Atlantic, if only because he needs the state for his re-election bid.

In the mean time, the Religious Left wants to get back into politics. With so many conservatives claiming a monopoly over Christianity, I would like to bring the left back into the debate so maybe Christians can concentrate on one of the tenants of their religion -- helping people -- instead of trying to dominate government.