[Vision2020] Ten Commandments Removed:Religious Anti-Gay Monuments In City Parks?

[Kai Eiselein, LatahEagle Editor]

Melynda,
First of all I have never stated that one religion or ethnic group is better
than another. I have merely stated the Constitution does not forbid public
expression of religion in public spaces. Which it does not. Lawyers have
managed to twist a simple line of text into a writhing ball of lies.
Acknowledging ones heritage is one thing but forcing everybody to be
categorized into a "pick your prefix-American" does nothing but place people
in "boxes".
If people truly wanted to follow King's words of not judging by race, then
we would just be(non-hyphenated) Americans.
Your examples highlight my point, the more we box people into one group or
another, the more suspicition there is between them. Because "they" are
different from "us". Which is a normal reaction, if you look at history. If
you want a cohesive unit whether it is a sports team, an activist group, a
military unit all require that there be a common thread that binds them.
With the way this country was formed: the conglomeration of
ethnicities,religions and traditions, that common thread for us is being
"Americans". We can, and do celebrate our individual heritages while
retaining that bond.

A sidebar to Joan:

Why did that woman identify herself as a Wiccan? Could it be to draw
attention to herself? Could she have not done the same without mentioning
her religion?
The same thing happened with the "under God" debacle.....the guy stated
emphaticaly he was an atheist.
Frankly I don't care whether a meeting starts with a prayer or not, I don't
regularly attend church ( I spend enough time in them shooting weddings)And
I have yet to be offended by any religious ceremony (and I've been to
plenty).
Maybe I should sue if I happen across a pentagram with a candle at each
point on public property.....but then again, what do I care as long as they
don't burn down the forest?
















Kai,

The Rwandan genocide did not simply arise from "acting tribally."  While
there are differing historical understandings of the emergence of Hutu and
Tutsi groupings within the Central African Great Lakes region, it is very
clear that the actions of colonial authorities--German and Belgian--created
lasting divisions.  Belgian authorities determined that only Tutsi tribal
members could be educated or hold governmental appointments.  The 1934
census determined tribal identity based on economic power:  if you owned
more than 9 cows, you were a Tutsi.   After Belgium was forced to relinquish
its Central African holdings, the aftermath of colonial government included
on-going violence in Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda.  The "tribal" conflict was
actually a political one:  when Rwanda gained independence, the majority
Hutu inflicted terrible violence on the minority Tutsis, in a reaction to
the injustices of the past.  Many Tutsis fled to Uganda, where they began a
guerilla war against the Hutu-led government.   It was the Rwandan Hutu
government which fomented the 100 day genocide against Tutsis, in an
ultimately unsuccessful attempt to purge Rwanda of any Tutsi presence.

In the Balkans, religion and ethnicity are intertwined:  the Serbs are
mainly Orthodox, the Croatians Roman Catholic.  Muslims entered the Balkans
through the Ottoman Empire.  There are long-standing (thousands of years
worth) of religious and political divisions in the region, which shift with
the political winds.  During the Second World War, Muslim Bosnians and
Catholic Croats collaborated to exterminate Serbs, Jews, and Roma throughout
the region.  The most recent wave of violence in the Balkans was brought
about by a political shift--the death of Marshall Tito, and the subsequent
jockeying for political power among various ultra-nationalist groups, each
of them drawing on religious fervor to fuel the political anger:  for
example, the apparitions of the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje, site of a
horrendous massacre of orthodox Serbian women and children in which local
Franciscan priests played a role, were a rallying point for Croatian
Catholics, and an outrage to Orthodox Serbs.

Human differences exist--and they run a lot deeper than ethnic food and
"traditional" costumes.  It's when we assert that one identity is better,
more important, more valuable, more powerful than another that we sow the
seeds of genocide.  When you tell me that I should be "an American" because
that's an identity you value, or tell me that Christian prayer should be
fostered by our government because you feel comfortable with it, you're
asserting that your identities are better than anyone else's, that your
preferences are more worthy of respect than mine.  There's room for more
than one way of doing things.  We can co-exist.  People aren't pies:  we
don't cut ourselves up by acknowledging all the different identities we
inhabit.

Melynda Huskey
who doesn't care if you went to college or not