When I was in college I lived in a house that was surrounded by three churches. In New England you can’t have three churches that close together without having them get into competition. Why? I don’t know the Catholics always won. Still they got the loudest bells possible to try and out do each other. They were so loud it wasn’t until Monday mornings that my ears would stop ringing.
In this same town we had a noise ordinance, so if one of our stereos was playing loud enough to be heard from the sidewalk, we would get a $250 fine.
When we asked why our neighbors could make enough noise to cause hearing damage, but we couldn’t listen to music at a loud enough volume so our damaged ears could hear it, we got the answer, “Because they are churches.”
Somehow in this country Judge Oliver Wendell Holmes declaration, "The right to swing my fist ends where the other man's nose begins." Doesn’t apply to matters of religion.
Comedy Central mangled the latest episode of South Park because of death threats from radical Islamists. Earlier this year Elected Representatives were called baby killers for not putting language in the Healthcare Bill that would stop women from buying, with their own money, insurance that covered abortions. The Obama administration is fighting the ruling that a national day of prayer violates the establishment clause, which it does.
Then there is gay marriage, not allowing two people to get married because some religious orders, not all, don’t approve.
If you want to be religious that’s fine, but your religion has to stop where my nose begins. You can deny evolution all you want, but when it comes to teaching science don’t force kids to be stupid. You can say that missionary position is the only way god approves of sex, but don’t get between another couple having sex in a different position unless you’re going to join them. You can feel that sex before marriage is against your religion, but don’t force that view on kids from other religions that don’t share that view, and stop them from getting real sex-ed.
So to all the people that think their religion is a reason to tell me how to live my life I say, “Shut up Stupid, Your right to swing your fist in religious anger ends where my nose begins.”
