In honor of Presidents Day, I would like to take a moment to focus on the separation of church and state in our country.
In this great country, we are afforded many freedoms and many protections. One of these is the idea that church and state should not intermingle. Lately, we have seen much religious hatred intermingled in our political processes -- candidates being attacked for their supposed religious standings, a senator attacked for his personal religious beliefs, politics being decided on the basis of one sect of one religion in a country where many people worship in many different ways.
On both sides of the debate, people turn to the Founding Fathers to figure out what they meant when they put the separation of church and state into place. As such, I would like to remind you of these words from President James Madison: “The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries.”
Also, from the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli (developed by President George Washington’s administration): “The government of the United States is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion.”
When we attempt to define our great America by one religion, we neglect so much of our rich and unique heritage and disrespect what our Founding Fathers put into play so many years ago. Instead of focusing on hatred and divisiveness, they focused on a great future. Let us do likewise.
Jennifer Gates
Anderson
Letters
Reflecting on importance of separation of church and state
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Letter: Consumer-driven economy will pay off debt
To save America some money — by acclimation of course — let’s not have a presidential election in 2012. We already have a good president who will do his best to kill all Republican bills (DOA) and, consequently, create more good-paying jobs in the $30 per hour range.
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Letter: Gingrich cashes in on political amnesia
Rasmussen says that Romney has flattened nationally. Why?
Two reasons seem to tell the tale. Gingrich has shown that he will fight, and Romney is a Mormon, believed to be a “cult” by a majority of evangelicals. -
Letter: Hiring Winkler not wise spending
As a taxpayer I want to know that my taxes are being spent wisely. Hiring Greg Winkler at a salary of $126,000 is not wise spending.
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Letter: Bill of Rights being nullified by new law
President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act on New Year’s Eve. I doubt many Americans noticed its implications because they do not yet comprehend the big picture. This law, coupled with the Patriot Act, is paving the way for America’s direction toward tyranny.
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Letter: $14 trillion debt started by previous president
I’m a proud atheist who’s lucky enough to know the difference between fact and fantasy.
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Letter: Economy putting people in the gutters
We are now getting the results of putting people in the gutters. We need to take a second look at our government and its policies. It’s not working.
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Viewpoint: Look at Creation Museum from an educational, scientific perspective
I encourage any and all who have interest in this vitally important topic to “go to the source,” to invest the time and energy into exploring The Creation Museum for themselves.
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Letter: Blame the voters for our Congress
Why is insider trading legal for Congress and illegal for the rest of us? They make and enact laws for all of us, but then exempt members of Congress. Somehow this doesn’t seem to pass the smell test.
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Letter: Smith’s firings appear vindictive
Anderson is a city of negative publicity and actions. Why else is Sears leaving? Can we stand four years of vindictive actions and negative reporting?
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Letter: Planned devaluation of dollar is coming
I’ve submitted letters regarding the existence of a global elite for years now. I’m now submitting another one in which I hope readers will take note of.
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Letter: Consumer-driven economy will pay off debt
