this is by no means an american issue, as i see it in greece as well, where there is, unfortunately,
no separation of church and state, where one often hears the motto,
πατρίς θρησκεία οικογένεια, translating to
country, religion, family.
here's
pz:
'i usually complain about religion here, but today i have to add another target: patriotism. it's the same thing, opening a door to unthinking authoritarianism, and it always leads to oppression. quite contrary to the claims of fanatical christians, the heart of a thriving democracy has to be constant questioning of the operation of the government — to marry religion to our government is antithetical to its founding principles, and even to regard those founding principles as inviolate and somehow imbued with godly authority is a betrayal.
when i was growing up in the 60s and 70s, there was a common slogan thrown around by defenders of the status quo: "my country, right or wrong." even at my young age, that always seemed insane: if my country is wrong, shouldn't i want to change it?
question religion. but also question your government. it wasn't founded by gods.'read the entire piece
here.
©2010 toomanytribbles
