That Good Old-Time Religion
by Blake on May 7, 2009 at 09:27 Political
Hawaii has in the state legislature now, a bill that would recognize Islam as one of the world’s great religions. Yes, I said it, and the idiots in the state government apparently mean it- somehow they failed to read the Constitution- you know, the little niggling part in there about keeping church and state separate- just kind of keeping a little impartiality between the two. I’m just saying.
What could they be thinking, or perhaps in their case, smoking? I could be wrong, but I do not remember any day that specifically celebrates Christianity or Judaism. Oh we have the holidays, but then so does Islam- you know, Ramadan and such, But this is different. This is wrong. I am guessing that because of their location, these islands believe that they are more independent than some states, and their mindset is certainly different. Perhaps they thought that they could please the great Barama by celebrating what is/ isn’t/ is/ isn’t his religion. This part is somewhat murky, like his birth certificate.
I have to assume that the legislature in Hawaii has not read the First Amendment to the Constitution, where it specifically prohibits an establishment of any specific religion, and I do believe that naming a day to honor a specific religion to the exclusion of all other religions really gets into the wrong side of the First Amendment and its intent.
Now, if Hawaii has decided, like a child, that there are some laws that it doesn’t want to follow, well, Hawaii is a state the U.S. could shed with little sense of loss, except for Pearl Harbor- a place all of the Hawaii legislators should go see, if they have forgotten all about it. Now, imagine if you will, Pearl Harbor without the United States protecting the islands. Gee, they would be talking a foreign language in no time. Perhaps, given their mixed heritage, they wouldn’t find the language such a big thing, but they might find that the other government’s rules to be more restrictive than they might like.
This “law” serves no purpose except to suck up to the muslim religion. Why they would even want to do this is beyond me- I have nothing against Islam, but there are two older religions that get short shrift with our legislators time after time, Judaism, and Christianity. You might be excused for thinking that the older religions “bore” these people and they are fascinated with the “religion du jour”. The other reason is that islam scares these people and they feel they are hedging their bets by toadying up to this religion. Any way you cut it, what these “lawmakers” are being dishonest and hypocritical, but what do you expect from politicians?
So now September 24 will be designated as “Islam Day”, as the proposal was rammed through the legislative process despite the objections of two Republican lawmakers, Fred Hemmings and Sam Slom, and one Democrat, Josh Green, who said he was uncomfortable with government being involved with religions.
The supporters of this asinine law point to the fact that both Christmas and Good Friday are state holidays, even though they are both Christian holy days. They are rank and cowardly hypocrites who can’t even get their reasoning arranged in a logical fashion. If they wanted to do something along those lines of reasoning, they might have designated the first day of Ramadan as a state holiday- that would have made sense with respect to the reasoning they offered, but this- and so close to 9/11, this is an insult.
” I for one believe we should honor the Islamic faith as we do other faiths… It merely honors the faith, nothing more, ” said Sen. Gary Hooser (D, Kauai- Niihau)
What a morally bankrupt man, but apparently he is typical of these ideologically bereft lawmakers. If this is the best they can do regarding laws in Hawaii, they are not serving the people of that state well. This Senator lies, because they are NOT honoring Islam as they do other faiths- they are giving this faith a new, special day- did they give one to Judaism? To Christianity? No.
Nowhere is there anything said about honoring the Hindu faith, or Buddhism, or Greek Orthodox, all religions deserving great respect, and you know what? NONE of these other religions advocate waging war on unbelievers, killing them if they won’t convert, but Islam does. There are verses in the Koran that do say just that- yea, you bet, that’s a religion that preaches love for one’s neighbor, but only if that neighbor is a muslim. Now that’s a religion that really should be honored BEFORE you honor a peaceful religion? Give me a freakin’ break.
All the muslims in the world, and so few will condemn the actions of these allegedly “apostate” adherents of a “splinter” sect of a branch of Islam? Read that sentence again- it reads like someone apologizing for the actions of a member of the family they feel they must explain away, but not condemn. Look, if my brother commits murder, I do not protect him, for he has done wrong- I condemn his acts with strong words, and I turn him over to the authorities. That is what one does- unless they are Islamic, apparently. Sure there are a few voices raised, but not enough, not nearly enough.
And that is why this day that Hawaii has created is offensive- it goes against the Constitution. They have created a special day, not directly connected by history or tradition with regards to Islam, and decided that this unconnected day should be special for one group.
What’s next Hawaii? A special day for the KKK? You could use the same logic.
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Tags: first amendment, hawaii, hypocrisy, islam
Of course there is no such thing as separation of church and state but government does not belong in religion. This Islam day specifically honors one religion though I guess they could argue that it is not Congress making a law establishing religion…
Hawaii has more Japanese visiting there now then one could imagine. Nice that it is as a visitor and not an occupier.
Yeah,they could argue that, but in the case of William Mosher, who founded the Star of Hope homeless shelter, in Houston, the city of Houston donated a 2′ x 2′ sqiare of concrete, so a memorial to this unselfish man could be built. What resulted was a small stele, or dais, if you will, withits top covered in glass, under which rested a bible, with its cover open to certain pages.
Every day, someone from the Star of Hope came, unlocked the top, and turned a page in the Bible. A simple monument to a simple but good man.
The problem? Well, the little square of concrete was in front of the Houston City Hall, on the sidewalk, and some lady objected that she had to walk around it to get to the city clerk’s office to file papers, and the very sight of a Bible was objectionable to her.
She won her suit, even though it wasn’t Congress who had anything to do with this, it was the city of Houston, and it was on the sidewalk.
What I object to is the creation of a day, separate from any religious holiday, that honors anyone religiously. I would have the same objections to one for Christians, or Jews.
It is just a useless day, one that they would have been wise do omit.
Perhaps they are preparing for the inevitable, pleasing thier new lords and masters early. Take a look at Fitna and this.