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[ThatHawaiiGuy]

Atheists, Activist Courts And Constitutional Ignorance


By
Lee R. Shelton IV


Toogood Reports [Thursday, July 24, 2003; 12:01 a.m. EST]
URL: http://ToogoodReports.com/


Thanks to activist courts and an ignorant citizenry, atheists tend to dictate public policy when it comes to the separation of church and state. Not surprisingly, a recent incident in New Jersey has ruffled the feathers of some atheists who have absolutely no understanding of the U.S. Constitution.

Members of the Board of Freeholder in Warren County voted unanimously to hang posters with the words "In God We Trust" in all county-owned buildings. The decision was met with resistance from the New Jersey-based American Atheists.

One member of this Godless organization, Frank Zindler, was quoted in the New Jersey Star-Ledger as saying, "The major intent behind this is to make this a Christian nation. This, of course, is forbidden by the First Amendment."

As with most atheists who take offense at public statements of faith, Zindler's concern is misplaced. While Christian principles certainly had a strong influence in the founding of the United States of America, this country has never been a "Christian nation," and to equate the posting of our national motto with bringing citizens under the heavy yoke of a theocracy is ludicrous.

Since the drafting of our Constitution, atheists have enjoyed every immunity and privilege guaranteed to those of religious faith. No matter how offended they may feel, atheists cannot claim persecuted status. From politics to education, from business to charity, they have been actively involved in virtually every aspect of American life.

If anything, religious citizens are the ones who have been reviled. Prayer has been purged from our schools. The Ten Commandments have been taken down from courthouse walls. It is now unconstitutional for Scripture verses to be displayed in national parks. Freedoms once taken for granted have been stripped away in the name of tolerance—and this has been done without a single law being passed.

Like it or not, we are at the mercy of a judicial oligarchy. Over the years judges have reinterpreted the Constitution, effectively gutting our republican form of government. Every action taken by a public official—even at the state and local levels—must meet with the approval of these black-robed zealots.

This has been especially true in cases relating to the First Amendment. Courts have consistently ruled that allowing anything religious to be displayed or promoted on public property is unconstitutional. The reasoning is that government approval of religion is tantamount to government establishment of religion. Yes, it's ridiculous, but you can be sure that the Warren County freeholders will be sued over their totalitarian decision to post "In God We Trust" in public buildings.

There is another issue here that needs to be addressed: the Constitution in no way applies to what goes on in Warren County, N.J. What was meant to restrict Congress does not restrict what goes on at the state, county or local levels of government.

This notion may seem a bit unorthodox, but the Bill of Rights was never intended to be binding upon the various states. If you take the time to read the text of the First Amendment, you will find that it specifically refers to the federal government. ("Congress shall make no law…")

That the Bill of Rights applied only to the federal government is reiterated in the Ninth and Tenth Amendments. It was understood that matters regarding issues affecting freedom of speech and religion were to be dealt with on the state level. James Madison made this rather clear in Federalist No. 45:

The powers delegated by the proposed Constitution to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the State governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce; with which last the power of taxation will, for the most part, be connected. The powers reserved to the several States will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people, and the internal order, improvement, and prosperity of the State.
For an atheist or anyone else to say that posting the words "In God We Trust" on county property is unconstitutional shows a blatant disregard for the founding principles of this nation. "Separation of church and state"—a phrase appearing nowhere in the Constitution or in the writings of its framers—has become synonymous with eliminating all religious references from the realm of public discourse. This was never the intent of the founders.

http://toogoodreports.com/column/general/shelton/20030724.htm