in god we fussed.

i just got this foreward about some new coin that's going to be circulated in the united states that is devoid of the sentence ''in god we trust.''

that got me thinking...for one thing, i think this email was totally bogus. sounds like someone just wanted to see how many christian conservatives they could get panicked about that.

but suppose it were legit? first of all who would be surprised by this? like wow...how could you NOT see this coming? ''in god we trust'' is a misrepresentation of a major portion of the population. many people simply don't want that kind of banner for themselves. and if it's enough for some people to gripe to get ''in god we trust'' ON the money, then it's enough for some people to gripe to get it removed.

this nation is scarcely a christian nation, anyway. it would be a more accurate representation to have that removed from the money, or to have something non-christian on the other side of the currency.

so now, we have one group of people forcing this slogan to be on our money, and we have others who don't like it.

so, what if we put ''atheism is our following'' on money? that would get the christians angry, but the athiests might not be opposed to it. so, an athiest message, or a christian message? an umbrella statement for the whole united states. who's right? the christian is, of course ;-) done and done. wow...why should we even vote, when just one guy can make the decision like, a million times faster?

but there's another angle to address. the christian has a ''commission'' that they are to fulfill, which is basically to proselytise those who are not already christian.

when a christian gets to heaven, is God really going to ask ''did you petition to keep 'in god we trust' on money? 'cause if not, you don't get in.'' God is more concerned with what we become, and how we treat others. Jesus even said, in regards to money ''whose inscription is this on the coin?'' they said ''ceasar's.'' then he said ''then render to ceasar what is ceasar's, and to God what is God's.''

really. why not just let it go? all that's accomplished by tightening their grip on this matter is:

1.) perpetuating the tensions between themselves and those who actually don't trust in God (which is counterproductive to their ''commission'')

2.) showing everyone else that they are the kind of people who will ''strain out a gnat, only to swallow a camel.''

3.) putting a logo on money that God doesn't even care about. (oh, i could see it now...God asks you ''so, how many followers of christianity did you convert?'' then you answer ''well, none, but i DID get ''in god we trust'' put back on the money. and that's what really matters. i had to offend quite a few of your children down there to get it back, but i'm sure you're pleased with the end result.)

and just seeing how many people put their names on that petition, it's like they're fighting, as though losing this ''battle'' would be the worst thing that could ever happen. hey, chill out. you're not ''winning any souls'' by keeping the slogan on the money, you're just showing a rather ugly side of yourselves by fighting this with so much intolerance.

and while we're on the subject of intolerance, this is the same thing with same sex relationships/marriages. the fact that you're intolerant of it is not going to convince anyone who is homosexual to become heterosexual. the more you push, the more you hurt people, offend people, and generally get people to dislike you.

and finally, some might say ''well, christian faith is what our country was FOUNDED on!'' no, it wasn't. freedom of religion was actually the reason this nation was started, and more accurately, ''freedom from religious oppression.'' keeping that idea in mind, putting ''in god we trust'' on the money seems to say ''freedom of religion, yes, as long as you're christian.''half the signers of the delcaration of independence were deists and/or masons/freemasons. same thing as those who signed the constitution. (http://freethought.mbdojo.com/foundingfathers.html , http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/mashist.htm , http://deism4u2xplore.tribe.net/thread/03ef5d80-932c-436a-a3fb-eecf70645e62)

so now, we have people who are actually taking the idea of freedom of religion to the bank. the joke's on them and ''in god we trust'' is the punchline.

but you know who's right? you are, mr./ms. Supporter of ''in god we trust'' on currency, because

1.) whenever there's a difference in opinion, your opinion is the one that matters.

2.) you're a christian, and our deist/mason forefathers wouldn't have it any other way.

3.) if those other religions don't like it, well they can just move out. go somewhere else. b/c if there's ANYTHING this nation stands for, it's religious freedom. ;-)

okay, so, this is where we're at:
1.) love your neighbours who are heterosexuals. check.
2.) be ready to fight tooth and nail to keep ''in god we trust'' on our money. check.