This following OP/ED is in response to those who want to high tail it out of America because of our current fundy climate. Just like weather patterns, these things fluctuate and come and go. It will only be garunteed to get worse if we accept defeat. Might as well go down fighting, at least you tried. (Fighting, I dont mean litterally, I mean politically competiting)

THEY SAY YOU CANT, I SAY YOU CAN, By Brian37 OP/ED

You say you want to leave? Well that is your choice:

Dispite the setbacks we have a much better constitution to work with than Europe. In fact, some of the things said on this website COULD BE censored as "hate speech" by some Europian governments. They have laws that can be used to curtail or stop "offensive speech".

Certainly Europe as a whole has grown weary of theocratic rule and facism because of it's history. But at the same time I think the pedulium swings a bit too far to polliticall correctness on that continent.

I love America even though our goverment has been hijacked by fundy revisionists. Our Constitution is worth defending from those morons. I'm not going anyhwere.

This is not a fight I wanted or started. But no citizen born in this country should have to take a seat at the back of the government bus just because some fundy said, "Jesus owns the rights to our goverment".

No, I am not going to allow these fundies to sell lies about who gets to use our constitition. I am not going to let them try to turn the Constitution into a Bible. I am not going to allow them to sweep under the rug the FACT that there is no Constitutional requirement for any Citizen to believe in Jesus to hold public office.

Ok, we had a setback. So? This nation has had it's share of bigots dominate government before. A Christian majority did it to blacks, and women and are still doing it today to gays and atheists.

If we live in a Country where a Jew and Muslim can serve side by side in congress, then that is evidence enough to me that progress can be made and is worth fighting for.

I am not going anywhere. Progress takes time and doesnt happen over night. I love my contry too much to see it backslide into Christian socialism or Christian facism. I will continue to point out the facts that they dont want to face. I will continue to challenge all citizens to not except less than full citizenship including the right to apply and run for public office.

There was a time when a woman couldnt get ellected to office. There was a time when blacks couldnt get ellected to office. We have women, blacks, Jews a muslim and even a gay congressman.

You can lay down and die or you can continue to raise your voice. I dont want to live overseas and watch my home be distroyed by selfish theocrats who think they own the world.

No, I am staying put. I am going to raise my voice louder and louder. I am not going to stop. I want to see every citizen taught what "No Religious Test" means.

I want to celibrate independance day, in it's true meaning of "we are all independant individuals".

You say that cant happen? I am sure tons of people told women  they will never get the right to vote. Yea, if you do nothing you will get nothing.

And so you leave. If enough people quit and run then they take over. Do you think they will be satisfied over the future generations? No, if fundies succeed in making America Jesusland, they, will seek the same dominionist attitude Bush has saught in his policy.

Maybe you wouldnt be affected in your lifetime, but this battle of ideology has been going on before we were born and will contineu long after we die.

At least while I am alive, I am staying put and going to do my best to prevent theocrats from taking a Sharpie to the Constitution and gang tagging it with the word Jesus.

This doesnt just affect atheists. There are 300 million Americans, only 2% are criminals, most others are citizens in good standing. Since we have always been a nation of "people from somehwere else" all I am doing is fighting for the equality of those "people" who if not natrualized citizens, people who had parents and grandfathers and grandmothers from "somewhere else".

Not bowing to Jesus should not give license to our government or politicians to falsely imply that the only way to be a good American is accept your place in the politicall guest house.

No, it is up to U.S. to compete, not back down. It is up to the Jewish American, The Chinese American, The Native American born in this country to say, "Hey you Christian, what gives YOU the right to tell me I am not good enough to hold office?"

If you are born in this country YOU can compete and if you get enough votes, or you are legally appointed to an office, no one can tell remove you simply because you believe in another god, or no god at all.

NO, leave if you want. I love the fact that I can type this without fear of arrest. I love the fact that I can watch the Redskins or have a burger, or listen to Metallica or watch a Jim Carry movie. I love the fact that EVERYONE can have the freedom to do what they want, even when I dissagree with it.

This is far too important to me to let go. I sound like a broken record and a clechi. This is the only home I have and the only home I know. And dispite all it's faults the Constitution is still worth preserving.

No, I am not going anywhere. You can. But I'll spend my posts and e-mails and activisim and letters to the editor letting every citizen of any religious label know, that if they are legal and want to jump into politics and compete THERE IS NOTHING CONSTITUTIONALLY STOPPING THEM!

Christians certianly shouldnt be politically excluded, they are covered by the Constitution as well. But their proxy of popular belief that only believers of Jesus have the right to be president has got to stop if we are going to live up to "E-plurbus Unum".

My challenge is to stay and fight the good fight. I'd like to think that given enough time, seeing how times change and more and more people get included in political competition, that non-Christians and non-believers will be able to compete without the fearmongering that fundies sell.

There was a time that people would laugh at the idea of a Catholic being president. There was a time when no one would ellect a Jew to congress.

Don't think short term, they dont, nore should we.

This is about freedom, not my idea of freedom and not their idea of freedom, but the idea that everyone has the same rights. If a Jew wants to run for president and gets enough votes, that is constitutional. If a Chinese American citizen born here is appointed by the president to sit on the Supreme Court, they cannot be booted if they are Buddhist.

No, I will not leave. I will spend every breath and every post and every corrisponance to EXPANDING the compitition of ideas. I will spend every breath and every post telling everyone THEY CAN when the fearmongers say you cant.

They dont have a right to monopolize what it means to be an American. They dont have the right to say that only Christians can be citizens and only they can hold public office. They do have the right to verbalize it, but our goverment has a duty to say, "You may be the majority, but you cant exclude them because they dont believe in Jesus".

But, the only way for non-Christians of all labels and non -believers to get anywhere is to get involved. Show them that no matter how much they dont want you competing, you can and that there is nothing in the Constitution stopping you.

Far to many minorities in this country's history have had to take a political back seat and today is no differnt. We cant change the fearmongers, but we can compete and it is only through that competition that things will change.

Christians have nothing to fear from other citizens, they just think they do and they buy this from the marketers of fear. They let Pat Robertson sell division. We can be United, but what fearmongers want to be "United" in is political dominance.

No, I wont leave and let these people do this to a Country that has so much. I wont let them turn it into a monocromatic religous landscape.

BUT WE are going to have to assert our right to compete. They dont have to vote for non-Christians, that is certainly true. But they have no right to prevent a non-Christian citizen from filling out the application to run for office and they'd have no right to remove them if they got enough votes.

Yes this post is long, and repeats. But every time I hear that someone wants to leave, it hurts me to my core. I see so much potential in our voices and we certainly have made progress. I am positive that if other minorities in the past can say, "|Hey I can do it too" and so can we.

It is up to us as non-Christian citizens, not just atheists, but all who dont hold that label to stand up to the majority and say, |"Hey, if you can hold that office, then I can too".

The only reason fundies have such control is because they are well organized and well financed. There is nothing stopping non-Christians and Christians who see their monopoly as a bad trend, from competing and reversing it.

The only thing that will stop us from saving our Country from fundies, would be to quit. They wont listen, then we need to compete ourselves and raise enough voices so that we wont be ignored. 

You can give up if you want. You may be acting more practical and less emotional than me. I dont know. But I've seen where this country's history was in majority treatment of minorities, and I see what people can do if they stand up for themselves.

It may not happen now. It may not happen in our generation. But to say "I quit" is to never know the possibility because you didnt at least try.

I am not going anywhere. And I hope that this inspires not just atheists, but all who are citizens to think, "If they can do it, I can do it too". Thee is nothing in the Constitution stopping you, and dont let any Christian tell you otherwise.

There are many reasons not to vote for someone. But there is no law preventing a legal citizen from running.They say you cant. I say you can.

THEY SAY YOU CANT, I SAY YOU CAN!

ARE YOU WITH ME JEWISH CITIZENS

ARE YOU WITH ME MUSLIM CITIZENS

ARE YOU WITH ME CHINESE CITIZENS

ARE YOU WITH ME JAPANESE CITIZENS

ARE YOU WITH ME BUDDHIST CITIZENS

ARE YOU WITH ME CHRISTIAN CITIZENS

ARE YOU WITH ME ATHEIST CITIZENS

THEY SAY YOU CANT, I SAY YOU CAN, LETS PROVE THEM WRONG!