What I'm NOT saying about what I don't like about all of the religion in the inauguration [View all]

[Silent3]

Last edited Tue Jan 22, 2013, 11:50 PM - Edit history (1)

Rather than start by saying what I don't like, it looks like I need to work backwards from what I'm NOT saying, and from some basic facts that have NOT eluded me.

I'm quite happy that Obama is now the president. Oh, I have my differences of opinion with him on some issues, but by and large, especially with alternatives like Romney, I'm very happy Obama won reelection.

Oddly enough, I'm not shocked that people pray in churches. Why this needs to be said, I'm not sure, but I apparently have to make sure everyone understands that I'M NOT SHOCKED.

I'm fully aware that my TV can be turned off, or turned to another channel. I've taken that startling factor into account. Ain't modern technology wonderful?

I'm fully aware that anyone can attend or not attend the inaugural.

I'm fully aware that a lot of religious trappings can be mixed into the presidential inauguration without invoking any technical violations of the law or the Constitution. I have in fact noticed that no one forced me to pray or attend a church.

I'm fully aware that a lot of things are traditions. I would hope most of you don't think "it's tradition" excuses everything, however.

My beef isn't with any one particular religious aspect of the inauguration, even if one particular aspect might become the point where "enough's enough!" springs most strongly into my mind.

Starting this thread, or any other today, isn't taking a huge amount of effort or focus away from anything important that I would or could be doing, any more than chatting about sports online or posting pictures of cats would, things I could do without any of you snapping back, "Why don't you focus on more important issues!?"

I'm not steaming, fuming, claiming my butt hurts, or anything of the sort. I watched the inauguration, or at least parts of it. I was mostly pleased, and never turned it off in a huff. If anything, I'm more frustrated by the DU reception of my complaint, and other people's complaints, about there being so much religion mixed into the inauguration. That DU reaction has me closer to tearing my hair out than anything else.

Without saying anything more, I'll challenge the reader to see if they can even remotely guess what some non-believers dislike about the inaugural being so religious, with the challenge put before them to see if they can really imagine another's point of view on this issue, and come up with something other than a straw man or exaggeration of that position to spit back in anger or derision.