Respect for Non-Christian Viewpoints, and Constant Whining About Religion

[Kathy in Cambridge]

This is a repost of my lounge thread for the GD Denizens who don't venture over to the Lounge.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x2266553

I'm a Catholic by birth and by culture but I keep Christ out of politics. This is a political message board. Separation of Church and State. Freedom from religion should be as respected as freedom of religion. This Christian victimhood crap has got to stop.

Many DUers are Christians who believe that RELIGION IS A PERSONAL MATTER and don't want it shoved down their throats. They prefer to limit the discussion of religion to family and close friends, and on message boards for Christians and about religion. Not to mention that there are many NON-CHRISTIANS on DU who are here for POLITICAL DISCOURSE.

I am also BEYOND HORRIFIED to see many Christian DUers use the same rhetoric as the right-wing. Examples:

Stealing Baby Jesus from a manger scene is a hate crime like painting a swatstika on a synagogue.

No, Virginia. One is a prank that is committed by teenagers every holiday season, and the other represents the systematic murder of six million Jews.

Expressions of Christianity are being thwarted in the US by secular humanists.

You absolutely have to be RETAHDED to believe this. Try being a Jew during the Christmas season.

The Ukrainian genocide was committed because the Soviets were atheists, and the Ukrainians were Christians.

Little did the person who post this know that I wrote my thesis on this very subject. The main goal of the state-imposed famine or genocide in Ukraine 1932-33 was to break the spirit of the Ukrainian farmer/peasant and to force them into collectivization. The Ukraine at that time was the bread basket of Europe, and the Ukrainians had an individualistic farming tradition of private ownershp of land. IT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ANTI-CHRISTIAN HATRED!!!

You never hear of the public schools putting on Ramadan programs where the all children learn Ramadan prayers and recite them to their families in the auditorium.

You never hear of any town or city sponsoring a Passover Festival for the entire community with public funds. PUBLIC FUNDS SUPPORTING RELIGIOUS ACTIVITY ARE A VIOLATION OF CHURCH-STATE SEPARATION

Also, I can't think of any other religious event where we expect to be greeted by the merchants where we are shopping. The whole spirit of Christmas now is crass commercialism.

Now that I've aired my grievances, Happy Festivus, Merry Christmas, and for Christ's sake, please get those chips off your shoulders.