Separation of Church and State

I'm not a political type of girl, nor do I feel I'm an activist or take strong stands on many topics. I'm generally laid back and probably like most Americans, I could be described as complacent. However, the older I get, the more I find myself not only interested in what is going on in our nation, but compelled to take a stand on certain things. I don't support one politician over another, I have a hard time saying that one man is or has the answers to the nation's problems. That is why we have a congress, right? So those elected officials can collaborate and determine what is best practice for us as a community? That being said, I do feel it is of great importance who we choose to place in the White House.

I read an article the other day that my father shared on Facebook. It was about one of the presidential candidates for this upcoming 2012 elections and the apparent stand this person takes on separation of church and state. The article claims this man has declared that the catholic church should be involved in law making (or that the principles they hold should be at any rate). Now, I will gladly admit that I have not done more research to find out whether this article is factual or not in regards to the stand this candidate makes but it brings up the topic of separation of church and state, which spurred my interest.

I was raised Baptist and spent most of my childhood going to church every week and very involved in church activities. My whole life I've heard members of the church say that Christians are persecuted and that we should have prayer in school, etc. One thing that always struck me as off about those statements is one; Christians make up the majority of the American population, two; what about the other kids who aren't Christians? What if they don't believe in a god at all, or they pray in a different way? How would I feel if I were forced to pray like them, or not be allowed to pray at all? How would I feel if the school said, "We're going to pray to Allah and you don't have to, but that is what we will do and you will be an outcast if you don't follow suit"? Saying, "You don't have to," but it's against the norm only makes a child feel ostracized and uncomfortable.


I beg my fellow citizens, my fellow Christians, my fellow PEOPLE, to think about what you're saying when you demand that church be a part of the government.  THINK about the reason our nation was founded and HOW our nation was founded.  These men didn't want to be ruled by one man who would tell them how they must live their individual lives, they no longer wanted to be persecuted for worshiping (or not worshiping) in the manner they saw best for their own spiritual lives.  They saw the corruption caused by a government ruled by a king who was strongly influenced by a church.  

Ahh... it's election year...

"Anyone who knows me well knows that I don't usually involve myself in politics. I don't watch TV and I certainly couldn't tell you who our politicians are (in general) unless their names have been shoved down our throats.

And I love to listen. I'm intrigued by people's opinions, by their point of views. I don't even come close to thinking that I know everything (though I admit, sometimes I fake it like I do know everything :D ).

My point is this; if you are passionate about something, AWESOME! Let's hear what you have to say. But don't expect me to take you seriously unless you can back up what you're saying with FACTS.

To those who may have seen me posting contrary arguments to your posts; please know that I went searching for backup to your argument. I want my friends to be validated. However, I want the validation to be backed up by facts. If I find the your statement to be in error, and post the facts, it's not to be rude or insensitive to how you feel. It's because I believe there are too many people spouting out BS or unfounded opinions and I want your statements to be educated and fact-filled! To these same friends who I post opposing arguments; PLEASE throw it back if you can give me solid evidence to oppose what I've said."

This was a post I made on Facebook one afternoon.  I need to vent for a moment.  The catalyst to this statement came from a High School acquaintance's post on his page.  He is a new Christian who is still learning the ropes.  He's headstrong, passionate, and seems to be eager to learn everything he can about his new belief structure.  However, this is where my compliments will end for the time being.  This guy seems to do what most people, (at least US citizens) tend to do.  We read an article, or see something on TV, take it for truth and run with it.  We formulate an opinion without doing the legwork to discover the whole story.  Why?  Because it's easy.  Because we want to believe that the people giving us our news are impartial.  That these people are knowledgeable... that these people have done their homework.

The sad truth is, EVERYONE has an agenda.  Everyone has an opinion, a feeling that what they believe is the true and right way to live or believe.  We're all guilty of it.  I found that when I was replying to his post, I'd only viewed part of the video, did research and made a statement that I had to later edit because I finished watching the video he had referred to.

I guess the whole point of all of this is that I am urging you, my readers to be educated.  Ask questions and have independent thought.  Don't make a snap judgement or decision based on how something seems on the surface or how you reacted emotionally to it.  Take that passion and do some digging!   We Americans have become so complacent that we are being robbed of our dignity, our money, and our freedom every day by the people we "trust" to look out for our well being.

Ok, so you started doing things on the internet, but what do all these weird acronyms mean?

This post is for anyone who is new to communicating on the internet.  It's like a whole new language of communication and it can be overwhelming.  So, here are a few things to help you out.

To start, a couple little "guidelines" to consider:
1.  When writing a comment or a post in social medias such as Facebook, remember that you are using text. Tone of voice is not recognized by the people on the other end.  So, be sure to be clear and concise in what you're saying.  Proof read your post before hitting the "enter" key to submit it.  And remember, sarcasm doesn't always translate to text as it would if the person were listening to your voice.

2.  Caps MAKES IT LOOK LIKE YOU'RE SCREAMING/SHOUTING AT SOMEONE and can be offensive.  It's best to use caps at little as possible and ONLY if you're actually intended to shout at someone, or you are attempting to emphasize one particular word, as I have done.

3.  Just as in real life, face to face contact with people, do your best to use the manners your mother taught you.  We all respond better to honey rather than vinegar.

4.  Do your best to use punctuation.  By using commas and periods in the appropriate places, you will be less likely to mis-communicate a thought and you will show that you an intelligent person who's thoughts are worth investing time into reading.

If you remember these two small things, you will likely avoid a landslide of irritated replies, or find that people either stop talking to you or disconnect.

Now, you're probably saying, "What about all the jargon?  What do all those acronyms mean?"  Well, I will list the most common terms below for you and "translate" them to English.

LOL = Laughing out Loud (most people use this in place of typing, "hahaha" to show they find something funny)

LMAO = Laughing My Ass Off (see notes on LOL.  Also, this one may also be written as LMBO = Laughing My Butt Off, for those who prefer not to swear)

ROFLMAO = Rolling On the Floor Laughing My Ass Off  (is often shortened to ROFL for convenience)

OMG = Oh My God (used to express and exclamation as it is used in verbal communication)

OMFG =  Oh My F&*^%#$@ God (extreme use of OMG)

IMHO = In My Humble Opinion

WTF = What The F$%# (in proper grammar, should be completed with a question mark)

NP = No Problem

BRB = Be Right Back

HB = Hurry Back

WB = Welcome Back

TY = Thank You

YW = You're Welcome

K = OK

There are more, as you might imagine, but I believe these are the most common you will find in every day online social networks, texts, and IM chats.

I hope this crash course was helpful!  Please post comments or questions.  Did I miss anything important?