What's Wrong With this Picture?

Hi My blogger buddies. Yesterday I recieved a new chain e-mail entitled "What's Wrong With This Picture". Below is the main body of the message.

"If you look closely at the picture above, you will note that all the Marines pictured are bowing their heads. That's because they're praying.

This incident took place at a recent ceremony honoring the Birthday of the Corps, and it has the ACLU up in arms. "These are federal employees," says Lucius Traveler, a spokesman for the ACLU, "on federal property and on federal time. For them to pray is clearly an establishment of religion, and we must nip this in the bud immediately."

When asked about the ACLU's charges, Colonel Jack Fessender, speaking for the Commandant of the Marine Corps said (cleaned up a bit), "Screw the ACLU." GOD Bless Our Warriors, Send the ACLU to France.

Please send this to people you know so everyone will know how stupid the ACLU is Getting in trying to remove GOD from everything and every place in America. May God Bless America, One Nation Under GOD!

What's wrong with the picture? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING

GOD BLESS YOU FOR
PASSING IT ON!"

Now, I don' want to upset too many people here (I know most of you are conservative) but I think this warrants some discussion. I think that a lot of the people who know me well, would expect me to be upset with this e-mail. I am not a religious man, although I am a spiritual one. By that, I mean that I do believe in something bigger than myself, but not in any one particular religion. I believe that the bible was most likely a work of fiction, and that most religions are kind of hokey. I think Tom Wolfe said it best, "A cult is just a religion with no political power." So, the question is whose side am I on? I am a firm believer in the seperation of church and state, but I also have no problem with people displaying their religion. When that whole mess with the 10 commandments happened in Alabama (I think it as Alabama) I really didn't care. As long as people are not forcing their beliefs onto others, I don't think that a sculpture of 2 stone tables is a problem. This brings me back to the question at had. Were these marines forced to pray? If so, then I am in 100% agreement with the ACLU. No one should ever be forced to participate in a religious ritual in which they do not believe. But if this was a tradition that was observed voluntarily by the troops, and anyone uncomfortable with it was not forced or intimidated to take part, then I say go ahead.

This country was founded by Pilgrims who were seeking religious freedom. And the Constitution of the United States, the document that made this country what it is today, states that every man has the freedom to choose his/her own religion. So if someone is forced, by a government institution, to take part in a religion that they don't believe it, it's just flat-out unconstitutional and unamerican! But at the same time, every man has the right to observe their own religion no matter who he works for. So as long as no one is doing something they don't want to, it's fine with me.

There's my two cents bloggerinoes.
Post away!