US Supreme Court
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The majority of our founding fathers despised religion. The principal reason for moving to a new country was in protest to the Church of England.
The religious right, the NRA and lobbyists representing the banking industry and big business own the Republican Party. There is no question and no argument regarding that fact. The Supreme Court, according to its creation, was established to ensure a balance among the three entities in our federal government, and was intentionally non-political. That has become a fallacy which has been destructive for the last 14 years.
I am an agnostic. For you who are uninformed, that simply means I'm not sure there is a God or a heaven or hell. The one thing I'm sure of is that I do not believe in religion. I do not need another man or woman telling me how to live my life. Religions are destructive to free thinking and an honest analysis of previously established doctrine.
Today, 5/05/2014, five out of nine judges decided that it was lawful to allow Christian prayer at public gatherings, and denied the equality of other religious and anti-religious groups the same right.
The Supreme Court is dominated by conservatives who are bought and paid for by lobbyists whose desire is to make the United States of America a Christian nation. Those who claim that America was founded on Christian ideals know nothing about our history. The facts prove that our creation was opposed to the claims of the ignorant.
Among our founding fathers Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin opposed religion's involvement in the formation of our new and liberated country. Every individual was intentionally protected to offer their devotion to a religious deity they believed to be the almighty. There was never an intention to create the United States to be a form or profession of any individual religion or idealistic state.
Facts show that Christianity has been the most violent and destructive force in the world. Bigots in our country would deny this fact and suggest that those of the Islamic faith have surpassed the despotic acts of those who worshipped the Crusades and the Inquisition. Once again, check your facts.
America has praised itself as the 'greatest nation in the world,' and the ideal for freedom and equality on the planet. All of that has become a blatant lie. Our nation's government has failed to protect the ideals of the men who crated what was once a great country, founded on ideals of equality and freedom for all men; not exclusive to the wealthy.
Other recent Supreme Court decisions have failed to follow the intent of the Constitution.
Upholding 'Citizens United' allows the wealthy to quite literally buy elections. The right to vote is no longer a cherished possession of individuals; your vote will not count.
The Court believes that racial prejudice no longer exists, or it is as bigoted as the rest of the Republican Party. Denying the need for affirmative action is another issue that moves our country backwards; a growing trend in America.
Perhaps a good idea would be to pass an amendment renouncing lifetime appointments for justices. We don't actually impeach or remove our inept government officials often enough, but the right does exist. The same laws and term limits should apply to Justices on the bench of our nation's highest court. (Just think how much better our nation would be without Antonin Scalia making prejudicial decisions.)
James Turnage
Op-ed
