Religious Freedom? Not Any More.
The First Amendment states that we have the freedom of religion. But do we, really? Today, people are being arrested, taken to court and derided because of their beliefs. We're told we have religious liberty... but there's a difference between what we're told we have, and what we actually have.
Dear Future President:
Like rabbits, distresses in America have only been multiplying; denial to religious freedom being one of the products. A recent poll done discovered that 60 percent—53 percent in 2013—of people in America feel that rights to religious freedom have been declining in the United States.
One group largely discriminated against is Christians. One professor at Florida Atlantic University ordered a student of his, Ryan Rotela, to stomp on a piece of paper with Jesus’ name on it. Meanwhile, the owners of a bakery in Colorado could face a year in prison because of denying the request to make a cake for a gay wedding, simply because it conflicted with their beliefs. “In other words, liberals aren’t just trying to make gay marriage legal; they're trying to make opposition to gay marriage illegal” says John Hawkins on Town Hall. Even a simple act of saying “go find another bakery” has become complicated today.
In Houston, Texas, subpoenas were issued by the government, commanding that the pastors of churches to hand over sermons dealing with homosexuaity, gender identity, or Houston’s first openly gay mayor. “The subpoenas are just the latest twist in an ongoing saga over the Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance. The law, among other things, would allow men to use the ladies room and vice versa. The city council approved the law in June” (Todd Starnes on Fox News in October of 2014). Not only is this clashing with the First Amendment, but causing a full-on war against the morals of even non-religious people. Imagine a mother taking her child to the restroom and finding a grown man in there… Awkward. Back to the subpoenas, opponents of the new “non-discrimination” laws signed a petition that received 50,000 signatures—more than enough to put a referendum on the ballot (Todd Starnes on Fox News). But, the petition was thrown out in August due to “alleged irregularities.” What is inclusion worth if it costs another’s rights? A contemporary kind of inclusion is causing the construction of discrimination amidst common Christians.
This war is not just a war against Christians, but other religions as well, such as Muslims, whose children are even feeling the blows. “‘Everything from being called terrorist to jokes about Where is your bomb? Obviously, they are not really jokes,’ said Ibrahim Hooper, a spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations” (Michael Alison Chandler on the Washington Post in September, 2016). The California Chapter of CAIR did a survey in 2014 on American Muslim students and found that 55 percent reported some type of bullying at school because of their religious identity. Why should children be caught in the crossfires?
It is clear to see that the America we once knew has decided to ignore parts of the First Amendment; the rest will only topple without a base to stand on—like building blocks. If we leave this be, will all will wake up on the ground one day, America cracked and crumbled beneath us. America is fighting for everything, so stand, and fight with us.
Sincerely,
A Student Who’s Considering Moving to Canada