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If taxes keep going the direction that they're going in here in California, and if Dearborn Michigan had some tax incentives I might just choose Michigan and wear electric underwear and socks all winter...
As a Godless sexual misfit, I fully support religious freedom - including that of Muslims. As a civil libertarian, I hold the freedom to worship and choose one's own religion (or no religion at all) without interference from the government sacrosanct.
However, the 1st Amendment is a two way street. It keeps government out of religion, but it also keeps religion out of government. I say two way street, but it's really the same concept. If you let religion into government, then the government ends up interfering with those of other or no religion. That's why I disagree with things like defining civil marriage contracts according to Christianity or applying elements of Muslim Sharia tradition to codes dictating how I behave, etc.
You support freedom for a religion which holds as an article of faith that you are worthy of death and that doesn't acknowledge man-made law?
The postmodernist mindset never ceases to amaze and amuse with its contradictions.
You support freedom for a religion which holds as an article of faith that you are worthy of death and that doesn't acknowledge man-made law?
The postmodernist mindset never ceases to amaze and amuse with its contradictions.
Yes - I support allowing people to hold and live by their own religious beliefs - even if I strong disagree with those beliefs and they believe I'm some sort of evil, immoral, destructive creature.
All I ask in return is the same courtesy. Unfortunately, a lot of people are fundamentally religious and want to force their religion upon everybody. In this country, it's mostly conservative Christians who do that (they make gay sex illegal, they make it illegal to sell liquor on Sundays, they base civil marriage contracts on Christian theology, etc, etc, etc).
Certainly there are fundamentalist Muslims who want to do the same. I imagine there are fundamentalists Jews and Buddhists and Hindus etc etc etc who would want to do it too. I truly believe that fundamentalist religion is the greatest threat to freedom and American values.
That said, there are many, many, many devoutly religious people who don't hold to this kind of fundamentalism and theocratic way of thinking. They have a live-and-let-live, freedom loving attitude. That includes many Muslims. I'm typing this response from my childhood home (my parents are in Alaska and I'm dog sitting). Just down the street is the largest Mosque in the state of Colorado. I went to elementary, middle, and high school with 100s of Muslims who attended/attend that Mosque.
I'm still friends with some of them today (I graduated high school in 2000). They don't care that I'm an atheist. They're all varying degrees of devout (like adherents of any religion), but none of them want to impost Sharia or other Muslim traditions on me or anybody else. They don't care that I'm gay. All of my Muslim friends actually support gay rights - even the ones that consider my homosexuality sinful. They understand and believe in the freedom, including separation of Church and State, America stands for.
I chose San Francisco. I have already co-existed with the multi-times-a-day call to prayer when I lived in downtown Adana, Turkey, for a year. I don't want to do it again.
I'm a Libertarian guy who shies from the label conservative, because of the other people who use that term. But I would move to San Franciso in a heart beat. They have some outlandish policies I disagree with no doubt. But I am able to get with and function with people with different views than myself. I tend to hangout with people with different views than me more often than not. I may not want to live there permantly, but would definately love to do so for a few years. But the cost of living is just way too high for s-chmuck like me to make the move.
Yes - I support allowing people to hold and live by their own religious beliefs - even if I strong disagree with those beliefs and they believe I'm some sort of evil, immoral, destructive creature.
All I ask in return is the same courtesy. Unfortunately, a lot of people are fundamentally religious and want to force their religion upon everybody. In this country, it's mostly conservative Christians who do that (they make gay sex illegal, they make it illegal to sell liquor on Sundays, they base civil marriage contracts on Christian theology, etc, etc, etc).
Certainly there are fundamentalist Muslims who want to do the same. I imagine there are fundamentalists Jews and Buddhists and Hindus etc etc etc who would want to do it too. I truly believe that fundamentalist religion is the greatest threat to freedom and American values.
That said, there are many, many, many devoutly religious people who don't hold to this kind of fundamentalism and theocratic way of thinking. They have a live-and-let-live, freedom loving attitude. That includes many Muslims. I'm typing this response from my childhood home (my parents are in Alaska and I'm dog sitting). Just down the street is the largest Mosque in the state of Colorado. I went to elementary, middle, and high school with 100s of Muslims who attended/attend that Mosque.
I'm still friends with some of them today (I graduated high school in 2000). They don't care that I'm an atheist. They're all varying degrees of devout (like adherents of any religion), but none of them want to impost Sharia or other Muslim traditions on me or anybody else. They don't care that I'm gay. All of my Muslim friends actually support gay rights - even the ones that consider my homosexuality sinful. They understand and believe in the freedom, including separation of Church and State, America stands for.
There is a significant difference between western religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and eastern "religions" (Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism). First and foremost, eastern "religions" are not really religions in the same sense as those are in the west. They are a philosophy of how to live one's life, with no divine entities being involved. No faith is required with the eastern philosophies, either you agree with their precepts or you do not. Which also explains why you never hear about "religious" wars involving eastern "religions." The most fundamentalist Buddhist or Taoist is introverted, and the least likely to harm anyone in any way. Whereas, at least with Christianity and Islam, the more fundamentalist of them feel compelled to force their beliefs on others.
YET! Once they make up a certain percentage of the population then they'll begin trying to enforce their sharia laws on non-Muslims.
And is that worse than gays recruiting children into their lifestyle and forcing everybody everybody else to be gay too?
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