Although it's still early in the nomination process for the Republicans, the surge that former Senator Rick Santorum is getting is worrisome to me. Here are some of his stances that are quite disturbing: he is against gays serving opening in the military... against gay marriage... against gays adopting... against abortion in all circumstances. He made the following racist comments about welfare: "I don’t want to make black people’s lives better by giving them somebody else’s money. I want to give them the opportunity to go out and earn the money.” Then he lied and said he didn't say the word "black." Now, Rick, I believe lying is one of your Big 10 No-No's, isn't it? You naughty boy.
Oh, and by the way, he says what the country needs is a "Jesus candidate."
Here's where he and other candidates who beat the drum about religion run afoul of the Constitution, so since he doesn't seem to know it very well I will take it upon myself to give him a Social Studies lesson.
The Constitution mentions religion only twice - once to give freedom of it: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...", and the second time to assert that "no religious test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States." If, as many Christians believe, the United States is a "Christian nation" (and apparently that means they're just letting the rest of us live here out of the goodness of their little Christian hearts), then I'd like them to explain to me why the Constitution doesn't contain any of these words, not even once: Jesus, Christ, Christian, God, or Christianity. Here is a searchable version online; go to it if you don't believe me.
Hey, Rick, you know what? If you want to ignore all the scientific evidence to the contrary and believe that a supernatural being created the universe, be my guest. But if you want to live in a theocracy you'd better pack your Louis Vuittons and get the hell outta my country, because we don't live in one. Here is the definition of a theocracy: "a form of government in which God or a deity is recognized as the supreme civil ruler, the God's or deity's laws being interpreted by the ecclesiastical authorities." Compare that with the definition of a democracy: "government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system." I think it's pretty clear which one describes the political system devised by the writers and signers of the Constitution. If you don't like that, then it's time for you and the other religious conservatives who want to rule via the Bible to go find a new place to live.
