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Danhalen · 02-03-2005, 11:33 PM

I am an avid NPR listener. While driving home from work the other day, I heard a discussion concerning civil rights. The overall gist of the program was that while the movement of the 1960’s greatly improved a large segment of the population, there is still a lot more work to do. As the program continued, different people were asked what they felt the civil rights movement needed. One woman proposed that the movement needed to be brought back to a more ethnocentric movement, particularly, black Americans. I have a huge problem with this. Are we not all citizens?

I am an atheist American. Is it not my right, as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, to not have religion of any form endorsed by the government? Why must I send my child to school to learn the pledge of allegiance to a symbol of The United States only under the condition that our nation is under God? Why must I be reminded that my country trusts in God every time I put gas in my car? Why must I witness the president of my country swear his allegiance to my country on a bible? I do not accept that God is a generic word that has no specific theology in mind. Do Muslims pray to God? Do Jews pray to God? Do Hindus pray to God? I could keep going, but you get the point. We have freedom of religion, as long as you pray to the right god.

I am a working class American. Is it not my right to give my children the best opportunities in life through education? Why can’t my children get the best available education because I can’t afford it? Why is education a privilege of the rich? Should they not be given all the tools to allow them the pursuit of happiness? Don’t get me wrong, once they are 18, they are on their own, but until then they should receive the best available to allow them to compete when they are 18. Why can’t I receive the same medical attention as the CEO of my company? Simply because he can afford the best medical care does not mean that he should have more right to life than me.

I have gay American friends. Why are they not afforded the right to happiness? Why is it not their right to be officially recognized as being with the one that they love? Why is it that gay Americans must hide who they are if they wish to defend the country they love?

I have female American friends. Do they not have the right to the same pay for a hard days work as men?

My list goes on and on. I could probably write a book about how my constitutional rights are not granted. I don’t want preferential treatment. I want all of us to have the same rights. Lately it seems to me that our country was founded on the belief that all men were created equal if they are white, Christian, and wealthy. We are only as strong as our weakest link. If some of us are left behind, we all become lost. If we don’t stand up and take our rights back, we have no one to cry to when we have no rights left.

02-03-2005, 11:33 PM	#1 (permalink)
Danhalen Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Heart of the rust belt. Posts: 12 Internets: 10	I am an avid NPR listener. While driving home from work the other day, I heard a discussion concerning civil rights. The overall gist of the program was that while the movement of the 1960’s greatly improved a large segment of the population, there is still a lot more work to do. As the program continued, different people were asked what they felt the civil rights movement needed. One woman proposed that the movement needed to be brought back to a more ethnocentric movement, particularly, black Americans. I have a huge problem with this. Are we not all citizens? I am an atheist American. Is it not my right, as guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, to not have religion of any form endorsed by the government? Why must I send my child to school to learn the pledge of allegiance to a symbol of The United States only under the condition that our nation is under God? Why must I be reminded that my country trusts in God every time I put gas in my car? Why must I witness the president of my country swear his allegiance to my country on a bible? I do not accept that God is a generic word that has no specific theology in mind. Do Muslims pray to God? Do Jews pray to God? Do Hindus pray to God? I could keep going, but you get the point. We have freedom of religion, as long as you pray to the right god. I am a working class American. Is it not my right to give my children the best opportunities in life through education? Why can’t my children get the best available education because I can’t afford it? Why is education a privilege of the rich? Should they not be given all the tools to allow them the pursuit of happiness? Don’t get me wrong, once they are 18, they are on their own, but until then they should receive the best available to allow them to compete when they are 18. Why can’t I receive the same medical attention as the CEO of my company? Simply because he can afford the best medical care does not mean that he should have more right to life than me. I have gay American friends. Why are they not afforded the right to happiness? Why is it not their right to be officially recognized as being with the one that they love? Why is it that gay Americans must hide who they are if they wish to defend the country they love? I have female American friends. Do they not have the right to the same pay for a hard days work as men? My list goes on and on. I could probably write a book about how my constitutional rights are not granted. I don’t want preferential treatment. I want all of us to have the same rights. Lately it seems to me that our country was founded on the belief that all men were created equal if they are white, Christian, and wealthy. We are only as strong as our weakest link. If some of us are left behind, we all become lost. If we don’t stand up and take our rights back, we have no one to cry to when we have no rights left.