Apparently in his recent acceptance speech as city manager of Frezno the new manager thanked his god. This disturbed Brent Rasmussen, and he explains why. (via JasonBock)
I can’t say that I agree with the conclusion.
Certainly there’s no argument that thanking Shiva or Loki or Zeus or the Goddess would cause quite a stir, but that is still not an valid argument for curtailing this man’s freedom of speech.
On the contrary, we should be actively defending people’s right to thank their god, goddess, spirit or whatever else they choose. This is the proper course of action.
I should have the freedom, and do by Constitutional right, to proclaim my belief or disbelief in whatever deity(ies) I do or don’t believe in. This protection applies to me whether I am unemployed, self-employed, employed by a corporation, employed by the government or elected into office.
If my proclamation makes some people uncomfortable that is their problem, not mine. This is my country and I’ll exercise the rights that are my deity-given due thank you very much.
Anyone who moves against a person proclaiming their belief (or lack thereof) in good faith is simply un-American.
That applies to Christians as well as anyone else btw. Christians that want to express their beliefs are fine by me, as long as they support everyone else’s rights with equal passion. Failure to do so is unpatriotic, wrong-headed and ultimately short-sighted.
It also applies to non-Christians, including atheists. To protect your own rights you must protect the rights of everyone else.
Like it or not, we’re all in this America thing together.