Originally Posted by
RogAir
If we were to be arguing this in 1830, you would be arguing, "We've allowed slavery and prevented women from voting since this country was founded" and I guess you'd want me to cede right then and there.
Way to generalize (wrongly I might add). Google "William Wilberforce" (1759-1833) and you will find someone who understood the idea of absolute right/wrong and hated slavery because it is inherently wrong. Google "Northern abolition" and you will find out that half the US got this and between 1810-1840 practically all African Americans in the North were freed. The Declaration of Independence states "all men are created equal" and contains references to "God" and "Creator"--is this document unconstitutional? Your generalization would be more accurate if you turned it around and said "the minority of the population wants to own slaves, why don't the majority of us just mind our own business and not say anything about it. We wouldn't want to infringe on their supposed rights." Guess what, the right to own slaves doesn't exist, just like your supposed right to be free from hearing/seeing religious expression.
Originally Posted by
RogAir
I will google as directed, and find a story where the constitution was enforced. I want you to google "Christmas carols banned at church" "Christmas carols banned in man's backyard," "Christmas carols banned at catholic school", "Christmas carols banned at restaurant" (you might find this one, but before claiming victory, do you aver that your religious freedoms trump the restauranteurs property rights? If so, I'll take it up on debate). My point is you can carol in about 99% of 'Merica, but you want to ***** about the 1% that you can't. I like a good "Silent Night" carol just as much as the next guy, I just like my Constitution a little more...
I couldn't find an instance where caroling was banned in a restaurant--not that it matters. You really don't grasp what the Constitution is saying--what about Congress singing "God Bless America" on the steps of the Capitol (multiple times)? Is that unconstitutional? You can sing Christmas carols or songs that reference God anywhere you want, the government just can't establish a RELIGION. Think about it this way: some people don't like to hear others curse, but you don't see them trying to make cursing outside of your own home/"backyard" illegal. If that doesn't make sense, think about the freedoms of religion and speech. People don't check who they are at the doors of a "government" building because it is a "religion-free" zone. That's absurd. Our freedoms guarantee our right to say what we want to (even if it offends someone else), when we want to. How can you not understand that?