Two weeks ago, I observed that our friend Bill O’Reilly was illogically insisting that “Christianity is not a religion,” because he fervently wants the U.S. government to continue sponsoring and supporting it, but knows that such sponsorship violates the First Amendment Establishment Clause, so he decided to simply change the definition of Christianity from a religion to a philosophy.
Alas, that didn’t work – this week he admits my point that the dictionary (every dictionary) defines Christianity as a religion; not as a philosophy – he knows that government shouldn’t promote it -- so now he’s going off on an illogical tangent against those he perceives as his, and the nation’s, arch enemies: secularists.
That’s right; people like me who know for an irrefutable fact that our nation’s founders expressly created a secular republic are the arch enemies of not just Bill O’Reilly, but the United States of America.
The founders weren’t against religion – far from it; many of them were religious men – they just wanted to keep religion separate from government because they knew from experience that religion and politics don’t mix. That’s why they conceived the Free Exercise Clause, so that individuals may freely exercise their religion, and the Establishment Clause so that the government would remain neutral.
The U.S.A was designed on purpose, by both religious and non-religious men, to be secular.
Bill O’Reilly just doesn’t understand that. He thinks that ‘secular’ is a dirty word.
That is what especially offends me about Bill O’Reilly. He personifies the current problem with the conservative movement in this country and the reason why Mitt Romney and the Republican Party lost so miserably in the last two presidential elections.
They are still insisting that God and Government are practically one and the same.
His big mistake is equating secularists with leftists. That’s illogical. They are not the same. They are not mutually exclusive. There are plenty of conservative secularists in America who recognize the benefits of separation between church and state. There are plenty of secularists who abhor the leftist socialist line. They just believe that religion doesn’t mix with politics.
There are still plenty of religious Americans who are secularists.
Leftism and socialism are much of what is wrong with America. O’Reilly is right about that, but he must come to understand that a secularist is not necessarily a socialist. I, myself am the living proof of that.
“As we have been reporting, some committed left-wing Americans have been emboldened by the re-election of President Obama,” reports Bill.
“Secular forces [are] on the march.” “I saw it firsthand this week when I was down in Washington. There is arrogance and condescension in many left-wing precincts… The more intelligent Secular Progressives will understand that now is their time in history. The agenda is clear. Above all the secular forces want to change the economy. They want the government to run it and provide cradle to grave entitlements for those Americans who cannot or will not provide for themselves.”
“But believe me,” he whines, “Anyone in this country who challenges the Secular Progressive agenda is going to get hammered. These people are on a mission. They want a completely different America -- A country that embraces social justice, libertine behavior and is secular in every way -- and that brings us to the Christmas controversy which is symbolic, symbolic of the entire culture war.”
O’Reilly and his ilk are proud to call themselves “culture warriors.” It’s war. The drug war; the war on terror; the culture war; the war on Christmas; they’re constantly at war with the American public.
They want to dictate your culture.
“Here is the big picture,” says Mr. Bill. “The Secular Progressive agenda is opposed by many people of faith. Abortion, gay marriage, legalized drugs, all of those things are opposed by many religious Americans. That is why some far-left folks want to diminish Judeo-Christian tradition and rename the Christmas tree the holiday tree -- The less Christmas, the better… These secular people are now more powerful than ever. Their guy has been re-elected and opposing forces are scattered. And that is what is going on in America on December 13th, 2012.”
No, Bill, the secular minded folks, including myself, many conservatives, Republicans, and even religious people of faith, are not the same as those leftist socialists with their progressive agenda.
Once again you are mistaken, completely illogical and comically hysterical. It’s not a “Secular Progressive agenda,” it’s a leftist socialist agenda.
Why can’t you understand that?
And there are plenty of conservatives, Republicans, and even religious people of faith, who are not culture warriors, who oppose the drug war, the war on terror, and the war against gay people. They believe that drugs should be legal, that gays should be allowed to marry, and that private citizens should be allowed to choose their own culture.
They are also secularists who believe that the government has no business being involved with religion. That’s right, Bill, they’re religious secularists just like many of our founding fathers.
They are no threat to you or to anyone. They’re just patriotic Americans.
So wise up, Mr. Bill – there’s no need for illogical secular hysteria.
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