"We Can All Worship"

Throughout our lives, we have different people telling us what we can and cannot do. Our first supervisors are our parents, who from our first day of life until "we leave the nest" exert authority over our lives. We have teachers in grade school, high school and college who hold authority over us in the classroom; they assign our daily work-load in each subject and expect it to be completed in order to be successful in their classes. When we get into the "real world" we enter the employment market, and that is where the real submission to authority weighs heavy on some of us. Some of us have been under bosses who abuse their authority, some of us have been fortunate and been supervised by men and women who were supportive and knowledgeable, and used their position wisely. Each of the "supervisors" in our lives have a limit to their authority; boundaries which they are not allowed to cross. In many instances, we are protected by "company policies" and government regulations. Our most basic protection comes from our own Constitution in its first ten amendments; the Bill of Rights. We should be very proactive when it comes to our Constitutional rights; we need to know what can and cannot be done to us, by individuals, companies and our own government. Knowledge is power! Our freedom to worship is a cornerstone of our freedoms, and we should be jealous in our protection of that freedom. Nobody has the right to interfere with your religious freedom (as long as you harm no one else).

Rick Perry is the most popular "unannounced candidate" on the Republican scene right now. Governor Perry participated in a prayer event on August 6th. Prior to this event, Governor Perry had a lawsuit filed against his appearance by the Freedom From Religion Foundation; they believed that the Governor's appearance was a government endorsement of religion. This foundation did not want Governor Perry to participate in any active part in this prayer event.

Governor Perry was an American citizen before he was Governor of Texas. Because Rick Perry was elected to the governorship doesn't mean he must surrender his constitutional rights. As a Christian, I believe Governor Perry is doing what the bible directs him to do; pray and spread the gospel of Jesus. This expression of faith is a basic right and our government isn't allowed to infringe upon it. I'm sure Mr. Perry was introduced as Governor; I don't believe anyone was converted because the governor prayed. In fact, I'm sure that was a pretty partisan crowd to begin with; not too many atheists.

The really bad part about all of this is that it had to be addressed in a court ruling. Why must any American be put in a position where they must ask permission of the court to express their faith? Neither I, nor any Christian I know, wish to force our beliefs on anyone. Real Christians don't ever say "CONVERT OR DIE"; unlike some other belief systems. If I were an atheist, I would be more concerned with those other folks, and a little less concerned with Evangelical Christians.