That sound you hear is the sound of my head hitting the wall over and over again. Have you gotten this on Facebook yet?  It is a song that is supposedly being suppressed by the radio stations because it talks about God.

You place your hand on His Bible, when you swear to tell the Truth
His name is on our greatest Monuments, and all our money too, And when we Pledge allegiance, there’s no doubt where we stand,
There is no separation, we’re one Nation under Him.

Chorus:
In God We Still Trust Here in America
He’s the one we turn to every time
The goin’ gets rough
He is the source of all our Strength
The One who watches over us
Here in America In God We Still Trust

Now there are those among us who want to push Him out,
And erase His name from everything, this country’s all about, From the Schoolhouse to the Courthouse, they’re Silencing His Word,
Now it’s time for all Believers, to make our Voices heard.

Let’s analyze, shall we?

You pledge on the Bible even though it says that swearing oaths is bad.

“One Nation Under God” is a 1950s addition to the pledge of allegiance. I have a real problem with the pledge anyway. Why should everyone be forced to stand and blindly say, well, does anyone even know what they are signing up for in that pledge?  Does anyone even notice the words when they say it? Cutting that rant short for now. 

Then they say that there is no separation. Wow, throw away the bill of rights.  Bet they’d get huffy if we threw out the right to bear arms.

In the chorus we find that we turn to God when the going gets rough  Isn’t that when most people start saying things are the will of this same God?

Then the second verse outlines the problem of people trying to shut up God. If he was so immensely powerful how could these people shut him up? I’m sure God could fight his own battles. Besides I thought we were all united and non-separated in verse one. Where did this opposition suddenly come from?

Yes, I’m an educated, lefty, pseudo-intellectual who finds it laughably easy to make fun of “the working man.”  (Notice how that phrase is always used to imply that anyone not struggling to exist on their salary must not be working?  Going to many years of college to better yourself instead of working minimum wage jobs means that you will never understand “real folk.” Reverse snobbery at its best.)  I’m exactly the kind of person verse two warned you was out there.

1. I believe this is a country founded on the principles of freedom of beliefs. I don’t want to be told that if I disagree with you religiously that must make me some kind of traitor. There are more viewpoints in the world than just yours. Let’s work on sharing the world, ‘k?

2.  In the spirit of religious pluralism, including atheism, let me say that I don’t want to hear your prayers before sporting events or public dinners or anywhere else. You can pray if you want but keep it to yourself. You know that fundamentalist Christians would be the first ones screaming if they were forced to ever hear a Hindu prayer in public. Guess what? I feel the same way about your prayers.

And while we are on the subject of religious freedom, it occured to me today that it is almost time for that great American tradition – the “Taking Christ out of Christmas” feeding frenzy.  It depressed me when I realized that. Let me explain slowly.

1.  I’m not a Christian. I will not be worshipping Christ this December. Christmas is mainly a secular holiday in the U.S.  Don’t argue. Your own rhetoric says that people aren’t honoring God enough around the holiday.  But, that doesn’t stop you from worshipping as you wish. Do your own thing and quit worrying about everyone else. (Likewise, same-sex marriage won’t destroy your marriage. I’m just sayin’.)

2.  Saying “Happy Holidays” to someone is not the secret sign of the devil. Here’s what I think when someone says that to me at a store. “Well isn’t that nice. This person acknowledges that there are many religious holidays in December. She is unable to know which, if any, I am celebrating but wants me to enjoy myself in the manner of my choosing.”  Unfortunately now, after all the ranting about how Americans need to say Merry Christmas or baby Jesus will cry, when someone says Merry Christmas to me at a store I automatically think, “Self-righteous prick trying to impose their will on me. Fight the power!”

This all reminded me that I lost my favorite pin in the move. I can’t go through another December without a new “The Solstice is the Reason for the Season” pin. The small possibility of making someone think is the one thing that lets me face the crowds at the mall.   Â