It's on the money, it's in government buildings -- it's all around.
To an atheist like myself, it's kind of a "wtf" type deal. I even remember a while ago when there was some news story about some atheist dude complaining that it was on the money and people in here were making fun of him. And I don't necessarily agree with him -- I mean after all it's not really that big of a deal -- but it is somewhat sketchy.
The USA is highly religious -- and people generally don't realize just how much unless they don't happen to practice a form of religion that the country is tolerant to. To someone like myself who generally has a somewhat negative attitude towards Christianity -- it's almost like I'm sandblasted with references every day. Now it's not really that big of a deal because I don't really care what people practice as long as it doesn't affect me. I don't even mind hearing references or quotes and whatnot. But sometimes it makes me step back a little bit because it can seem a little overwhelming.
It's really hard to put this in perpective for other people who don't already experience the same thing... but due to the cultural and religious fears that have been affecting the country the past decade, I think I found of a way.
What if... instead of "In God We Trust". If instead of "One nation under God" -- what if every time you heard or read "God" it was replaced with "Allah"? What if that was written on the walls of government buildings? What if the president suddenly started making speeches about how his actions are influenced by Allah and that we should all pray to Allah? What if that was on our money?
It wouldn't be any different to me -- I mean to me it's already like that. And you may not think it'd be a big deal to you -- but I'm sure that the vast majority of the nation would be in an uproar. People would demand the money be changed -- demand that all those references be removed from government buildings, and our president certainly wouldn't have a chance of being re-elected (assuming he could).
Just some random thing I felt like posting. Most of the country shares similar beliefs and socialize with people with the same beliefs, so they lack a certain perspective. And while you are free to practice whatever faith you choose -- you will still find your world influenced by the beliefs of the mainstream.
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To an atheist like myself, it's kind of a "wtf" type deal. I even remember a while ago when there was some news story about some atheist dude complaining that it was on the money and people in here were making fun of him. And I don't necessarily agree with him -- I mean after all it's not really that big of a deal -- but it is somewhat sketchy.
The USA is highly religious -- and people generally don't realize just how much unless they don't happen to practice a form of religion that the country is tolerant to. To someone like myself who generally has a somewhat negative attitude towards Christianity -- it's almost like I'm sandblasted with references every day. Now it's not really that big of a deal because I don't really care what people practice as long as it doesn't affect me. I don't even mind hearing references or quotes and whatnot. But sometimes it makes me step back a little bit because it can seem a little overwhelming.
It's really hard to put this in perpective for other people who don't already experience the same thing... but due to the cultural and religious fears that have been affecting the country the past decade, I think I found of a way.
What if... instead of "In God We Trust". If instead of "One nation under God" -- what if every time you heard or read "God" it was replaced with "Allah"? What if that was written on the walls of government buildings? What if the president suddenly started making speeches about how his actions are influenced by Allah and that we should all pray to Allah? What if that was on our money?
It wouldn't be any different to me -- I mean to me it's already like that. And you may not think it'd be a big deal to you -- but I'm sure that the vast majority of the nation would be in an uproar. People would demand the money be changed -- demand that all those references be removed from government buildings, and our president certainly wouldn't have a chance of being re-elected (assuming he could).
Just some random thing I felt like posting. Most of the country shares similar beliefs and socialize with people with the same beliefs, so they lack a certain perspective. And while you are free to practice whatever faith you choose -- you will still find your world influenced by the beliefs of the mainstream.
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