My greatest hope for an Obama victory is that FINALLY, once and for all, we can begin to put to rest the religious right's hyperbolic influence on American politics.
...but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.
Article VI, US Constitution
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof...
First Amendment to the US Constitution, commonly known as "The Bill of Rights"
Passionate rant below the jump...
There is a world of difference between debating real, viable political issues, and debating so-called "issues" that have a direct and personal impact on my life. I am so sick and tired of treating my personal choice of whether or not to carry a pregnancy to term as an issue that supposedly has two sides, like debating tax cuts or something. It does NOT have two "sides", because both "sides" ONLY affect ME. Pro-choice legislation affects me and keeps my decisions about my own destiny in my power. Anti-choice legislation forces me to have an unwanted child, impacting my life in a very negative way. Either way - it is only MY life that is impacted. Yet Dobson and his holier-than-thou evil minions rely on self-interpreted biblical "morality" to impart to millions that somehow their wisdom about my uterus is more valid than my own.
The fight over marriage equality hurts me just as deeply. I actually officiated a wedding between two of my dearest friends this summer; if anyone deserves to be married these two do. I have other friends who are not ready yet, but would like to dream that someday they will find the right person to settle down with. HOW DARE THEY - these self-righteous homophobic arrogant sons of bitches - HOW DARE THEY try to justify dashing a fellow American's dreams of happiness?
HOW DID WE GET HERE?? We are so close, a hair's breadth away from letting biblical interpretation trump constitutional rights to privacy and the pursuit of happiness. It scares the living shit out of me; I can debate health care, foreign policy, economic policy, education, etc etc all day long. There are true, valid differences of opinion as to what policies work the best for our country.
But where are the valid differences of opinion when it comes to policy that eliminates the rights of others, while providing no real benefit what so ever for their proponents? I want to see an END to the vitriolic, very public hatred for Muslims - calling someone an Arab or a Muslim in America is a slur?? I want to see an end to ten commandment monuments, an end to the ridiculous equivocating imparting a phony trumped up legitimacy to "intelligent" (HA!) design as science. These arguments were settled 300 years ago goddammit!!!
I want our country to become, once again, a world leader in justice, scientific research, and economic bounty. And above all else, I want the freedom to live according to my own sense of morality, the freedom to determine my own destiny.
I expand upon Kos' call to crush the spirits of the GOP to include the holier than thou spirits of the right-wing theocratic American Taliban.
UPDATE: I am really surprised at some of the comments below interpreting my wish to return to religion-free politics as some kind of hit on religion, specifically Christians. I guess the word "atheist" really sets people off -even some Kossacks. Alright, let me make something perfectly clear: I am NOT denigrating ANYONE'S religion. I ABSOLUTELY respect every individuals right to worship whatever, however, they want to. What pisses me off is that someone else's religion could very possibly have such a dramatic impact on my life and the lives of people that I love.