Proof that the system is flawed

Okay, first let me state a few things:

1) I fully support your right to worship whichever make-believe man in the sky suits your fancy.
2) If you don't believe there is a make-believe man in the sky, I fully support that as well.
3) If your make-believe man in the sky is actually a woman in a tree or an alien in outer space, I'm okay with that too.
4) Please do not tell me that my make-believe man in the sky is not real because I'm quite happy with my own delusions.
5) This really has very little to do with the various make-believe men/women/aliens in the sky/trees/outer space.

What this does have something to do with is the U.S. Government.

We are all aware of the fact that our politicians are lying to us. I'm okay with the politicians lying because they all do it and we know they do it. I've gotten to where it's kind of cute. Like the little kid who gets caught with his hand in the cookie jar and responds, "I was getting it for YOU!" Yeah, it's a lie, but those cute squishy cheeks and that innocent smile get me every time. I feel that way about politicians.

However, there is one major lie that just burns me to no end: the separation of church and state.

It doesn't EXIST!!

So we end up with legal battles over whether the 10 commandments can stand on display in the courthouse lawn, or whether we can sing Christmas songs in public schools or say the Pledge of Allegiance with the word "God" in it.

(My personal opinions: If you don't believe in the 10 commandments, don't read them; if you are against Christmas, don't participate; and if you don't like the word "God", don't say it.)

Unfortunately, in a country that insists on claiming that church and state need to remain separate entities, these are inevitable battles that will be fought in an effort to achieve that goal.

What baffles me then, is why there is so much "hoopla" over other political issues.

Example #1 - Gay marriage

I personally have no problem with homosexuals who wish to marry. At this point in my life I can honestly say that I see no reason why anyone would want to get married, but it seems to be the trendy thing to do. Why shouldn't we allow homosexuals to be as miserable as the rest of us?

So here is where I get confused. The biggest argument against gay marriage comes from the religious sects. Okay, so we have separation of church and state. Problem easily solved. If you have to use the words "God", "religion", "Bible", or "sin" to defend your argument in the Supreme Court... YOU LOSE!! Hello gay marriage! (or union or partnership or whatever else you'd like to call it to keep from offending your fragile religious sensibilities)

Please, as far as I see it, "straight" marriages aren't fairing out to well, so maybe we should let someone else have a go. Maybe they know something we don't!

Example #2 - Evolution vs. Creationism in Public Schools

Regardless of whether you believe in evolution or not, it is a major issue in the scientific community. So the way I see it is pretty simple. There are a few solutions to this problem:

1) Do away with evolution. In which case, there is no Charles Darwin, no dinosaurs, no Galapagos Islands, no Big Bang, no species evolution, and no hope for human advancement in many genetic and otherwise useful studies.

2) Do away with creationism. This is not likely to happen, but perhaps we could come to some understanding that the two could possibly co-exist. I don’t know, maybe the make-believe man in the sky has a greater plan that humans could ever imagine and he didn't tell us everything WORD FOR WORD! Maybe when he said that the world was created in seven days he meant it figuratively. Perhaps, he has a different perspective on what a day is. And maybe, just maybe, he left some gaps and holes in his story just to see if we were smart enough to fill them in or whether we'd just follow around like a bunch of blind rats.

3) Teach them both. This is by far the most complicated and least desirable solution for everyone involved. Honestly, lets think about this. I want my daughter to learn about evolution and you want your daughter to learn about creationism, and the parent's down the street are Native American and they want their kid to learn about the Spirit of Nature, and John Travolta wants his kid to learn about aliens, and the Satanistic couple three blocks down wants there kid to learn something totally different that none of us can even imagine. This simply opens the door for a crazy and ludicrous snowball effect that will have all of our kids so messed up that they’d be walking around with tin foil hats and straws hanging out their ears.

4) Do away with the State standards, which require our children to complete three years of high school Science before graduation and instead make all Science courses electives. This happens to be my favorite because regardless, I would require my child to take science courses anyway. Thus she would have the opportunity to go on and make BIG BUCKS in fields of study that your child doesn't even know exist.

5) Leave Science in the classroom and Religion at HOME! This just seems like the most logical choice to me. Honestly, parents are supposed to be the best teachers anyway! If my child comes home and tells me that the Science teacher taught her that we may have come from monkeys, I won't have a problem with it. If you have a problem with it, there is a simple solution. Sit your child down and explain to him/her that some people do believe that humans come from monkeys, but that feel they are wrong. This is not something that you can "shelter" your child from (unless of course you intent on following them around for the rest of their lives and curse profanities at anyone who might breach the subject to your 40-year-old son).

Of course if we return to the topic of this debate, which is the separation of church and state, then there is nothing to argue about now is there. Public Schools are run by the STATE! Referring back to my four "catch words" previously mentioned, if you have to use "God", "religion", "Bible", or "sin" to defend your case, it has no business in a school. Problem solved! Evolution can be taught without the teacher bringing up any of these words therefore evolution is IN and creationism (and all other religious "Where we came from" stories) are OUT!

Example #3 - Sex Ed

This is my HOT TOPIC (I like that store) of the day. Sitting down with a female student to help her with her Health homework a few weeks ago, I discovered a very shocking thing. This 14-year-old girl was completely oblivious to what HIV, AIDS and other STDs were! I was in total shock! Yes, you might argue that she should have paid better attention in her health class, but at the same time it was very disturbing to me that no one had bothered to have "The Talk" with this teenage girl (who just happens to be dating an older boy in school). I provided the bare minimum needed to complete the assignment (let me note that I am not the Health teacher and this is not my forte, therefore not the subject I wanted to discuss in too much detail for fear of over-stepping my bounds). Afterwards, a phone call was made to the family explaining that they might want to discuss the matter in more detail with the girl at home. The whole point of this story boils down to the fact that it should not be the job of the school to have the "birds and bees" discussion. However, since it seems that some parents are not having these talks at home, the weight of it does fall into the school's lap. As a matter of public health and safety, I think it is very important that teenagers are educated in these matters.

So where is the controversy? Whether or not condoms should be available to children in high school restrooms! And here I must voice my opinions loud and clear. MOST DEFINATELY!!! As a matter of fact, I think that condoms should be placed on every street corner in a "Free to take" bucket. I think that condoms should be taped to ever bottle of beer sold. I think that condoms should come with every McDonald's extra value meal! Get your oil changed? Here's your free condom! Buy a pair of shoes? Bonus, free condom! I think that police officers should check your driver's license, registration, and whether or not you are carrying a condom whenever they pull you over. Anytime you enter a bar, they should check your ID and your condom! Get the picture?

Do I think that giving away condoms will make more people have sex? NO! I think people who want to have sex have sex and people who don't, well they DON'T! The only reason that condoms are a big deal is because we as the public make them a big deal. If there were condoms everywhere you looked, you wouldn't think anything about them. The only concern I have about mass supplying free condoms is the fact that blown up condoms would be found in random (and probably hilarious) places for some time after the initial integration.

Let me point out that I hope and I pray that my daughter waits until she reaches a mature age before she even thinks about having sex. However, do not for a minute think that I’m delusional enough to believe that teenagers aren't having sex and won't continue to do so. If my daughter is going to someday have sex (providing we don't lock her in a bomb shelter and convince her that there is no such thing as boys and Daddy is the last one) I want to know that no matter where she is, she is protected. I guarantee you that the instant I believe she might be interested in such matters there will be a discussion about using protection and birth control. And I fully intend to make certain that both are available to her without having to jump through hoops to get them.

So my last thought for the evening (at least on this matter) is simple. If you take religion out of the debate, there is no reason why you couldn't put condoms EVERYWHERE!