My LTTE about loon accusing Pres. Obama of not respecting religious tradition of our nation...

[daaron]

37. Most excellent!

A few comments for you, rfranklin:

Nice writing! The one thing I miss most about reading newspapers, as opposed to blog posts, is grammatically correct and proofed stories and letters. I just wince at intelligent people loosing bad writing on an already ignorant world.

Nice synopsis! These are definitely top talking points to remember when dealing with the theocrats in our midst. I read it all thrice just to burn it into my brainpan. Others are probably better suited to supply additional examples in line with your OP, so I'll limit myself to this next, last, kinda oddball comment:

As you say, the U.S.A. was not founded on Christian principles. It's also not conspiracy theory to state that it was founded, in large part (with huge contributions from English common law and the Iroquois, of course) on Freemasonic principles -- from the very idea of a Constitution as a foundation-stone (the earliest references to a "Constitution" in this particular sense can be traced to proto-Masonic orders in the 17th century), to the wall of separation of Church and State (discussing religion and politics is a no-no in the Lodge, and any adult male of any religion could join -- plus, most Lodges began desegregation in the 19th century, hitting a major speed-bump from the '20s to the '60s). Other examples exist, and there's some excellent books on the subject. Usually folks just point out that most of the Founders were Masons, but that's not the relevant part. What is relevant is that they drew heavily on Freemasonry to craft a Secular Republic in which freedom of conscience was a primary characteristic. Today, 1 in 12 adult males is a Freemason (albeit according to the Freemasons, with secret membership impossible to verify).

For too long we've dismissed anything to do with fraternal orders and secret societies as conspiracy fluff, when it's actually just some interesting U.S. history that deserves better treatment. Fraternities? The Greek System? We can thank Jonathan Edwards and the Skull and Bones Society of Yale for establishing that American curiosity. Would anyone say that the history of Frats and Sororities is conspiracy fluff? Why then dismiss the trunk from which these later organizations branched?

It helps: the U.S. was founded on Freemasonic and Native American principles, not Christian principles -- and these are decidedly, emphatically secular. They are at the heart of the Enlightenment (c.f. Dame Francis Yates, "The Rosicrucian Enlightenment&quot , and the Enlightenment is at the heart of the U.S.A.

Great post!