Would anyone be willing to desecrate the burial site of fallen soldiers and their families wishes by removing thousands upon thousands of crosses and stars of David on military cemetaries?
No. Quite the opposite - we need to expand the number of allowable religious symbols in such instances. Currently the military doesn't allow pagan or wiccan religious symbols on grave markers, and that represents unconstitutional discrimination against religious minorities, don't you agree?
Nonetheless, its almost as if a Congressmen or the President can't have their own personal beliefs while apart of the government.
I don't for a minute think that's true, or that there's any kind of pressure on politicians to suborn their personal religious beliefs. In fact, you can't
be a politician in America if you're an atheist.
But I do have a problem when a pol steps up to the podium and says "look, we're going to pass a law banning such-and-such because dammit, that's what God wants us to do." I have a big problem with that - and I suspect you would too, especially if his god was a different god than yours. I mean, democracy is about compromise - but how can you expect someone to compromise on
God's will?
It's fine for all politicians to believe whatever they want. They're private citizens, too, and they have the same right to religious belief as I do. But they also have a public obligation, they hold a public office, and their religious convictions should be allowed to inflect their public actions only in so far as those actions can be supported by a compelling secular purpose.
But I notice that Christmas trees, which are rooted in paganism seem to be okay. But the second you put up a Nativity scene the ACLU comes a' runnin.'
They come runnin' when you put up Christmas trees, too.
It's not quite an equal thing, though. The Nativity is a specifically Christian religious emblem. You're right that Christmas trees originate in a pagan tradition, but "pagan" isn't a specific religion - it's a catch-all description of a number of loosely connected heritage spiritual practices.