Dodger Logic: #64: Ew, Don't Go There! It's a Hole In the Wall!

So we're going to play a game that I played in one of my previous public management & policy classes. Imagine there's a wall. In fact, I can't draw it for you on here, so draw it on a piece of paper if you want to get the full effect of my point. We're going to place this wall between church and state, so that there is a divide or separation, if you will, between church and state. Now, think of anything and everything you can that incorporates religion in the state. I've listed a few that come to mind below:

1. Kids being forced to say "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance.

2. Not being able to sell/buy alcohol on Sundays, or at certain times on Sundays, because Sunday is the Christian Sabbath day.

3. Gay people being denied marriage rights, because the Bible supposedly says that homosexuality is a sin.

4. The top of the dollar bill where it says "In God We Trust."

5. The 10 Commandments being put on display at the White House.

6. The former mandatory prayer in schools. (This has now been banned.)

7. The fact that churches are not forced by law to pay property taxes.

These are just a few examples I came up with in about 5 minutes or less. There are all kinds of infringements on the Separation of Church and State mandate. Now, for every infringement you can think of, along with the ones I thought of, draw a nice, big hole in the wall that you drew. Your wall should have lots of holes in it, or maybe you put all the holes together and made a giant hole, big enough for people to walk through. Either way, the wall that separates church and state is completely messed up.

Is this a problem? Are these particular holes insignificant, because the problems they cause are insignificant? I'd say that some of these problems are really significant. I'd also say that, if we want to be a nation that keeps church and state separate, we can't do it halfway. If we want to be a nation with a government free of religion, then we have to go through with it, even with the minor details, such as removing "In God We Trust" from the dollar bill. I'm not saying those minor issues are something I'd rally for, but the larger issues, such as the denail of marriage rights to gay people, I'll rally for until either something is done about it or I die.

For some comic relief, check out this video on the topic that the wonderful Jane Lynch and Jordan Peele made. It's pretty cute. The link is http://www.upworthy.com/america-has-been-waiting-hundreds-of-years-for-it-this-breakup-needs-to-happen-5.

They're incompatible, as they go in completely different directions.

See what happens without Separation of Church and State?

Also, I'd like to point out another reason we have Separation of Church and State: This mandate protect the right of every person to freely practice any religion privately. So Separation of Church and State works for both sides here, so everyone should be grateful for it.