Friday, November 24, 2006

I need a badge.

As I was saying, it turns out that in the fifties, America's motto was changed from "e pluribus unum" to "In God We Trust". Now, far be it from me to slag off America when it's been so popular to do that lately. "From the many, one", is, it must be observed, a lovely sentiment, packed with meaning, speaking into being a state that makes democracy its central ingredient. The nation exists in that it is a democracy; democracy is not a new style of government for a pre-existing nation. More than that, it evokes a pluralism which remains a bold ideal, even now - particularly now. It is entirely appropriate for the secular state that the USA is constitutionally bound to be.

"In God We Trust", by contrast, is psycho imperialist religious paranoid bollocks.

Meanwhile, it seems that the airline worker who insists on wearing her emblem of murderous torture (that would be a cross) over her uniform may well be allowed so to do in future. I don't care whether she wears it or not, really. But the thing is, in contrast to some of the symbols of other religions, which symbols are tolerated, there is no stricture within Christianity which says that she will go to hell, or suffer ostracism, or some similar opprobrium if she doesn't wear it. She just seems to think that she can't do her job unless she can declare to all and sundry that she is a Christian while she does it. I'd really quite enjoy going to work wearing some kind of symbol which meant "there is no God, you stupid bastards", but I don't expect it would be popular.

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