Divermarv

The greatest ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about.

The constitutional freedom of religion [is] the most inalienable and sacred of all human rights. – Thomas Jefferson

If you think education is expensive, try ignorance. –  Derek Bok

Religion, as well as reason, confirms the soundness of those principles on which our government has been founded and its rights asserted. – Thomas Jefferson

He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice. – Albert Einstein

History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes. – Thomas Jefferson

There is nothing more frightful than ignorance in action. –  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I purposefully intermixed quotes concerning freedom of religion with quotes of ignorance. While I agree that our constitution’s freedom of religion is of paramount importance. What we see with some is a proof in point that reason trumps spiritual thinking in government every time. This story from MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40587353/ns/us_news-life/

A church that pickets funerals to protest what it calls American immorality says its members will be picketing the service this Saturday for Elizabeth Edwards, who died of breast cancer on Tuesday.

Based in Topeka, Kan., the Westboro Baptist Church said it would be outside the Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, N.C., during the funeral for the former wife of one-time vice presidential candidate John Edwards.

I personally condemn the ignorant blathering of this church’s congregation, and vapid leadership they have in Fred Phelps. In their deluded in-bred minds, they have somehow felt God has told them to disgrace the memory of the departed and to hurl flaming brands of hurt and injustice at the grieving. I deplore this, and I do not believe the god they worship is a god of love, but a god of spite, hate, and vitriol.

Ok now stepping down off my soapbox, I want to say that though I wish these deplorable people weren’t doing this, I believe that they are doing the world a great service. I jokingly say that “Momma alwasy said if you can’t be good for anything else, you can be good for a bad example!” I usually do it just to get a chuckle, but really now this does apply! The denizens of the Westboro Baptist Church are letting everyone know, quite vividly and clearly, just how ignorant … well how ignorant the ignorant can be! And to be willfully ignorant is intolerable. But thank you Westborians, you have and are continuing to show us just how terrible, just how dangerous ignorance can be. I say dangerous because they are influencing some young people. Fortunately I’ve met enough “recovering Catholics” to know that theycan get over this. But as a side note, I commend the students at Gunn high school:

Hundreds at Gunn, Stanford counter picketers from Fred Phelps’ Kansas church

by Lisa M. Krieger, San Jose Mercury News
January 29, 2010

The small cadre of Kansas picketers who came to Gunn High School Friday morning were drowned out by a raucous and celebratory counter-protest of students, teachers, parents and their supporters.

United against outsiders who targeted the school because of its recent suicides, the Bay Area counter-protesters fought Westboro Church’s brimstone with their own fire, by singing songs, waving American flags and holding banners proclaiming love and tolerance.

Joined by students from Menlo Park, Fremont and other nearby schools, Gunn responded to the Bible-thumpers with their own messages: “Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself,” “1 Corinthians: “There is nothing love cannot face,” and “Gay? Fine With Me.”

The traveling members of Westboro Baptist Church stood on Arastradero Road to flay the most unlikely victims: school children already traumatized by the five recent suicides of Gunn-associated students.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_14295198 

 This heartens me. I do know that our country, and our society will survive when I see things like this. Our youth standing up for human compassion, and really for the love that I feel the real God stands for. I believe the quote goes “There is no greater love than that a man will lay down his life for his brother.” Not that he would picket his brother’s funeral because of antiquated ideals.

I suppose if I wanted to start getting political I could start ranting about intolerance and all that, but I choose not to. Instead I merely say.

Westboro Baptist Church members…. Shame. On. You!!!!!