By Judy Reiss
I have always made it my policy not to really discuss religion or politics in my column. Unfortunately, it seems these days that religion has become a main topic of politics! But if you are very careful you can probably keep the two separate. What do you think? Well, here is what I think…I don’t care what your religion is and I don’t think it is any of my business how you practice it. Although I want to believe that this is what our country was founded for, freedom of religion, If you read any history of how our country was founded, you know that this isn’t true! Nope, no one was more bigoted than our Puritan founding fathers. Everyone was mandated to be Puritans and had to attend church as often and as dictated by the Puritan fathers. And this was the community rules well into the presidency of our fourth president James Madison. Now I am no scholar and I may be even a little short and the Puritans may have been in power even later than that. So this is my question for today…are we willing to accept the premise that we will accept any and all religions in our country? Now, keep in mind it is only a few years since we have accepted Catholics and Jews into our society. I know that seems impossible now, but this is true. Anglicans and Fundamentalists were the religions that ruled the roost and that wasn’t that long ago!
I believe that our country has gone through tremendous change in the past few years and not just by accepting all religions. Now, we like to believe, America is a place where all races and religions are considered equal. In fact, women are included in that group of people. If you look back and see how women were treated for centuries, throughout the world, you would be shocked. But before you allow yourself to be shocked and upset, please keep in mind in many, many countries around the world today, men treat their livestock better than they treat women. And before you think about that, think about how many women and young girls are actually mutilated in the name of religion. And that is today and in our own America!
All these religions that we are aware of have many facets that we consider inappropriate and even outrageous. But do we have the right to outlaw them just because we are not comfortable with their practices? I’m not really sure, how about you?
Donald Trump is now running for the position of President of the United States. As you sit at home and listen and watch him rant and rave about his opponent, Hillary Clinton, have you ever heard him explain just what he will do if he is elected President? We all know that although he says he will build a wall between our country and Mexico, we all know how well a wall worked in Germany. And for me, a big question that he never answers is this…if he was actually able to get rid of all illegal aliens in our country, who is going to do the work that they now do which no one else wants to do? What work you say, well picking all the vegetables that make up the vegetables in our stores, clean the office buildings and our stores, and do just about all the jobs that pay below the poverty level that no American is willing to do! Right now, in our country we have many people who could do some of those jobs but they won’t and one reason is they get paid more not to work than they would if they would do those mind-numbing and body busting jobs that the illegals are willing to do!. Is it right? Of course not, but that is the system that we have allowed to be put in place. And if Mr. Trump was able to get rid of all those workers, who would do those jobs? Think about it.
Back in the early days of the last century, many of our own ancestors migrated to this country and many of them couldn’t speak English. But their children went to school and learned English and then took that new language back and taught their parents. Today? That system no longer works, and why? Well, now the do-gooders in our country believe that each and every child needs to be taught in school in their own language even though English needs to be their language! Instead, the children are segregated from their classmates so they can “learn” in their mother tongue and they can’t teach their parents what they don’t know themselves! But no worry, we will provide money and support to them so that they never really become Americans who need to work in order to live.
Try to forget about all the promises that each and every political candidate spews out and think what they are actually promising. Is it the America that we want or is it some pie in the sky rhetoric that will actually make things a lot worse. And think about who will be a leader the world will respect and we can be proud of. Probably is pie in the sky but at least we have the chance to make a better country come true each four-year cycle. But don’t just be fooled by promises that can’t be kept and would make our country worse even if they could!