Reason, Liberty And Justice

by Richard Geffken

There is no separation of Church and State. Every government imposes its own religion. For example, the United States uses law, police, and prisons to enforce the beliefs that profit is morally good, divorce permissible, the ego's desires for pleasure should be gratified, obedience to man made law is mandatory, and real estate can be private property. This names only a few enforced beliefs which are essentially the tenets of a religion. Heretics who disagree with these dogmas are generally imprisoned or executed by its police.

To agree with these doctrines expresses a government's success in conditioning its population. Every doctrine is taught to schoolchildren. They are told to revere these concepts as benefits which make them special. They are taught that obedience to these quasi-religious principles results in "liberty", even when the freedom to do whatever you want is obviously not being provided. There is a carefully conditioned belief in the sacredness of a Constitution even though it is flagrantly violated by every American judge about twenty times a day. Visual icons to create patriotism include Minutemen and flags. There is even idol worship of a Holy Statue standing in New York City's harbor. TV commercials substitute for an official Ministry of Propaganda.

All of this constitutes a man-made concocted religion, forced upon a population.

Government made religions are not confined to any specific political doctrine or nationality. Communism elevated Lenin into a god. Anything he or Marx said served the function of irrefutable scripture. Mao Zedong remains a god even though the Chinese government no longer follows a single thing he stood for.

Anarchists are not exempt. They serve the politics of atheism, and advocate the end of all organized government. That preaches a dogma all must follow too. Some anarchists seek unrestrained capitalism. Others wish to shoot all bosses. Insanity is found in denying that these opposing concepts actually represent a religion.

There is faith their cherished concept is best. They are principles all others must follow. Sin, sometimes called crime, is deviating from the accepted dogma. Everyone must conform to the policy dictated by those in power, whether these people insist on no controlling authority, or require obedience to laws dictated by elected officials.

Government represents a belief system. It is, therefore, inescapably a religion itself. Separation of Church and State is impossible. Part of a population cannot practice communism while the remainder enforces capitalistic property rights. Obeying Hitler, a king, or legislative enactments is qualitatively the same thing as following the tenets of a religion. Both appeal to morality. Both claim to be right with other evildoers having no place in the established society.

Despair is a shallow reaction. It is better to consider which beliefs are being forced upon you, and whether you have a preference for something else.

If you wish to change religions, today is a good day to start.



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