No I'm not, Larry! Think about what I said there! The whole idea that some people consider themselves Christian/Muslim/Jewish first and American and/or whatever their nationality is, second, basically defies the idea of "the common social good in their State, because NOW they have a "reason" for pressing their beliefs, and the subsequent results of those beliefs, upon the rest of the society in question.
And if you'd give me juuuuuuust a minute here, I'm ABSOLUTELY SURE that I could think of "a few" instances in this country where while they "may not be" as an immediate threat to life and liberty as scearching for a potential bomb under burka might be, they STILL undercut the idea of an inclusive "common good" in the long run.
And so, while I wish everybody well in their endevours to find "peace and contentment" while utilizing whatever "belief system" they choose in private, it seldomly if ever has a useful purpose out in the public arena other than to separate us into different, and often fearful, camps.
(and as you may have noticed, this very thread is almost solely about "fearful camps")
Last edited by Dwight; 07/01/2008 5:30 PM.
