Thursday, February 10, 2011

Your Point Being?

In 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act and, along with it, Title VII - the Equal Employment Opportunity Act.

Title VII states that no employee or applicant shall be discriminated against based on that person's "race, color, religion, sex, or national origin (Public Law 88-352, July 2, 1964, 78 Stat. 253, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 2000e et. seq.)".

If you've ever applied for a job in the United States, you are familiar with this act as it is typically printed prominently on job applications nationwide.

It now also includes protection against age, disabilities, genetic information, and military history discrimination. And, if you live in one of 12 states who've passed it into law, sexual orientation is also a protected status.

Now, let's go back even further, shall we?

In 1776, the founding fathers of the United States drafted a humble little document called the "Constitution" to which, 200 years later, the Civil Rights Act would be added. Have you read it? If you have, you'd know about Article 6, Paragraph 3 which states:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

Do you want to know why?

Because it just doesn't matter.

These things - race, religion, gender, et. al. do not matter when it comes down to one's ability to work and to govern.

So when people proclaim Barack Obama is a Muslim? I have to ask...your point being?

Is that supposed to make me question whether or not he has the ability to lead our country? Because it doesn't. The fact that he's black doesn't either. If he were a woman, that wouldn't either. If he were gay (OMG wouldn't that be awesome?!), that would matter not.

Because I believe what our founding fathers allegedly believed and what the Congress of 1964 purportedly believed...religion ain't got nothing to do with anyone's moral fiber or political platform.

Talk to me about the issues. That's what I care about.

Because honestly? I don't care what color you are, what god you do or do not worship, or whether or not you suck cock. I only care about what you can do for my country. I only care about your stance on those things I care about.

Rather than defending Barack Obama's Christianity then - a religion I couldn't give a little shit about - I'd rather ask why it should matter. Our founding fathers and Congress thought to protect both elected officials and the working class from discrimination against religion, why should it matter to me whether or not he worships a deity and, if so, what flavor?

It doesn't.

So, if you're like me in that way, the next time someone says a political candidate or official is a *gasp* Muslim or *gasp* black or *gasp* mutherfucking gay...say, "Your point being?"

Because there is no point.

If we don't make it an issue, it won't be one.

3 comments:

Gavin said...

He's already an African-American. If you'd be okay with black/gay/woman/muslim, they're not talking to you... They're talking to the soon-to-be-disempowered whites that fear him for what he symbolizes - the eventual minority status of the white race in America. He sounds reasonable and concessionary in the name of bipartisanship - the populace needs re-scared that he's a Them and We need to fear him - birth certificate, Muslim, anything to make him Other and re-new the fear.

Foolishboy said...

Them Muslims are gonna sell us out to the al-kaders! I heard from Glenn Beck about that Manchurin candidate, and how Sadam Hussein Obama is gonna sell us out to the al-kaders!

Seriously, the point (to them) is that Muslims put following their "fascist-ismlamo-terrorist religion" ahead of everything else, and everyone knows that the Al-Qaeda wants all Muslims to kill Americans.

It's the starting point that hurts me.

They like to bring up this poll from a few years ago that showed a high percentage of Muslims put god ahead of country, which obviously equals them all being terrorist. The poll didn't bother to ask an equal number of Christian which they put first...

meh.

Anonymous said...

The sad part is that pretty much all politicians are cock-suckers. That bothers me.