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by Mark Kwiatkowski

Created on: March 28, 2008   Last Updated: May 03, 2012

The Downfall of America

I hope the headline caught your eye. Scary, isn't it? Saying those 4 words can send shivers down a spine, and at the same time make an entire religion rejoice. It can make you shake like an ample bosom at the beach. There, I've already been politically incorrect twice in less than 30 seconds.

The mere process of thinking about the downfall of America is not something anyone would enjoy. I don't. But it's something I do think about occasionally, especially when I watch the news and hear about another erosion of our liberties, or enforcement of our liberties. The Supreme Court regularly hears cases that may continue to erode your liberties, while granting more to others. Insane thinking? Well, let me lay it out for you, and you think about it and decide for yourself. I'm going to write this so that even I can understand it. If you disagree with something, because of an inaccurate fact, let me know and I'll change it. If you disagree with it philosophically, build a bridge, and get over it.

The Constitution of The United States of America is comprised of a Bill of Rights (8 Articles and their respective Sections), and amendments (numbered I through XXVII). Within the Bill of Rights, is the basic roadmap of how the founding fathers wanted to go about setting this Country up, and also gave basic limits and allowances to Congress. It was ratified by the nine states and signed by the founding fathers. The amendments to the Constitution were put in place as they became necessary, and they weren't just put there by anyone. They were written, included in the document, have all been voted on and ratified by the States, and in many cases, argued before the Supreme Court of the United States, so that your rights are very clear. So what makes me think that this document, that was talked about for years before being ratified, and written by men much smarter than I, can bring down the very country that brought it to fruition?

The concept is very basic, so it shouldn't be difficult to understand, but it leaves room for argument. And the argument is where the problem lies. Let's start after the road map, after we're all here and living free!

The First Amendment to the Constitution states simply: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

If you read it carefully, you'll see that nowhere in there does it say anything about separation of Church and State. That was in a letter that Jefferson wrote to Franklin (if memory serves). Jefferson wanted the Constitution to spell it out that there would be no "Church of the United States", and that people could freely practice the religion they chose. (And that's also another argument for another day.) The Constitution says it, and the Supreme Court has upheld it time and time again. It's as clear as a spring day in the Rockies. So again, how is the Constitution (read First Amendment) going to bring down a nation?

What types of religion existed during the writing of our Constitution? Many of the founding fathers had puritan lineage. Since I'm not a theologian, and I don't know the history of every religion in the United States, nor do we have time for it here, I'm going to go with the basic idea of Christianity/Catholicism/Protestants. Maybe there was a Baptist thrown in for good measure, and maybe Martin Luther had already founded the Lutheran Church and there were a few of those around too. (I know, I'm being horribly politically incorrect here.)

How many Muslims do you think lived in the United States at the time the Constitution was written? Go ahead, take a guess. A million? A few thousand? A few hundred? I may be reaching here, but I'm going to go with none. Not one Muslim was considered, consulted or represented during the writing of the Constitution. Now, depending on who you talk to, what website you look at, what bookstore you go into, or what news channel you watch, you will get many differing opinions on the Muslim religion and the Kuran (or Quran, or Koran. No one can even decide on the correct English translation or spelling!). The Kuran, by the way is generally accepted as the Bible of Islam. It is in fact, the writings of the recitations of Muhammad, as brought to him through the Angel Gabriel, during God's (Allah?) 23 year revelation to Muhammad. And here's where the arguments start.

Supposedly, the words of the Kuran have not changed in 14 centuries, yet when we hear of another tape being released by one of Osama's minions, it is said that this violence, hatred and death is all taught in the Kuran. When we listen to some of the talking heads of Islam in the US, they say that the religion teaches peace. So which is it, or does it matter? We have hundreds of different religions all based on our God, and we can practice them freely, even if they tell you to catch a ride on a comet's tail, or drink Kool-Aid laced with arsenic. We even have many different translations of the Bible, so which is accurate? According to your faith, they all are.

If your faith in God told you that next time Haley's comet came flying by earth, you were to take your own life so you could ride that comet's tail out to meet God, would you? If your faith in your God told you that you had to listen to some whacked out failure in life, that was going to set you and your family on fire so you could rise with the smoke to be with God, would you allow it? Faith is an odd thing, and we all can criticize anyone else's religion, but ours is the one and only. The Truth. Or is it?

In the History of the World, more people have died in the name of religion than for any other cause. World Wars, plague, locusts, drought and starvation can't hold a candle to the numbers that have died in religious wars. So is a religious war where we're headed? It could be argued that the First Amendment allows anyone to practice any brand of his or her religion, no matter how distasteful you find it, or how odd it may seem to you.

So if the First Amendment allows a religion to practice freely, and the teachings of that religion want you dead, is that OK with you? Why not? You're an infidel! And if you dare print a comic strip that portrays a prophet, then you should DIE! It's perfectly OK that any member of any religion can stand if front of 30,000 people, and knock Catholicism and Christianity, and it's perfectly OK to take a likeness of Jesus on the cross and put it in a jar of urine. It's perfectly OK to draw a picture of quadruple amputee and make Donald Rumsfeld the ass of the joke in a horribly wrong cartoon. (Oh wait, that's Freedom of the Press. we'll talk about those idiots later.)

See what I mean? In the name of religion, whether you like it or not, this country is heading down a road of potholes and landmines that can kill anything in it's reach, and the Constitution will allow it.

So, do I have any suggestions? I do. I always have an opinion on everything (except abortion). What can we do with the Nation of Islam? What can we do to keep the fringe groups that teach radical and deadly behavior, from proliferating?

Ban them. Ban all aspects of Islamic teaching in any part of our country. All aspects, because we can't discriminate one from the other. Wait, we can't do that. That would make every Muslim move out of the country. OK then, make them all practice an approved form of the Kuran. Nope, can't do that. That's like saying Mormons must read the King James version. Ah, here's one; make sure that every mosque that opens only has peaceful members, and that every member is subject to a background check. No? Help me here folks...I'm offering up suggestions to keep us from being overrun, and keeping this country from falling. What are you doing?

Seem far-fetched? Does this seem like something out of an acid induced recitation of 1984 and Orwellian theory? It seems highly unlikely that any religion can have that much influence over it's followers, right? Do yourself a favor; pick your brand of news, whether it be Fox, NBC, CBS or ABC (skip CNN and MSNBC) for that matter, and watch it. Start taking 30 minutes out of your hell-bent for that new car, or 96" plasma screen day, and watch the news. See what is happening in this world, and country of yours in the name of religion. A religion.

The Islamic faith is supposed to teach it's followers peace and understanding. It also preaches that Allah is the one and only God; that any other religion is a farce, and that if you're not Muslim, you're not worth a damn. Is this a good thing? Is the fact that I'm a Lutheran make me less of a person than Louis Farrakhan? (It's amazing that Spell Check has Farrakhan as an approved word!) Is a Baptist a lesser person than a Shi-ite in Iraq? In this case, your religion may not matter much, because it's not about your religion, it's about their religion.

This country's Constitution guarantees every citizen the freedom to practice any religion they choose. The First Amendment is slowly being eroded to the point that the masses no longer have the option of celebrating Christmas by putting up lights in the city, a Christmas tree in the park, or a nativity scene by the courthouse. The very place you must swear to God, (or affirm) is off limits to Him. And it's not just Atheists and the ACLU who are doing it to us.

When is the last time you saw a group of 50,000 religious zealots marching on Washington to protest the publication of a cartoon of the Pope? When was the last time the Religious Right ground this country to a halt, literally, because of protests over a drawing of the first Fab Four; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John? How about never? As Christians, we do practice the "turn the other cheek" philosophy for the most part. We don't want to kill a cartoonist for that Pope cartoon. We may not like it, and may write a letter to the editor, but we don't stop a freakin' nation over it! They do. Pakistan came to a screaming halt during President Bush's visit last year, because of the protests over the published cartoons. Musharrev himself said that as a Muslim nation, they could not condone the printing of the cartoons because of "Freedom of the Press". This is our ally in fighting the war on terrorism?

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the U.S. It is growing approximately 400% a year, and it is the second largest religion in the world with 1.1 billion followers! Wouldn't you think that that would be a threat to Christianity? Christians are tolerant of Muslims, but Muslims are not tolerant of Christians, and in fact, Christians are the most persecuted religion by Muslims. (If you're a woman reading this...remember that you must keep your face covered and be subservient.) Also, as Musharrev proved, Muslim nations are just that; theocracies. I'm not trying to say that Muslims will not integrate well into society in America. Many have, but many say they are practicing a watered- down version of the Kuran, so they can fit in here.

What I am suggesting is not something that would or could happen overnight, or within a few months, but, like losing your hearing, it slowly happens until one day you realize you need hearing aids.

I could go on, but I really don't want to start a religious war. That was not my intention when I started writing this. It was merely a suggestion that came about in a discussion, and I expounded on it a bit. I invite you to spend some time thinking about this. It is not going to go away. Your country is at risk, and the very document that allows you to pray to the God of your choice is at risk. Think about it.

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