The Slippery Slope in South Carolina

            Well, my home state is out to prove just how bold they can be at thumbing their noses at the proper boundaries of government.  They have recently announced that folks there can now purchase a license plate with a proclamation of “I Believe” and a graphic of a cross over a stained glass window. Here’s a sample pic.

            The problems with this action are multiple.  The Constitution makes it very clear that no government body should endorse any specific religious belief.  Now to SC’s government’s credit, there is already a Humanist license plate available to the citizens of my home state as well, but that does not make this problem any more palatable.  Why?  Because any state sponsored placard of religious belief or non-belief is not the same as putting a Clemson Tiger paw or a Carolina Gamecock on a license tag.  Though both represent fanatic thought processes, one is expressly forbidden by our constitution.  Also, the Humanist plate and all other graphic plates available to the residents of that state average in costs around $70, while the new “I Believe” plates will be sold for less than $10.  Also, the Lt. Governor has pledged to put up $4000 of his own money to make this happen.

            This is a very slippery slope for these folks and they are being more than just a little short sighted in passing this legislation.  I wonder, as I hope other folks from SC wonder, just what other concerns the officials there are ignoring or failing to address while passing legislation that smacks of political pandering.  Pandering, you ask?  Surely not.  Why would they do this in an election year in a state that is considered the buckle of the Bible belt?  Sarcasm most definitely intended.

            I am just embarrassed that in my home state where over 14% of the residents live below the national poverty income level, this is what is on the legislators’ minds.  Don’t worry though, these folks aren’t going anywhere as the folks from my home state are bound to re-elect these folks because they’re just “good Christian people”.

            What I really hope is that all the residents in SC that hold to beliefs other than Christian demand a plate for their religions at the same costs of these plates, but I don’t believe it’s going to happen.  The ACLU and the American Jewish Congress have already pledged lawsuits and I don’t believe these plates will stand as constitutional.  If so, we should all be worried.

            Most of you that read my blogs know that I was once a Christian minister myself.  Licensed three times by two different denominations, I was once pursuing the “calling of God” on my life.  I still am by the way, just not through the organized church any more.  Why?  For exactly these kinds of stunts where people have forgotten that this country was founded by people pursuing liberty in the areas of religion, fleeing a government and church that had become so entangled that one could not tell the difference.  For reference, just read up on The Church of England in the 17^th, 18^th, and 19^th centuries.

            I’m not even sure I’m a Christian any more by this modern church’s standards, but I also don’t care.  I believe in God, but am seriously concerned about his followers that call themselves Christian these days.  They seemed to have forgotten the scriptures, which they hold so dear, and I will address this specifically in an upcoming blog.  Until then, I just want to end this blog with a couple of quotes from one of my favorite Christians and one of the deepest thinkers of all time, Soren Kierkegaard, who said, “Christendom has done away with Christianity without being quite aware of it.”  That quote is appropriate still today over 150 years after Kierkegaard’s death, but maybe this one is more appropos to this specific situation, “People demand freedom of speech as a compensation for the freedom of thought which they seldom use.”

            Peace and Love Always folks, and watch those slippery slopes!

Stumble it!