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biggrin The first to be published of my new column is below. I've had an article or two printed before, and have been quoted fairly frequently for not being famous, but this is different. The publication is based in Central Illinois and called "Concrete Orchard". I am tickled, this is one of those topics that should be spread as much as possible to protect our fading freedom here in America, much like my other most recent piece about gay marriage & Christian MATRIMONY... maybe I'll post that too, but later. Now I need to fish & calm myself some so I can sleep soon.

Jatropheus's Jargon: Freedom of Religion

"Moderation in all things, including moderation itself." So spoke Ben Franklin. He meant and lived it, too. Most extremes are disagreeable at best, and truth is subjective, but the facts are more often than not between the two sides of any given story. Religious tolerance is one of those stories.

Everyone has a right to their own personal opinions, beliefs and creeds, even prejudices, and it is nobody else's business until it actually affects someone else. That, to me, fairly well sums up what America is all about. We must recognize many of the best/nicest Pagans, pantheists, pan/bisexuals and polyamorous people are still "in the closet" because of how they are portrayed and perceived. It is the same with Satanism.

There are indeed nasty Satanists who think that evil=cool, but those are not the only ones. The worst (according to the vast majority's voiced opinions) examples are most visible because those often want attention. Still, even they have a legitimate, legal right to feel and believe as they will whether we like it or not.

There is another kind, most of whom rarely let anyone know because their lives are sometimes on the line even where Pagans are openly accepted. To summarize, they believe in self-reliance and personal responsibility and live it.

Some are highly educated/successful and even helpful people, well liked by their peers despite brutal honesty being one of their most noticeable traits. Many do not worship at all, and do not believe that any Deity ever helps any person anyway.

Think about it from that perspective for a moment: if you were in their position, would you risk being "outed" to the world by "coming out" to anyone? The only reason I know of any is because our philosophies are so similar and I am often verbose about my positions and opinions. Even so, they didn't come right out and tell me until we'd been friends for a while and have never tried to convert me.

There are bad examples in every faith and philosophy. Some psychos sacrifice pets, set homes/businesses on fire, spew hatred on nationally syndicated TV, blow people up, drown children... a couple were even arrested planning a high school massacre about a year ago and claimed to be Wiccan. Just as those do not represent Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Wicca, etcetera, the most public Satanists often do not represent "the norm" either.

I'm not saying anyone should be forced to accept everyone, or that it's wrong to shun people based upon their own actions or demeanors. However, we should not ASSume those few define even the labels they give themselves and that all who can be categorized similarly deserve to be persecuted any more than the rest of us do. Some deserve it for their abominable actions, but not for religious affiliations.

The answer is to neither support nor denounce them, but rather to educate that there is a distinct difference. We ALL have to accept that everyone has a right to worship (or not) as they wish, regardless of our own personal opinions/feelings or even the tenets of our own religions/philosophies.

If one wants tolerance for one's own lifestyle or religion, denouncing others is self-defeating.

Really, if you want respect, you have to be able to give it.
If you want to be free, you must let others live freely too.
If you want others to accept & tolerate you, you have to accept & tolerate others.
If you want rights, you have to accept that others have the same right to them as you do.
If you want derision and hatred, espouse it to the world and you will get more than your share back.