Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others.

As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor; let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own, and his children's liberty.

Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap; let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs; let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and Let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars.

While ever a state of feeling, such as this, shall universally, or even, very generally prevail throughout the nation, vain will be every effort, and fruitless every attempt, to subvert our national freedom.


- Abraham Lincoln, January 27, 1838
  Address Before the Young Men's Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois

Tuesday, September 09, 2008

Honest to God?

Did McCain really say this?

From truthout.org:

"The Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation," declared John McCain back in September 2007.

If he did (and I'm guessing the writer didn't make it up,) then perhaps McCain should crack a few history books and delve into the writings of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson - the actual authors of the Constitution.

John Adams:

“This would be the best of all possible worlds, if there were no religion in it.” - John Adams

“The government of the United States is not in any sense founded upon the Christian religion” - John Adams (from the 1797 Treaty of Tripoli, signed by John Adams and unanimously endorsed by the Senate.)

Thomas Jefferson:

"Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed by inserting "Jesus Christ," so that it would read "A departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;" the insertion was rejected by the great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mohammedan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination." - Thomas Jefferson, Autobiography, in reference to the Virginia Act for Religious Freedom


"Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legislative powers of government reach actions only, and not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between church and State." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Danbury Baptist Association, CT., Jan. 1, 1802


"History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes." - Thomas Jefferson to Alexander von Humboldt, Dec. 6, 1813.


"Christianity neither is, nor ever was a part of the common law." - Thomas Jefferson, letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, February 10, 1814

Sorry Mr. McCain. I'd feel a lot better about your candidacy if I thought you'd even read the Constitution. Clearly you have no grasp of its contents, or of the intentions of its authors.

This is not a 'Christian' country. This is a country that welcomes Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Atheists, Pagans and anything else a person can dream up to worship. This is a nation founded on freedom of religion, and made up of a tapestry of religious beliefs.

Every first-grader learns this stuff.

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