Lend A Hand

I’ve been hearing about “Separation of Church and State” since I was in grade school. I always thought the meaning and the purpose behind this separation was obvious – to make sure no government agency could force religious beliefs on American citizens. As I get older and the rules and the procedures and the things you couldn’t do or say became more and more ridiculous, I began to wonder how obvious it was to others.

From the First Amendment:

The original statement reads; “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” Our founding fathers likely included this protection of freedom in reaction to the establishment of the Church of England as the official religion of England and some colonies. Thomas Jefferson is credited with the first use of the phrase in a letter, “the clause against establishment of religion by law was intended to erect ‘a wall of separation between church and state.’”

However I am beginning to think enough already. I am beginning to think we have slipped into making the practice of religion anywhere in public a crime.

Lets start by talking about praying in school. While I absolutely agree that no prayer should be mandatory as part of a public school’s daily routine, I don’t understand why it has become so offensive that people get angry anytime someone prays, or admits to praying, in school.

Despite the First Amendment, the people who began our nation included God in many national ways – Let’s face it when it comes to America, God is everywhere. God is in our Pledge of Allegiance, our national anthem, even on our money. Why is this true if our founding fathers wanted separation of church and state? One, I don’t think they believed that a belief in God pointed towards a specific religion or the establishment thereof. Second, and I think more important, our country was founded on the belief that a higher power existed and that He had blessed the creation of our independant nation.

Accepting these references to God doesn’t show a religious preference – not anymore anyway – it shows a patriotism towards what our ancestors set up as the foundation of our country. It shows a national preference. A preference where every citizen can believe whatever they want and act on those beliefs provided they do not infringe on the freedoms of any other.

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I picked up a book the other day titled “Bill of Wrongs – The Executive Branch’s Assault on America’s Fundamental Rights” and written by Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose. While it was the title that grabbed my attention, it was the excerpt on the back of the book that made me buy it:

“To all the daring, courageous,

or just plain stubborn ‘ordinary’

Americans who have ever gotten up

on their hind legs and said,

‘Well, that’s not right, that’s not fair’:

This book is dedicated to you.”

Well that sure sounds like me in a nutshell. I haven’t gotten very far into it yet but what I’ve read is basically about how the First Amendment is ignored when the President or certain other  members of government are involved. The loss of these rights is explained away as measures for security but clearly some of the instances in which Americans rights are stomped on are less for security and more for show.

For years I have noticed the slow destruction of our rights as Americans and/or human beings. For example, in my state it is against the law to not wear a seat-belt when driving or riding in a motor vehicle. Now I agree that people should wear seat-belts and I do wear my seat-belt – not because it is law but because it is the smart thing to do. I also agree with laws that keep children safe with car-seats and seat-belts. But wearing a seat-belt should be a personal choice, not a law. Not wearing a seat-belt causes harm to no one but the person who isn’t wearing one. I can’t  think of one decent justification for making this a law except that fining people who break it raises money for the city. I don’t think that reason is good enough.

And that is when my critical eye turned toward the “rights” of the people and the laws being passed to eliminate them.

The First Amendment promises that “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.” Basically, we have freedom to practice any religion we want, say and write what we want, gather in a peaceful way to voice our opinions, and ask the Government to fix a problem or right a wrong.

In the book, Bill of Wrongs, I learned that, at every Presidential appearance, the government has the right to designate a certain “free-speech zone” where all protesters are required by law to remain during the President’s appearance. Secret Service usually (if not always) takes advantage of this right and instructs local law enforcement to direct anyone chanting, wearing or displaying in any way anything that might be considered “anti-” the President to a separate area. This is supposedlya security measure but I fail to see how a T-shirt or banner could be used as a weapon against the President…unless the media picking up a negative opinion of the President or his ideas is considered physically dangerous.

You would probably be surprised to learn how many people have been arrested simply for wanting to go to a Presidential event and wear clothing or carry signs expressing an opinion. Of course they are usually not arrested until they refuse to move to and stand within the “free-speech” area which is always out of sight of the President. These charges take up the courts’ time and uses up valuable taxpayer money trying to make them stick when they are clearly (to me at least) unconstitutional.

After all isn’t that one of the founding principles of our country? The right to disagree with our government? And don’t we have the right to express that disagreement right in front of him? Obviously not.

What ever happened to “I disapprove of what you say,  but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”? What does it say about our country when our leader, our President, refuses to follow one of  the primary rights of our nation’s Constitution?

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While George W. may not have agreed with Edward Bulwer-Lytton when he said the “Pen is mightier than the sword”, I certainly do. Writing to the right people, the right way, enough times can really move mountains. Do you remember that part of the movie “The Shawshank Redemption” where Tim Robbins’s character writes a letter everyday to try and get funds for the library?

Eventually he receives a check for something like $250 (which was worth a lot more in those days). Instead of considering the matter resolved, he starts writing two letters a day. Finally the funding department surrenders and sends boxes and boxes of books, records, magazines, and research material along with a substantial monetary grant for the expansion of the library.

The power of the pen. After all, if writing to representatives was such a waste of time, why would activists and organizations keep asking us to do it? If words could not move people to take action, companies wouldn’t bother with advertising. While I wouldn’t suggest just writing a letter for something you feel strongly about, keep fighting on after your mail is sent.

In any case though a well written, concise letter stating exactly what it is you want done is the perfect first step to creating change.

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It is naive to think that our country is not undergoing a drastic change right now. Between the economy, substandard health care, failing education system, illegal immigration, rising unemployment, millions losing their homes to foreclosure and on top of all that, war raging overseas and a brand new flu virus hitting here at home. With all that to deal with, what should we do?

Should we sit back and hope our government will step in to pick up the pieces and put them all back together again like Humpty Dumpty U.S.A.? Or buy into the idea that all this is a natural flux in history and everything will eventually work itself out? We can support the media personalities that agree with our point of view and hope that their other listeners will take a stand for what’s right…

Or we can do something.

Almost every great movement in the history of this country – from the Revolution to Civil Rights – started around the kitchen tables and living rooms of America. Talking politics (and complaining about our government) is as American as apple pie.

And it will be at these informal chats that the first steps towards a better nation will be taken. It will be our actions, our beliefs, our movements that take our country back from the greedy CEOs and the politicians that are more concerned with their pockets than their people.

Now I’m not suggesting a coup or revolution. Get together with some like-minded neighbors, friends, and relatives and talk about pro-active steps you all can take to make real changes to our country. Decide what is the most important issue to your group and come up with an action plan to get what you want.

And Push.

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I hope this month was as much fun for you as it was for me. I also hope you’ve gotten as many supportive responses as I have from my community leaders. Furthermore I hope we made some kind of difference. That someone somewhere read something and committed to doing something about it. Just one small change, and then another small change, and on.

Next month we’ll be discussing a topic I am rather divided on. War, terrorism and the military. I’ll be talking about some things going on in the war. The reasons behind the most current wars, terrorists and terrorism. And our proud military which never gets enough support and prayers from us at home. Argue the war, Support the soldier.

The first month of regular post features seemed to go well. I enjoyed having something regular to write and I think the features were easy to read. Let me know if you disagree.

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There’s an old saying that you can’t fight city hall. Citizens have time and time again proven that untrue. Our country’s government was originally set up to allow citizens an active part in making laws.

This month we’re trying to “fight” city hall by writing and calling our representatives and community leaders. But are all contacts created equal? Who should you send your letter to for the maximum effect?

If you are trying to enact a change in your city or town, you should be writing to your mayor, your superintendent of schools (if it’s an education issues) or the head of whatever department deals specifically with your issue. It’s probably easier to get through to the head of the department of environmental protection than to get in touch with the mayor.

For a statewide issue, you’re looking at the Governor, Senators and Representatives, and again department heads. If your are ambitious enough to go right to the top – the federal government – you’ll want to concentrate on your state’s representatives in Congress. Writing a letter to the President is an exciting experience but probably won’t do a lot to change policies or legislation.

Finally, should you want to get your point across to a business, company, or group, you’ll need to find out who the leader of that organization is. Write to the CEO or Consumer Relations rep of a business or company to relate your concerns and what you would like to see done.

Groups usually have a leader, founder, president or head of the organization. You should be able to find the name and contact information on the group’s website if they have one or through directory assistance if they don’t.

No matter who you are contacting or why, always be polite, respectful and clear in your point of view.

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Despite my love for my country and my faith in my fellow citizens, a poor economy brings out the ugly in people.

So here is the debate: Our government is stuffed with employees that are unneeded and just sucking up taxpayer money. We could easily cut thousands of jobs across the nation without the efficiency of our government suffering at all. However with an unemployment rate nearing 9% nationally, do we really want to take jobs away from a few thousand more people?

The thing that confuses me the most is that the lousy economy is costing government jobs but not in the clerk’s office and the many assistants but rather in the police stations and fire stations where we can’t afford to lose people. Who’s brilliant idea was that?

There doesn’t seem to be any easy answer and no one seems ready to comb through the over employment of the government. Consolidation could help our country but until these are jobs to replace the ones lost, we probably shouldn’t mess with government jobs. Otherwise we’re losing tax revenue, spending more on unemployment benefits and opening the door to more foreclosures, homeless families and necessary state aid.

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Writing a letter with a pen and paper, then inserting it into an envelope and addressing that envelope, stamping that envelope and slipping that letter into a mailbox to be picked up and delivered to its destination is quite a bit more complicated and involved than shooting off a short email or, worse, a form email.

Since writing an official letter is a more formal action, our should expect to act more formally as well. Have a clear issue in mind. If you want to write a letter just to introduce yourself as a constituent along with a general idea of the issues that concern you that’s fine bit know that letters are usually sorted according to topic and a letter with no clear message may get overlooked.

If you have a more specific issue to address, you should spend time drafting your letter to include the problem as you see it, why you feel it is an issue that should be addresses and how you would like to see it addressed. Bee clear and concise. Don’t think the official reading will read your mind or automatically know what to do.

Use formal salutations and closings. The opening should contain the full name and title of the person you are writing to and to close use cordially or sincerely and your full name printed and signed. For readability, your letter should be typed out.

On the front of the envelope under the addressee’s name, be sure to put RE: (Your Issue)

Example:

Senator Joe Smith

RE: Public Education Funding

1100 County Court

See-Saw RI 02222 (not a real city in Rhode Island)

Once your letter is in the mail be prepared to wait awhile. You may not get a response but most likely you will.

A few more tips:

• Know your stuff. Have facts to back up your opinion
• Offer a precedent if possible. Did another state decide on a similar solution for this same problem? Is it working out well?
• Avoid making threats, no matter how subtle. Your elected officials know the power you possess and either they will do what you want to keep your vote or they can’t or won’t.

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*This is the first of the new features I’m introducing on Lend A Hand this month*

Not even three months in the Oval Office and already President Obama is in a fight with Congress. Well he said he wanted both parties to agree and they do – both sides hate Obama’s proposed budget.

It was to be expected. No one can cut taxes, reduce the deficit and fix the giant mess this country is in at the same time. You need to make something a priority and go from there.

My personal opinion is that Obama is trying to do just that. He’s focusing on pulling America out of the “Great Recession” first and foremost. These are desperate times and sadly call for desperate measures. Keep in mind that not only are we in trouble but that our troubles hurt the Global economy in a big way as well.

Obama’s budget is being criticized for its increased spending for economic growth. It’s criticized for asking for money for the military. It’s criticized for requesting money for even more bailouts. Most of all, his budget is under fire for the way it will increase the deficit instead of reducing it the way Obama promised during his campaign.

While I believe that there must be ways to cut the $3.6 trillion budget plan, I realize that President Obama was elected into a huge mess. And I mean huge. Despite our immediate gratification society it is going to take time to pull ourselves out of this. Change is going to require risks be taken. I know we’re all nervous but maybe we just hear Obama out before we claim that his budget is the road to hell.

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Sending an email is the quickest way to get in touch with officials and authorities. However it is also the quickest and easiest way for other people to get heard too. It’s important to realize that the person or company you’re writing to probably gets hundreds of emails a day, many nothing more than rants and nonsense.

To stand out from the crowd of emails you want to be as clear and brief as possible. If you are required to send a subject for the email, simply state the issue you are addressing in the email. For example: health care or your company’s environmental policies. Don’t worry about grabbing someone’s attention, most likely they get paid to at least open your email not matter what as long as it isn’t offensive.

The heading and closing of your email should be relatively formal. Use the person’s name if you know it, otherwise use the job title of the person you wish to contact. For example: CEO of Keebler or Mr. Scott Smith. The closing should be something like sincerely or cordially and your full name complete with Mr., Mrs., or Ms.

The body of your email should be brief since odds are the person reading it has many more to read and no time for a novel. Two things your have to be sure to include are your opinion of the issue at hand and what you want the recipient of the email to do about it. It is important to be as concise as possible. Rather than saying ‘I don’t like your company’s environmental practices’ say “I’m concerned that your company currently produces 100 tons of non-biodegradable waste every week.”

While it may be appropriate to hint that you may take your business or vote somewhere else, don’t make exaggerated claims or outrageous threats.

By following these simple guidelines you’ll greatly increase the chances that your email will not only be read but also taken seriously

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