So I received one of those “please send this email to everyone under the sun” emails today. Nothing wrong with that, I understand people pass along these things. However, after reading it, I actually felt a little sick - namely because it seems to be authored by a Christian, with an agenda in mind. The email contains some quotes from a government official in Australia concerning the state of their country with respect to religion and muslims and such. Some of it I can agree with, and some I strongly disagree with. So first, we have the email as I received it:
Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks.
A day after a group of mainstream Muslim leaders pledged loya lty to Australia and her Queen at a special meeting with Prime Minister John Howard, he and his Ministers made it clear that extremists would face a crackdown. Treasurer Peter Costello, seen as heir apparent to Howard, hinted that some radical clerics could be asked to leave the country if they did not accept that Australia was a secular state, and its laws were made by parliament. “If those are not your values, if you want a country which has Sharia law or a theocratic state, then Australia is not for you”, he said on National Television.
“I’d be saying to clerics who are teaching that there are two laws governing people in Australia : one the Australian law and another Islamic law that is false. If you can’t agree with parliamentary law, independent courts, democracy, and would prefer Sharia law and have the opportunity to go to another country, which practices it, perhaps, then, that’s a better option”, Costello said.
Asked whether he meant radical clerics would be forced to leave, he said those with dual citizenship could possibly be asked to move to the other country. Education Minister Brendan Nelson later told reporters that Muslims who did not want to accept local values should “clear off. Basically people who don’t want to be Australians, and who don’t want, to live by Australian values and understand them, well then, they can basically clear off”, he said.
Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation’s mosques.
Quote: “IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians.”
“However, the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the ‘politically correct’ crowd began complaining about the possibility that our patriotism was offending others. I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to Australia ” “However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand.” “This idea of Australia being a multi-cultural community has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity. And as Australians, we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle.”
“This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom”
“We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society .. Learn the language!”
“Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.”
“We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.”
“If the Southern Cross offends you, or you don’t like “A Fair Go”, then you should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet. We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don’t care how you did things where you came from. By all means, keep your culture, but do not force it on others.
“This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and O UR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom,
‘THE RIGHT TO LEAVE’.”
“If you aren’t happy here then LEAVE. We didn’t force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.”
May be if we circulate this amongst ourselves, American citizens will find the backbone to start speaking and voicing the same truths !
If you agree please SEND THIS TO EVERYBODY YOU KNOW!
First off, the email tells you to cross check this on snopes, however the emails contains much extra content that is not present on the snopes site. So it’s hard to tell if that information is accurate, or inserted to fulfill some Christian nut’s agenda. That said, let me just gloss over a few things:
If Christianity was ever forced down my throat, I would leave. This country (The U.S.) was *not* founded on Christianity, and should remain as it is - freedom of choice to practice what you will. Yes, some of our fore-fathers were Christian, or had some Christian beliefs, but it was never intended that Christianity be forced on the people. For those of you who know less than nothing about the framers of our constitution and founders of our country, please see here here and here
Now, I do agree that things should stay how they are. Secular - not tying the US to any form of religion. Many republicans want this to be a Christian only nation. I would not tolerate such a disrespect to the constitution and the removal of freedoms from our citizens… Wait what? Yeah, that’s right. For those of you who still have the wool over your eyes - religion serves one purpose, and one purpose only. Control. Though you could argue that it also makes you feel good inside. Look back through history and you will see that those lucky few who controlled the religion, controlled the people. This was especially true for those countries that had a “state religion”. The dark ages and that whole Spanish Inquisition thing comes to mind especially.
Certainly, many religions *preach* peace, and provide well founded morals for the people to live by. Christianity is full of lessons and parables on how to live your life in a peaceful way, helping others and making society better. The problem is man itself. By nature, we are an evil people. Evil might be the wrong word, but we have the survival of the fittest mentality that permeates every aspect of the animal kingdom. We want to better ourselves, usually at the expense of someone or something else.
Now I am all for prayer in school. However, not in the form most conservatives (read: republicans) want it. They want to turn our schools into sunday school. They want *Christian* prayer only. They do *not* want to allow Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Native Americans, Africans or any other people to pray to the god they want. They want teachers to lead the classes in *Christian* prayer. Sorry, fuck you bitches. We have the first amendment for a reason - but the republicans continue to piss all over our constitution. They hold it in high regard when it comes to the second amendment, but the first - not so much. So we should have a prayer time, sure. But it should be the “silent moment” that we used to have when I was in school. That allows everyone to pray or whatever in the way they want, to whom they want.
So now that I have gone on a little religious tirade, I can say some brief words about the rest of the email and how the author wants it to apply to the United States. I do firmly believe we should have a national language. I am all for State’s rights, but as a country we need one official language. If we let the states set their own language, we become a fragmented country. I believe English should be that official language. Not because it’s really the only language I know, but it’s the only language the vast majority of country knows. Certainly we should accommodate those who speak other languages, but those that come here should realize we speak English here. Also, people need to realize that as we don’t force religion on people, supposedly, that other religions should not seek to become the one true religion. If we ever did have a national religion, it would almost certainly be Christianity - however I have already written about this.
So yes, we are a multi-cultural nation. We should respect that and realize that this country was founded on immigration (and the theft of land, resources and life of Native Americans - and the slavery of African and Asian peoples). People should be free to speak their native tongue and keep their native culture alive. But they should also respect the *American* way of life and culture as well.
