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I go by the icon of a bird. Whether it was a purely coincidental choice or subconsciously deliberate I cannot say. The bird is blue and the bluebird is a renowned symbol for happiness. The bird is a dodo and dodos are dead. Perhaps what I am is dead to ignorance and indifference.
Birds often perch on a fence or a wall. That’s good because I can see down onto either side of the wall. I can see the good and bad of both worlds. From the wall I can see if the grass is greener on one side or the other. On one side I can see the cat hiding in the long grass with its tail slowly swinging from side to side. I know it’s after me… But on the other side there is a big dog sleeping his cares peacefully away. On the wall I am happy and I can sing and I am safe…
Or am I safe? There’s a boy playing on the same side as the dog. For now he’s chucking stones into the pond. If I continue my chirping for much longer he might just soon be throwing them at me… You see… Sitting on the wall I can be hit from either side…
When I die it might be the same as it was before I was born. And I have no pre-birth memories so perhaps I didn’t exist. And if it is the same after this life then there is nothing to fear. When I die I might find I can still think and therefore still am! Well jolly good if so, I’ll simply embark upon it as a new day in a new situation. Until then I shall be the jolly bird sitting on the wall as happy as can be. I’ll listen to the noises made on both sides; I shall enjoy them and be fascinated in all things new whichever side they come. I shall be as fair as fair can be. I shall take flight from the perils of ignorance and learn as much from all that I see. Sitting on the wall of life is good and I make it so.
But that brings me to…
Thomas Jefferson!
Let’s suppose I’m sitting on the wall of American past history and American present politics.
I don’t know what Jefferson’s final words were before his death on the 50th anniversary of the declaration of Independence but he instructed that his tombstone shall read:
HERE WAS BURIED THOMAS JEFFERSON
AUTHOR OF THE DECLARATION OF AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
OF THE STATUTE OF VIRGINIA FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
AND FATHER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
On reading the declaration of independence I should like to highlight the following part of it:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
I rather like that sentence!
In drafting the declaration, Jefferson helped in establishing a nation free and independent of a state mal-influenced by a corrupted church and religious laws.
In writing the statute of religious freedom for the State of Virginia he sought to establish the rights of men not to be forced to practice any religion against his will, and to be permitted to freely express his religious opinion and that civil rights do not depend on religion.
And then perhaps for a moment you can imagine a wall, where upon the blue bird is perched… the wall of separation.
To one side is the garden of the church and to the other is the wilderness of the world. As described by Baptist theologian Roger Williams and used by Jefferson to describe the First Amendment to the US Constitution which effectively says that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.
In founding the University of Virginia he sought an educational establishment unbiased of religion and with a diversification of subjects such as astronomy, architecture, botany, philosophy and political science.
Quoting Jefferson from Phillips Russell’s - Jefferson, Champion of the Free Mind
"This institution will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind. For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate any error so long as reason is left free to combat it.”
Jefferson even opposed that theology should ever be taught at the university. (In spite of that the university now boasts one of the most highly rated religious studies program. It also has a ‘non-denominational’ chapel.)
I see there has been an ongoing debate about what Jefferson’s private religious beliefs were. Many say he was a deist, others say he was a Christian theist and still others say he was practically an atheist. I think he wound up in life as a deist with atheistic sympathies, but that is besides the point. Jefferson provided the framework for people to respect one another’s beliefs and perhaps to find a way to live in harmony with one another.
Now let us suppose as I sit on the wall I turn to look to the present day politics of the US.
I hear of such books like that of Kevin Phillips – American Theocracy (which I’ve not read) but I have read an article on the internet by him which gives a summary called Theocons and Theocrats
I’ve searched around to try and get a balanced view. I’m satisfied he’s not a crank or an alarmist. His statements appear to be accurate and not exaggerated. And his concerns are real.
I have also read an article by Gary Wills called Country of Faith issued in the New York Review of books Vol 53 No 18 dated 16th November 2006.
Reading both these articles I find that what appears to be happening to be very disturbing.
Gary Wills’ article is about a silent ‘invasion’ of the Whitehouse by right wing evangelicals. In it is a quote by former attorney general John Ashcroft who once addressed an audience at Bob Jones University and said “We have no king but Jesus” and he called Jefferson’s wall of separation between church and state a “wall of religious oppression”.
I read of things like faith-based initiatives in law-enforcement, education, medicine, science, war and justice. I hear of the increasing roles of religious institutions in politics, business and economics, Christian Zionism, Christian Reconstructionalism, I hear of infringements of women’s civil liberties in respect to numerous issues including abortion, a rise of homophobia, a campaign against the separation of church and state, schools teaching creationism, stem cell research being banned… to mention but a few things all as a direct result of the influence of right wing evangelicals.
Now with all due respect to the belief of evangelicals – I used to be one; people need to be extremely careful about what’s happening here. People following their evangelical beliefs are failing to see that they are having an impact on the civil liberties of those who do not hold their beliefs. And they don’t care because to their mind it is God’s Will. To them the Scriptures are the inspired Word of God.
The wall of separation has already started to erode and the First Amendment is at an ever increasing risk of being devalued and who knows? One day it could even be removed.
The day that Jefferson’s Wall falls,
the happy bluebird will have flown away,
and it will be America’s Darkest Day.
Thomas Jefferson was not an athiest...it's obvious that he believed that God endowed us with the rights he so elloquently outlined. I do think that religion, that is to say churches, has to stay out of politics. But faith, the principles of the belief in an ultimate consequence to life, doing right not wrong, loving your neighbors and so on MUST dictate our government. So...it's a fine line we have to walk...like that bid on the fence...that can fly wither way.
I agree with you, and feel that the extreme right wing evangelists are fanatics, and as such, are dangerous, as they preach that their way is the only way. Fanaticism of any religion (or lack of such) is inflamatory, and leaves no room for differences. This frightens me.....
Thanks Anne for your comment. Perhaps it appears as a fine line if those morals are seen as religious. I believe we can hold a very good set of morals and values without subscribing to religion and so for me I don't see a fine line. I'm a great respector of religion and of people's faiths.
However I have come to recognize over the years that within some sections of certain religions there are extreme beliefs which can infringe on the civil rights and liberties of persons who choose not to follow them and I consider that when these particular beliefs are imposed on others we have immoral and unjust actions that the First Amendment was designed to protect citizens of the US from.
I'm a strong supporter of the principles Jefferson laid down and men in his time sacrificed their lives to establish these principles. When I see what appears to be happening in US government now, then I consider that the principles of the First Amendment and religious freedom are being eroded away. American citizens should treat this matter with all seriousness and urgency.
Don't worry Sai. I know you will come back in the goodness of time.
Saturday 25 August 2007 - 07:33AM (GMT)
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