Let's be honest from the start, this is one of those things that is going to get you labeled as a "conservative" even if you are literally a card carrying member of the International Socialist Organization.
So, if you plan on repeating any of this, tread softly, it well piss your friends off...if your friends are liberals. Or progressives...or really anything at all.
So...these things exist:
No, that's not a fucking Green Day concert.
That image up there, that is a fucking church and all those seats are filled with people that are actually attending that church.
Now, if you were raised Catholic like I was...you already have religious problems with that. Being Catholic means that you are used to churches having a ton of unnecessary shit and jewels and shit and gold and shit and art and shit and things that really shouldn't have anything at all to do with a poor humble hippie fisherman...hippie carpenter...hippie whatever.
I know, I'm a great Catholic...
...but still Catholic enough to have an issue with Mega Churches. I mean, I walk into one, I take a look at the stadium seating and the enormous screens and I think "Antichrist."
I get visions of The Omen stuck in my head.
The good one, not the shitty remake.
I mean, churches are supposed to look like this:
And for those of you that are idiots, the above picture is Notre Dame. That is an ENORMOUS church. It's a very lavish church...and it is tiny compared to that huge American mega-church with the giant screen and the auditorium seating.
And, Notre Dame, well technically it is a cathedral.
All accuracy and technicalities aside, "cathedral" is fancy talk for:
And, unlike the mega church, Notre Dame does NOT have an enormous cafeteria filled with $12 dollar burgers. People don't work as baristas in cathedrals.
The point is...Catholic or not, churches have a ton of money...which, really, they shouldn't.
At least the Catholic church also operates as an enormous charity...as does the United Methodist Church...and honestly, some few Mega Churches...and, OK, fine, a lot of churches all over the world are also pretty OK charities.
And, honestly, I am so not the type to hate a charity because it's religious. Honestly, my attitude is:
And, honestly, if are one of those people that pisses all over a charity because it has ties to A or B thing you don't like...well...you're just a fucking asshole. There are no two ways about that.
You may hate the Clinton's because you're a conservative...but fuck you, the charity is pretty cool.
You might hate religion...but, the charity part is pretty cool.
You get the point...
...moving on...
Because churches have so much money, enough to make Solomon blush, well, a lot of people are saying this:
Or they are saying something close to it.
They are saying "tax the church"
And, hey, I can kind of see the meme thing here.
It seems like an easy enough solution...but....
You see that question there?
What that is, is people complaining that the church has too much influence in politics...and you know what, they are right.
Religious institutions have an INSANE amount if influence in politics...I mean, look at this guy:
He was hugely religious. He was a born again and more than a few times he mentioned that God wanted him to be president.
His church had a serious influence on politics and, today, in the Republican Party, among the conservatives, some churches remain hugely political.
That is just a fact.
And it is THE fact that will make your left leaning friends call you a "conservative" for repeating any of this.
But, we also have this:
I know, it is like, one of the MOST unpopular things on BOTH the left and the right in American politics today.
And for those of you that for some reason do not have it memorized it reads like this:
And it is the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, the first 10 of which comprise the Bill of Rights.
Now, as hated as the 1st Amendment is in America...by BOTH sides...a lot of people think that it is the 1st Amendment that is intended to keep religion out of politics.
That is a load of shit.
Seriously, read it again. All it says is that the government can't butt in and get involved with religion. It says it can't prohibit religion. It says you have the right to worship whatever you want...even if it's this ass hole:
Moving on....
What keeps religious institutes out of politics is NOT the 1st Amendment. All that does is guarantee that they have the right to exist, you have the right to follow them, and you have the right to make up your own religions, establish them, and persuade your followers to worship Jarjar Binks if you so choose.
What actually is intended to keep religion out of politics are taxes.
With Taxes come certain rights.
Look at corporations.
Now if religious institutions remain tax exempt...there is an argument that they can NOT have a say in politics. The government can actually crack down on that.
If you tax religious institutions, well, they are then legally allowed to donate vast sums of money to political campaigns...just like corporations do.
And that is just for starters.
Taxing religion is opening the doors and welcoming them to get involved in politics even more than they already are.
And remember, they are conservative and they have more money than you. And money is legally political speech, SCOTUS saw to that.
So, I know the temptation to be a good little progressive and yell...
...at the top of your lungs.
But remember, MOST of the people that are screaming to tax them are also bitching about the amount of influence they already have in our political system...and that is just going to give them more...much...much...more.
So, is all that extra tax money to build the American war machine really worth it?
We do live in the United States of America after all, we aren't Europe, taxing the church and simultaneously restraining the speech and political power that will give them, well, that will mean SCOTUS battles at the least and massive rewrites to the Constitution at the worst.
It could also mean, at an extreme end, that we are opening the door for an eventual theocracy and, that would really suck.
So, if you plan on repeating any of this, tread softly, it well piss your friends off...if your friends are liberals. Or progressives...or really anything at all.
So...these things exist:
No, that's not a fucking Green Day concert.
That image up there, that is a fucking church and all those seats are filled with people that are actually attending that church.
Now, if you were raised Catholic like I was...you already have religious problems with that. Being Catholic means that you are used to churches having a ton of unnecessary shit and jewels and shit and gold and shit and art and shit and things that really shouldn't have anything at all to do with a poor humble hippie fisherman...hippie carpenter...hippie whatever.
I know, I'm a great Catholic...
...but still Catholic enough to have an issue with Mega Churches. I mean, I walk into one, I take a look at the stadium seating and the enormous screens and I think "Antichrist."
I get visions of The Omen stuck in my head.
The good one, not the shitty remake.
I mean, churches are supposed to look like this:
And for those of you that are idiots, the above picture is Notre Dame. That is an ENORMOUS church. It's a very lavish church...and it is tiny compared to that huge American mega-church with the giant screen and the auditorium seating.
And, Notre Dame, well technically it is a cathedral.
All accuracy and technicalities aside, "cathedral" is fancy talk for:
Super big and expensive church that is lavishly decorated and costs a ton of money.
And, unlike the mega church, Notre Dame does NOT have an enormous cafeteria filled with $12 dollar burgers. People don't work as baristas in cathedrals.
The point is...Catholic or not, churches have a ton of money...which, really, they shouldn't.
At least the Catholic church also operates as an enormous charity...as does the United Methodist Church...and honestly, some few Mega Churches...and, OK, fine, a lot of churches all over the world are also pretty OK charities.
And, honestly, I am so not the type to hate a charity because it's religious. Honestly, my attitude is:
"If you are helping people, if you are feeding the poor, no matter what other sins you have, that's pretty cool of you. Even if I hate everything about you, thanks, you're helping at least a little."
And, honestly, if are one of those people that pisses all over a charity because it has ties to A or B thing you don't like...well...you're just a fucking asshole. There are no two ways about that.
You may hate the Clinton's because you're a conservative...but fuck you, the charity is pretty cool.
You might hate religion...but, the charity part is pretty cool.
You get the point...
...moving on...
Because churches have so much money, enough to make Solomon blush, well, a lot of people are saying this:
They are saying "tax the church"
And, hey, I can kind of see the meme thing here.
It seems like an easy enough solution...but....
You see that question there?
When did Christianity become a political party?
What that is, is people complaining that the church has too much influence in politics...and you know what, they are right.
Religious institutions have an INSANE amount if influence in politics...I mean, look at this guy:
He was hugely religious. He was a born again and more than a few times he mentioned that God wanted him to be president.
His church had a serious influence on politics and, today, in the Republican Party, among the conservatives, some churches remain hugely political.
That is just a fact.
And it is THE fact that will make your left leaning friends call you a "conservative" for repeating any of this.
But, we also have this:
I know, it is like, one of the MOST unpopular things on BOTH the left and the right in American politics today.
And for those of you that for some reason do not have it memorized it reads like this:
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.
And it is the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, the first 10 of which comprise the Bill of Rights.
Now, as hated as the 1st Amendment is in America...by BOTH sides...a lot of people think that it is the 1st Amendment that is intended to keep religion out of politics.
That is a load of shit.
Seriously, read it again. All it says is that the government can't butt in and get involved with religion. It says it can't prohibit religion. It says you have the right to worship whatever you want...even if it's this ass hole:
Moving on....
What keeps religious institutes out of politics is NOT the 1st Amendment. All that does is guarantee that they have the right to exist, you have the right to follow them, and you have the right to make up your own religions, establish them, and persuade your followers to worship Jarjar Binks if you so choose.
What actually is intended to keep religion out of politics are taxes.
With Taxes come certain rights.
Look at corporations.
Now if religious institutions remain tax exempt...there is an argument that they can NOT have a say in politics. The government can actually crack down on that.
If you tax religious institutions, well, they are then legally allowed to donate vast sums of money to political campaigns...just like corporations do.
And that is just for starters.
Taxing religion is opening the doors and welcoming them to get involved in politics even more than they already are.
And remember, they are conservative and they have more money than you. And money is legally political speech, SCOTUS saw to that.
So, I know the temptation to be a good little progressive and yell...
TAX THE CHURCH!!!!!
...at the top of your lungs.
But remember, MOST of the people that are screaming to tax them are also bitching about the amount of influence they already have in our political system...and that is just going to give them more...much...much...more.
So, is all that extra tax money to build the American war machine really worth it?
We do live in the United States of America after all, we aren't Europe, taxing the church and simultaneously restraining the speech and political power that will give them, well, that will mean SCOTUS battles at the least and massive rewrites to the Constitution at the worst.
It could also mean, at an extreme end, that we are opening the door for an eventual theocracy and, that would really suck.
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