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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 19768
[Humor]
Date Posted:
6/18/2008
8:41:50 am EDT
Wvox Stats
Views: 6,991
RSS: 14,409
Comments: 16
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Church And State Collide On Highway
Author: Starshine Roshell Source: Santa Barbara Independent (CA)
Title: CHURCH AND STATE COLLIDE ON HIGHWAY
This just in: Rational thought is backed up for miles along South Carolina’s roadways, where a serious traffic collision between Church and State has left our Constitution in critical condition.
And it’s left Atheists a little cross.
The state recently approved a series of government-issued license plates bearing the words “I BELIEVE” and the image of a Christian cross in front of a stained-glass window. In addition to boasting their state-sanctioned love for square dancing, wild turkeys, and Dale Earnhardt Jr., South Carolina residents can now share their devotion to Jesus Christ with anyone lucky enough to be eating their dust.
Apparently ichthys fish and “God is my copilot” bumper stickers just weren’t converting heathens like they used to.
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Community Thoughts: There are 16 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Bumper Stickers And Vanity Plates | Jun 20th. at 7:33:47 am EDT
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Eran Rathan (Old Town, Maine) - Email Me
My father always told me, "never bother announcing who and what you are for all the world to see. Those who know you and whom you trust will get that, and for everyone else you can remain safely anonymous."
Its something the military calls "Tagging the Target". By loudly and obnoxiously declaring ones sympathies, political affiliation, religious attitude, favorite sports team, whatever, it makes you vulnerable to attack or vandalism from those who 1) believe differently than you and 2) are dumb, vicious, and violent enough to want to hurt those who believe differently from themselves.
In exemplum, a friend of mine at the University of NH about ten years ago now, had all of his windows in his car smashed out, his tires slashed, and his car dented all over, and a giant cross spray-painted on his hood. Total damage: $4k+. And why? he had a bunch of stickers saying things like "Magic is Alive", "I'm Pagan and I vote", "Born OK the First Time", etc....and near as anyone can tell, that was the only reason his car was targetted.
"To Know, to will, to dare, to be SILENT."
Eran Rathan
P.S. This rant aside, I agree with Finn that if the people want them, they should get them, and have to pay extra like everyone else.
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| This Is Unconstitutional | Jun 20th. at 3:12:01 am EDT
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Shadow (Webb City, Missouri) - Email Me
The state by only having licenses plates for (ONE) religion and no other, is in fact unconstitutional. If they want license plates for faith , they should then have one for each religion, very simple. But having only one religion recognized it is showing prefference to that one religion. Its all or none, and I hope the state gets ripped for doing this.
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| That Last Line... | Jun 19th. at 11:47:32 pm EDT
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bigcat (peoria, Illinois) - Email Me
Says it best!
And it would be a slogan I would sport, just to Tee off the "so called believers".
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| All Or None... | Jun 19th. at 11:06:47 pm EDT
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Katmandu (elba, Alabama) - Email Me
Let all faiths and the lacking-there-of's have their plates or let none have them. This is a simple principle of sharing that our parents should have taught us all when we were little. Of course, that opens a pandora's box of issues, the least of which being the means of making so many differing plates for one state.
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| I Would Like A Bumper Sticker That Says.... | Jun 19th. at 10:05:48 pm EDT
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Shadowbear (Hillsboro, Oregon) - Email Me
The Gods are my Copilot, Navigator, and Engineer
There are a lot of cars out here that have the God is my Copilot logo on them.
However, I don't believe in plastering my car with slogans so there are no stickers of any kind on it and the plates have my husband's HAM radio call-numbers on it and do not cost anything extra to have.
I don't think I would like to have the special plates - what if you ran into a car WITH pagan bumper stickers on it - would a jury assume intentional assault? Road rage? Could be a money maker there for the lawyers and the bumper stickered lesser faiths.
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| Taxes | Jun 19th. at 10:25:12 am EDT
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Finn (San Marcos, Texas) - Email Me
I personally think it is great if they want to pay extra taxes to the public coffers to stick a cross on their plates. I think anyone should be able to waste money and put proclamations of their faith on their car. I see little difference between this theatrical display and that of Wiccans, witches, Heathens, and/or Pagans wearing big gaudy jewelry, painting runes onto their fences, or "Never Again the Burning Times" bumper stickers.
The legal issue is simply to ensure that the state is not endorsing one type of free speech and faith and not another. That is easily fixed. I'm not enraged when I see Christians (or anyone else) displaying their faith. Let them pay for the right. It seems win-win from my perspective.
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| Hey | Jun 19th. at 8:38:25 am EDT
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Ander s. Drake (hays, Kansas) - Email Me
why do they get all the discounts and us people who can't even afford to renew our plates have to pay so much. But the author does have a good point, they are a good warning for the logically challenged. lol
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| And The Horns Of A Legal Battle Shall Sound | Jun 19th. at 7:09:12 am EDT
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Moonlight Wolf (Bradford, England) - Email Me
I can definately see someone raising objections to this, mostly those who are not fundamentalist Christian.
Still got to give the article credit, it still gave me a good laugh.
I wonder if there will be Christians who will protest at the plates because it 'cheapens' their religion and makes it seem like a fad for sheeple.
After all don't we groan when we see teens in full goth attire with a pentacle the size of their heads spouting out that they are Wiccan.
The main difference here is that the Christian plates are more to do with legality whereas the aforementioned over the top teen is more about being whatever it is they are trying to be.
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| Double Speak | Jun 18th. at 10:39:08 pm EDT
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Katmandu (elba, Alabama) - Email Me
“The largest proclamation of one’s faith ought to be in how one lives one’s life.”
The governor says one thing ( and may actually believe it) and does another. With his inaction he can allow this plate to come into being, thus pandering to a apparently large base. He can also tell those who oppose this thing that he did not sign it into being. Politician.
If we all were allowed to have our own special plates, I'd want one that says, "In B.O.B I trust" or "Bring the Duracells and feel the good vibes." That would wake up some prudes, if they got the joke.
(B.O.B---for those who may not get it--is Battery Operated Boyfriend.)
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| Im | Jun 18th. at 8:46:39 pm EDT
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Orion 6Xray (Park City, Kentucky) - Email Me - Web
not even touching this with a ten foot cattle prod. It never ends, just recycled crap from centuries ago.
"Do you trust a creed that claims to set you free, while spending a life time begging on you knees."
Cry Freedom - Gaia Consort
Find More info -- HERE
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| First Amendment | Jun 18th. at 8:28:24 pm EDT
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Ahr-Ohn (Bridgeport, Connecticut) - Email Me
The strict reading of the First amendment, would make note of the word, Congress. The First Amendment would only prohibit state sanction, if the state is the creation of Congress, which South Carolina predates.
It's the 14th Amendment, which prohibits discrimination, based on avowing the religion of another state, or for being Colored, or a Union Soldier.
Arawn
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| No Surprise | Jun 18th. at 3:05:30 pm EDT
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Silverose (Indianapolis, Indiana) - Email Me
They successfully did this in Indiana--the "In God We Trust" plate with a cross doesn't cost any more than a standard plate, whereas organization/cause related plates cost anywhere from $25-50 extra. It doesn't surprise me that the trend would spread.
Silverose
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| This, Too, Is Vanity... | Jun 18th. at 1:20:05 pm EDT
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Friday Scott (Middleton, Wisconsin) - Email Me
Tsk. :) I'm sure everyone's looking forward to the special treatment at the DMV, traffic court, and during selective enforcement incidents, ... not to mention every teller there that cares to becoming a state funded proselytizer...
I wonder if the proponents of these plates thought through all the potential for abuse here, if they didn't know, or had exactly that in mind.
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| LMAO!!... | Jun 18th. at 1:09:05 pm EDT
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Artemis (Denver Metro, Colorado) - Email Me
“May the fetus you save be a black, gay, Wiccan Democrat.”
Where can I find one of these bumper stickers??
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| Well Then. | Jun 18th. at 11:03:59 am EDT
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Raven (Winter Park, Florida) - Email Me
I'm really glad that this was contested and actually lost in the state of Florida; I can't imagine a state-sanctioned organization such as the DMV would trample so relentlessly on the First Amendment as to have something like a basic right to *no* establishment of religion.
Then again, I've always been proven wrong. Thank you, South Carolina, for reaffirming the fact that so long as it has the Christian logo on it, it's safe for public consumption. ::sighs::
If they're going to pull this, then I really, really want a pentacle or other Pagan plate, too. So nyah, DMV. :P
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