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ebonypearl at 12:44pm on 11/01/2009
ebonypearl at 12:44pm on 11/01/2009Uncut for importance.
I know I keep harping about this, and possibly, with a new President inbound, this will change, but I think it should remain near the top of people's consciousness. I think it's important that we be the opposite of what is being advocated in these Clergy Response Teams trained by Homeland Security. We, as Numenists, do not support martial law. We will not lend our presence to subjugating our co-religionists or citizens of our country. We will not support any abrogation of our rights as human beings, nor our Constitutionally guaranteed rights as citizens of the United States of America. We are not the enemy. I resent our government treating us as if we were.
I originally wrote about this in 2003, and again in 2005, and then in July of 2006. Apparently, the issue isn't going away - KSLA published a brief story on it in 2007. And there's more, check out the Citizen Corps Newsletter that mentions these workshops are still being held around the country for clergy response teams. Most of the information they share is good information. I've never quibbled with that. What disturbs me is the heavy and not-so-subtle emphasis that it is the job of the clergy to quell unrest and encourage obedience in the event of martial law. The only reason to declare martial law in the US is if our government were attacking us - and this seems so much more likely now that we actually have a standing army deployed against us on US soil, in direct opposition to the Posse Comitatus (which was gutted by Bush).
It is the responsibility of the police forces to quell riots and monitor civil unrest - not the duty of our military. The police force is what polices us and the military is what protects us. That the division between police and military is being deliberately obscured bothers me - a lot. Conflating the two armed forces is seriously bad news for citizens of America.
I am not happy that our government is still teaching clergy to be an extension of the law enforcement arm. Clergy should never be police or military (although police or military may also act in the capacity of clergy, or clergy may serve those who are in the police or military). The government should get entirely out of religion and allow the clergy of various religions to deal with their co-religionists in ways they deem appropriate for the religion, and not at the behest of government. Most religions will choose to support our government - it is our government, after all, but should the government act in a way that is detrimental to us, it is our religions who sand as buffer between governmental injustice and freedom. I don't want religious authorities co-opted into being government shills.
I sincerely hope this changes with a new President. But I'm not holding my breath.
I know I keep harping about this, and possibly, with a new President inbound, this will change, but I think it should remain near the top of people's consciousness. I think it's important that we be the opposite of what is being advocated in these Clergy Response Teams trained by Homeland Security. We, as Numenists, do not support martial law. We will not lend our presence to subjugating our co-religionists or citizens of our country. We will not support any abrogation of our rights as human beings, nor our Constitutionally guaranteed rights as citizens of the United States of America. We are not the enemy. I resent our government treating us as if we were.
I originally wrote about this in 2003, and again in 2005, and then in July of 2006. Apparently, the issue isn't going away - KSLA published a brief story on it in 2007. And there's more, check out the Citizen Corps Newsletter that mentions these workshops are still being held around the country for clergy response teams. Most of the information they share is good information. I've never quibbled with that. What disturbs me is the heavy and not-so-subtle emphasis that it is the job of the clergy to quell unrest and encourage obedience in the event of martial law. The only reason to declare martial law in the US is if our government were attacking us - and this seems so much more likely now that we actually have a standing army deployed against us on US soil, in direct opposition to the Posse Comitatus (which was gutted by Bush).
It is the responsibility of the police forces to quell riots and monitor civil unrest - not the duty of our military. The police force is what polices us and the military is what protects us. That the division between police and military is being deliberately obscured bothers me - a lot. Conflating the two armed forces is seriously bad news for citizens of America.
I am not happy that our government is still teaching clergy to be an extension of the law enforcement arm. Clergy should never be police or military (although police or military may also act in the capacity of clergy, or clergy may serve those who are in the police or military). The government should get entirely out of religion and allow the clergy of various religions to deal with their co-religionists in ways they deem appropriate for the religion, and not at the behest of government. Most religions will choose to support our government - it is our government, after all, but should the government act in a way that is detrimental to us, it is our religions who sand as buffer between governmental injustice and freedom. I don't want religious authorities co-opted into being government shills.
I sincerely hope this changes with a new President. But I'm not holding my breath.