What a Real "War on Religion" Looks Like

The Poor Oppressed Christians truly seem to have no comprehension of irony. If one person says "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" to them during the winter season it constitutes an unconscionable attack on their faith, while when they attack alternative religious events in an attempt to drive anything but Christianity from the public square what they're doing strikes them as perfectly reasonable. The latest target for these hypocrites is a Pagan solstice festival being held in Pahokee, Florida. Local business leaders sensibly argue that the festival will bring business into town and help the local economy, but Poor Oppressed Christians living in the area argue that they shouldn't have to endure the presence of any other religion in their midst. Applying their own logic, I suppose one could call this a "War on Solstice."

Pastors from various churches in Pahokee attended Tuesday night’s city commission meeting to express disappointment in city leaders for allowing the event to come to Pahokee. The crowd cheered in agreement as, one-by-one, pastors from around the area admonished city officials for allowing festivals containing witchcraft and occult practices into the city. “I just found out about this today. I am disappointed in the city of Pahokee for allowing this group to come,” said Pastor Brad Smith, Florida Director of Kids for Christ. Smith called the event “an abomination”.

“We don’t need this in our town. Not now. Not ever,” said Rev. Raul Rodriguez, of Church of God Door of Jesus Christ. His daughter, Ruby Rodriguez said that this came as a shock to her. “We do live in a free country but of all of the cities in Florida, why would they choose Pahokee?” she asked. The line of speakers from Pahokee, a city with a high concentration of local churches, seemed endless. “We are opening ourselves up to things we should not, like belly dancing and magic spells,” said Daniel Mondragon. “We do not welcome these things. This is the first annual event, and it should be the last.”

After all, to some people belly dancing is apparently scary! Keep in mind that these groups do have every right to protest the festival, obnoxious though that may be. What raises the bar here is that they are attempting to convince the local government to shut it down, and the fact that the government can't do that on religious grounds without running afoul of the United States Constitution apparently escapes them. I'll say it again - religious freedom isn't free, folks. If you want the freedom to practice your spiritual beliefs, you have to be willing to extend that freedom to others who don't share them if you want to maintain any semblance of coherent values. Failure to comprehend this basic idea seems to be at the heart of the Poor Oppressed Christian mindset and renders it to more a pathology or delusion than an accurate understanding of the world.