Remember when Jesse Jackson was running for president? How about Pat Buchanan? Did you feel uncomfortable? It made me positively itch. Well, okay, Jesse made me itch, Buchanan made me barf.
Not that I have anything against Jesse, really, but remember… he is the Reverend Jesse Jackson. As for Buchanan, he's not only an evangelist, he's a crazy evangelist. Either way, it always seemed to me that anyone who is "of the cloth" should not also be "of the government."
As I've written about before, the first amendment to our constitution states, effectively, that our government will not promote religion. If we were to elect as president a person who is also a religious leader, how could we expect that amendment to be upheld? This person would feel obligated to lead us all spiritually (to say the least) due to his or her theism, but the Establishment Clause would forbid it. If that's not a conflict of interests, I don't know what is.
For that matter, it's not just the presidency that we should be concerned about. No public official should be allowed to remain in office once it has been shown that his or her religion is interfering with official duties. Cases in point, Judge Roy Moore and Governor Fob James of Alabama. These men are not only constantly violating the Establishment Clause, they're proud of it! They are disgraces to their positions and should be ousted from them immediately.
Anyone who mixes their religion with their public office should be removed. Not just presidents, judges, and governors, but anyone involved in federal, state or local governments, even your local school board. We are not a "Christian nation," we are a secular nation. We need to make sure it stays that way.
Removing theists who mix their religion with their offices is the key to true reform on this vital issue. Until we do this, we can't expect revisions of state constitutions that require office-holders to believe in God. Until we do, we can never expect to see religious displays removed from courthouses. Until we do, we can never expect the debate over prayer in public schools to end.
Until we do, we can never be truly free.
