When Sherri Shepherd, America’s Stupidest Celebrity, looks in her rearview mirror, surely she sees Charlie Daniels gaining on her fast.
Yes, that Charlie Daniels. The father of the country rock masterpiece ”The Devil Went Down to Georgia” (Full disclosure: I kind of like that song) has devolved into a hunkering troglodyte who spews jingoistic bigotry like “This Ain’t No Rag, It’s a Flag (And We Don’t Wear It on Our Heads)”.
Well, now. Mister Daniels has never pulled any punches when it comes to his political beliefs, and his latest jeremiad (I pause here for the Daniels fans to look that up) is aimed at atheist Michael Newdow (he of the lawsuits to remove “under God” from the Pledge and “In God We Trust” from the currency. Now Newdow is challenging the religious trappings of the upcoming presidential inauguration (including the invocation, the benediction, swearing in on a Bible, etc.). And that has Charlie Daniels hopping mad. On January 2nd, Daniels posted an essay titled “He Must Be a Miserable Man,” in which he exhibits the garden-variety stupidity and willful ignorance that infects so much of Main Street. Here’s the text of Daniels’ screed [my comments are inserted in brackets].
Michael Newdow is at it again. Remember him? He’s the avowed atheist who wants to take God’s name out of The Pledge of Allegiance, off our money and any place else it appears. [Well, first, Newdow isn't just an AVOWED atheist - he IS an atheist. That aside, Newdow and those who agree with him don't want to remove God's name "any place else it appears." We just want it removed from the government. We're not asking to burn down the churches, or take away your Bibles, or prevent you from wishing us "Merry Christmas" as we walk down the street. All we're asking is for government officials to remain neutral on religion in their capacities as public servants.]
If you look at this issue using cowboy logic, if atheists don’t believe there is a God, why do they care where his name appears? Atheists by their very supposed beliefs claim they don’t believe in religion. [Why do we care? Sigh. Because we believe that this life is all there is, and so we want to make it as pleasant and productive as it can be. This includes opposing and/or correcting irrational, unsupportable belief systems that muck things up for the rest of us. All that aside, Newdow, as an American citizen, has every right to insist that the government follow the Constitution. It doesn't matter what his reasons are. If he's right on legal grounds, he's right. Period.]
Just what in the name of Sam Hill is atheism, if not a religion? It’s a belief, a choice concerning the deity, whether pro or con, so what atheists are doing is trying to force their religion on everybody else. [As the old bumper sticker says, "If atheism is a religion, then not collecting stamps is a hobby." Again, atheists aren't trying to force our "religion" on everybody else. If that were the case, we'd insist on "In No God We Trust" on the money. What we ask for is government neutrality. Is that so hard to understand?]
Now Mr. Newdow, and I’m sure he’ll find a bunch of heathen lawyers [I'm guessing they're not "heathen lawyers" when they're on your side, are they, Charlie?] to go along with him, wants prayer taken out of Obama’s inauguration claiming that it amounts to the government endorsing religion. Well if Mr. Newdow has his way and they take the prayer out doesn’t that amount to the government endorsing atheism? [Ummm... no. See my comment above.]
Of course it does, and I’ll tell you one thing, if the courts of this nation side with the atheists and take prayer out of the inauguration, this nation -which is already in the throes of economic crisis- will pay a price. [Really? We've done just dandy under the God-loving Dubya, ain't we? How were we so prosperous under that sinful weasel Bill Clinton, huh?]
If we deny God His rightful place in the affairs of this nation should we expect Him to intervene when we need protection? Just what do you think has kept us safe from terrorist attacks since 9/11? It certainly wasn’t the atheists. [God's a big guy, let him insist on his rightful place! Is He such a pussy he needs a blowhard country music singer to carry his water for him? Again, if God has kept us safe since 9/11, why hasn't he done such a bang-up job overseeing our economy???]
The last I heard something like 80% of Americans believe in God in one-way or another. If this is truly a nation “by the people and for the people” where the majority rules, there should not even be a question of what should happen at President Obama’s inauguration. [That's true, Charlie, but this isn't a nation where majority rules. Thank goodness we're a Constitutional Republic. Sure, there is a place for democratic deliberation built into the Constitution, but there are lots of ways in which the ever-changing whims of the "majority" are thwarted. Besides, the phrase "by the people and for the people" isn't in the Constitution - it's a rhetorical flourish cooked up by Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address.]
Why should the majority of the people in a free society be pushed around by a miserable little man and his cohorts, who don’t have anything better to do than try to make everybody else as miserable as they are? [Good question - I'll get back to you on that one.]
I personally can’t for the life of me understand how any sane person can believe there is not a God. [That's because you haven't thought about it.] Even if they don’t believe, why they would be so intent on taking away everybody else’s right to express their individual belief? If it’s all a bunch of junk, why should they care? [No one's looking to take away anyone's right to believe. Again, we're just insisting that the government follow the Constitution, which is pretty clear that the government must be neutral with respect to religion.]
It is not unconstitutional for people to practice whatever beliefs they hold and Obama professes Christianity, so it is his right, as an American citizen, to have prayer and Bibles at his inauguration, if Mr. Newdow doesn’t like it all l he has to do is ignore it, just don’t turn the TV on that day. [Sorry, Charlie, but burying your head in the sand is no substitute for fixing the problem. You may disagree with him, but at least Michael Newdow is putting his money - and his reputation - where is mouth is.]
I can’t imagine living in a dark world of believing that there is no Heaven, no Hell and no hope, that prayers are never answered because there’s no divine being to answer them. [No, but you can imagine that the Father of Lies has an inordinate interest in recruiting violinists with raw talent???]
I can’t help but believe that at night when the lights are out and these atheists are alone in bed that the thought that they might be wrong creeps into the back of their minds, and when they are lying on their deathbeds and they are about to take that last breath and walk through the door in irreversible eternity if panic sets in when they realize that there are only two places to go after death and the good one is controlled by that God they have been trying to convince the world doesn’t exist. [Again, the lack of imagination! Only two alternatives? Are you sure that you, Charlie, won't worry about Zeus, or Odin, or Krishna, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster when you're on your deathbed???]
What do you think? [I think you're an idiot.]
Pray for our troops [Better yet, don't waste their lives on fools' errands.]
God Bless America [Gesundheit!]
Tags: charlie daniels, michael newdow
So where exactly was he ON 9/11? Was he taking a nap? I know it didn’t happen on a Sunday…
Now you have insulted all of the idiots in the world.