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It is time we had a separation of ideology and state
(The world has not yet seen such a separation. Until a government embraces such a separation it will unwittingly promote beliefs and ideologies which will eventually lead to its downfall.)
A
successful economy as well as successes in health care and welfare
gives credence to the beliefs which the state promotes, but these
beliefs can have unforeseen consequences. (An obvious example would be
the successes of the Nazi government before WWII.) Today every state has a religion or value system it promotes. In
all societies, the reigning ideology, the ideology which is promoted by
the government, is credited with the successes of that particular
government. In Islamic societies Islam is accredited with doing all the
good things that their governments have accomplished. In humanist
societies humanism is accredited and likewise communism in communist
countries. What if these were cases of good being the enemy of the
best? What if the ideologies or beliefs which motivated people to care
the most about others were being kept out of the spot light simply
because they were up against the ideology that the government espoused
and promoted through education and the media? What if there was an army
of people doing things to help others but the general public paid
little attention to it because the government seemed to be taking care
of things (e.g. welfare)?
If that was the case then the general public would be misled about what
world-view does the most good for society; this in-turn would effect
elections and laws. I've said "if" but this is exactly what is
happening today. It is very important that the general public identify what values are best for society. That will be easy to observe when the government withdraws from certain activities. Many
think that the strength of our economy is based upon the reigning
philosophy of today, but that is not true. It was past generations that
built the infrastructure and gave us the beliefs which sustained us in
times of trouble. Today the west is embracing beliefs which are
destroying our work ethic and there is unprecedented pressure on
families as the number of addictions increase; costs to family courts
and law enforcement are rising. It is only a matter of time before
society cannot cope. It is only a matter of time before health care
completely collapses and the law can no longer be enforced. The
beliefs which made the west possible are being toppled by the new state
ideology which will destroy the west unless it is quickly addressed.
Benjamin Franklin was right, "only a virtuous people are capable of
freedom." But how do you create virtue? And can the government play a
part in creating more people like Mother Teresa without indoctrinating
the people? The
only way we are going to create more people like Mother Teresa is if we
encourage them to play a bigger part in society so the general public
realize just how dependent we are upon them, but this will only happen
when the government limits or abandons their own activities in certain
areas. When
the government reduces it's activities in certain areas ordinary people
will become acutely aware of how much good volunteers and charitable
organizations do, then the beliefs of those volunteers and
organizations will be more widely praised and spread; those values will
have a greater impact on society and more people will adopt them. The seeds of virtue will be sown without the government promoting an ideology or spending a cent.
Is it right that those with values I strongly disagree with are able to use government money (my money) to promote their views?
I'm not the only one who feels this way, many Christians, Humanists, and Muslims have similar feelings. There is an incredible push for power in this country which is unhealthy for any society and no matter which value system wins out others will still be angry. This raises a very important question. Is the government's promotion of values through education and the media a violation of the separation between religion and state? (The state may also be playing an illegitimate role in welfare and health care. This is dealt with in religion and state.)
It is interesting to think where the world might be today without government funded education or media. Where would Hitler's Germany be without government funded education and media? What about the Taliban? What about North Korea? (Usually such governments are begun because of some good cause. That is why constitutional change may be necessary to ensure that no one can use taxes to promote their so called "good cause".)
The religion or the ideology of the state is the "value system" the state promotes in the belief that those who hold those values make for better citizens. Every state promotes the beliefs it values through education, the media and the laws it makes. (As Greg Koukl points out, moral neutrality is a myth. Someone's values are always promoted.)
Earlier I mentioned North Korea and the Nazis; perhaps you are thinking "we are not them", but why should we expect others to adopt such a system when we haven't? What role might the government play regarding education and the media in such a system? How would you implement such a system anyway?
It is time we had a true separation of religion and state.
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