Originally Posted by
StratMaster
You're conflating issues. I'm speaking of the constitution. Any manner of things went on BEFORE the constitution.
There is no amendment or clause which addresses OR condones witch burning as lawful. In speaking of the constitution, Pagans, Christians, WERE given rights as free citizens. Nowhere in the constitution is pagan worship mentioned specifically. And neither is Christianity. It mentions religion just twice, and both times the word “no” attached. The first mention is in Art. VI “no religious test shall ever be required…” The second time is in the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
It protects those of ANY faith (or non faith) from the government establishing one in state opposition to another's. Our other laws protect them from each OTHER (which, until recently, was usually the problem).The problem with some, is they believe the constitution was written BY them, FOR them. It was meant to do just the opposite, and explicitly says so. "No law respecting the establishment of religion"... not by Pagans or Christians. It should be enough. For some it isn't.
Oregon: The state voted almost exclusively Republican from its founding until 1984, except 1868, 1912 and 1964 and the four elections won by Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression and World War II. Starting in 1988, the state went Democratic and has done so to this day.
I think it important to be firm on this truth, because Oregon citizens didn't "just become corrupt". Indeed, that provides us with no facts to work with at all. I have been here 63 years, and saw what occurred myself. Something which is now occurring in other states. We DID have a major influx of people selling their expensive homes in Cali, and coming up here with their money (and their liberal voting) to retire. To open businesses. To raise their kids in a different environment. Drove up home prices (and property tax) as well. To this day, one can still see the evidence of it: rural Oregon is STILL conservative... it contains all the generational people of the state. It is the cities, chock full of 1st and 2nd generation relatively newcomer families which are liberal. The same conservative families are mostly still here. But now they outnumber us.
That influx started en mass in the 1970's, and 50 years later here we have the result.
We of course know this to be true, because we now see Texas starting to experience it: people moving in, cities becoming more and more liberal. Signs close to the border being erected telling people not to come if they are liberals. Same stuff. From what I have read, Austin liberal ranks are really swelling. Houston voting 54% democrat last election. Not good.