Logical Fallacies in Viral Emails
A couple of friends of mine have sent me an email that counts as one of those viral email that espouse falsehoods and misinterpretations of history in order to prove a point the email's authors wish to make. Below is the text of that email (author unknown) with big, bold-faced bullet points highlighting the more egregious assertions I disagree with.
THE LAW IS THE LAW
So if the US government determines that it is against the law for the words 'Under God'1 to be on our money, then, so be it.
And if that same government decides that the 'Ten Commandments' are not to be used in or on a government installation, then, so be it.
I say, 'so be it,' because I would like to be a law abiding US citizen.
I say, 'so be it,' because I would like to think that smarter people than I are in positions to make good decisions.
I would like to think that those people have the American public's best interests at heart.
BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I'D LIKE?
Since we can't pray to God, can't Trust in God and cannot post His Commandments in Government buildings2, I don't believe the Government and its employees should participate in the Easter and Christmas celebrations which honor the God that our government is eliminating from many facets of American life.
I'd like my mail delivered on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter3. After all, it's just another day.
I'd like the US Supreme Court to be in session on Christmas and Easter as well as Sundays. After all, it's just another day.
I'd like the Senate and the House of Representatives to not have to worry about getting home for the 'Christmas Break.' After all it's just another day.
I'm thinking that a lot of my tax payer dollars could be saved, if all government offices and services would work on Christmas and Easter. It shouldn't cost any overtime since those would be just like any other day of the week to a government that is trying to be 'politically correct.'
In fact....
I think that our government should work on Sundays (initially set aside for worshiping God...) because, after all, our government says that it should be just another day.
What do you all think????
If this idea gets to enough people, maybe our elected officials will stop giving in to the minority opinions and begin, once again, to represent the 'majority' of ALL of the American people.
SO BE IT...........
Please Dear Lord,
Give us the help needed to keep You in our country!
"Amen"
Touche!
These are definitely things I never thought about, but from now on I will be sure to question those in government who support these changes.
First Bullet Point - There has been no push to have the phrase "Under God" printed on currency or minted onto coins. There is the phrase "In God We Trust" on all U.S. currency and coins. That phrase has been on our country's money only since 1955 when Eisenhower signed a bill into law deeming it so. It occurred at the same time the phrase "Under God" became part of the Pledge of Allegiance. Some people argue that this came about as a response to the Cold War: a show of American religious affirmation in the face of "godless" Soviet communism. Before 1955, only the official U.S. motto, E Pluribus Unum (Latin for 'From Many, One') used to be on our money.
Second Bullet Point - There have been many stories in the news in recent years about efforts to place the Ten Commandments in courthouses, in public buildings, and so forth. Let me be clear; there is a difference between public buildings and buildings open to the public. Places like retail stores for example are open to the public but are privately financed structures (think of your local Wal-Mart or Home Depot). Courthouses, your local DMV, the U.S. Post Office, and so forth are public buildings since our tax dollars paid for the construction and pay for the maintenance of those structures. There is no law prohibiting companies like Wal-Mart or Home Depot from placing the Ten Commandments, passages from the Qu'ran, or Matthew 7:1-15 anywhere in their buildings or on their property. For government property, no one can place representations of anything with religious significance because it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In other words, our government should not advocate one religion over another.
To answer the claim that people cannot pray to God, Allah, et cetera, the First Amendment does not prohibit individuals from worshiping in the way they choose. By disallowing the advocacy of one religion over another, the government ensures that Hindus, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists can privately worship wherever they want. By placing the Ten Commandments in courthouses for example, this is tantamount to suggesting Judaism and Christianity (and Islam to an extent) is far and above other religions or the lack thereof.
Third Bullet Point - The suggestion that the government and its agencies should be open for the public's business on Sundays and other holidays is simply absurd. Unless you were a farmer, you never worked on Sundays. Secondly, until about ninety years ago, many people worked sixty to seventy hours spread over six-day work weeks (not Sundays), including holidays. Until the mid 19th century, the U.S. Congress did convene on Christmas Day. Thanksgiving is a secular holiday, and mail does not deliver on Sundays, Easter included.
With respect to my Christian brothers and sisters, I suggest that you do not participate in the gross displays of secular consumerism that comes with the Christmas and Easter seasons. If those holidays celebrate the birth of our Savior and His Resurrection, why do many of you fall prey to the advertising and the filthy material consumption it advocates? Also, if you assert that the U.S. Government should recognize the importance of Christmas and Easter, you should have no issues with them honoring the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Muslim holidays Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha, and the Hindu festival of Diwali for example by not conducting any government business on those days.
The Framers of the Constitution wanted to ensure the rights of the minority groups in our country so the majority does not run roughshod over them. The First Amendment ensures that. It does not disallow people to practice their faith how they wish privately (like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine, for example). It does prohibit the use of the government to say that Protestant Christianity, Sunni Islam, Orthodox Judaism, Wicca, Animism, Hinduism, and so on should have preference because the government deems it essential.
THE LAW IS THE LAW
So if the US government determines that it is against the law for the words 'Under God'1 to be on our money, then, so be it.
And if that same government decides that the 'Ten Commandments' are not to be used in or on a government installation, then, so be it.
I say, 'so be it,' because I would like to be a law abiding US citizen.
I say, 'so be it,' because I would like to think that smarter people than I are in positions to make good decisions.
I would like to think that those people have the American public's best interests at heart.
BUT, YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE I'D LIKE?
Since we can't pray to God, can't Trust in God and cannot post His Commandments in Government buildings2, I don't believe the Government and its employees should participate in the Easter and Christmas celebrations which honor the God that our government is eliminating from many facets of American life.
I'd like my mail delivered on Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Easter3. After all, it's just another day.
I'd like the US Supreme Court to be in session on Christmas and Easter as well as Sundays. After all, it's just another day.
I'd like the Senate and the House of Representatives to not have to worry about getting home for the 'Christmas Break.' After all it's just another day.
I'm thinking that a lot of my tax payer dollars could be saved, if all government offices and services would work on Christmas and Easter. It shouldn't cost any overtime since those would be just like any other day of the week to a government that is trying to be 'politically correct.'
In fact....
I think that our government should work on Sundays (initially set aside for worshiping God...) because, after all, our government says that it should be just another day.
What do you all think????
If this idea gets to enough people, maybe our elected officials will stop giving in to the minority opinions and begin, once again, to represent the 'majority' of ALL of the American people.
SO BE IT...........
Please Dear Lord,
Give us the help needed to keep You in our country!
"Amen"
Touche!
These are definitely things I never thought about, but from now on I will be sure to question those in government who support these changes.
First Bullet Point - There has been no push to have the phrase "Under God" printed on currency or minted onto coins. There is the phrase "In God We Trust" on all U.S. currency and coins. That phrase has been on our country's money only since 1955 when Eisenhower signed a bill into law deeming it so. It occurred at the same time the phrase "Under God" became part of the Pledge of Allegiance. Some people argue that this came about as a response to the Cold War: a show of American religious affirmation in the face of "godless" Soviet communism. Before 1955, only the official U.S. motto, E Pluribus Unum (Latin for 'From Many, One') used to be on our money.
Second Bullet Point - There have been many stories in the news in recent years about efforts to place the Ten Commandments in courthouses, in public buildings, and so forth. Let me be clear; there is a difference between public buildings and buildings open to the public. Places like retail stores for example are open to the public but are privately financed structures (think of your local Wal-Mart or Home Depot). Courthouses, your local DMV, the U.S. Post Office, and so forth are public buildings since our tax dollars paid for the construction and pay for the maintenance of those structures. There is no law prohibiting companies like Wal-Mart or Home Depot from placing the Ten Commandments, passages from the Qu'ran, or Matthew 7:1-15 anywhere in their buildings or on their property. For government property, no one can place representations of anything with religious significance because it violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. In other words, our government should not advocate one religion over another.
To answer the claim that people cannot pray to God, Allah, et cetera, the First Amendment does not prohibit individuals from worshiping in the way they choose. By disallowing the advocacy of one religion over another, the government ensures that Hindus, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists can privately worship wherever they want. By placing the Ten Commandments in courthouses for example, this is tantamount to suggesting Judaism and Christianity (and Islam to an extent) is far and above other religions or the lack thereof.
Third Bullet Point - The suggestion that the government and its agencies should be open for the public's business on Sundays and other holidays is simply absurd. Unless you were a farmer, you never worked on Sundays. Secondly, until about ninety years ago, many people worked sixty to seventy hours spread over six-day work weeks (not Sundays), including holidays. Until the mid 19th century, the U.S. Congress did convene on Christmas Day. Thanksgiving is a secular holiday, and mail does not deliver on Sundays, Easter included.
With respect to my Christian brothers and sisters, I suggest that you do not participate in the gross displays of secular consumerism that comes with the Christmas and Easter seasons. If those holidays celebrate the birth of our Savior and His Resurrection, why do many of you fall prey to the advertising and the filthy material consumption it advocates? Also, if you assert that the U.S. Government should recognize the importance of Christmas and Easter, you should have no issues with them honoring the Jewish holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Muslim holidays Eid ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha, and the Hindu festival of Diwali for example by not conducting any government business on those days.
The Framers of the Constitution wanted to ensure the rights of the minority groups in our country so the majority does not run roughshod over them. The First Amendment ensures that. It does not disallow people to practice their faith how they wish privately (like Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine, for example). It does prohibit the use of the government to say that Protestant Christianity, Sunni Islam, Orthodox Judaism, Wicca, Animism, Hinduism, and so on should have preference because the government deems it essential.
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