Sasse, however, apparently believes that this law does not go far enough, even if the Court gives Hobby Lobby everything it is asking for. His proposed rule — that government cannot require someone to act counter to their religious beliefs “under any circumstances” — would mean that literally any law could be ignored by someone who held a religious belief counter to that law. According to National Geographic, for example, “[h]undreds, if not thousands, of women are murdered by their families each year in the name of family ‘honor,’” and while this practice “goes across cultures and across religions,” some of the perpetrators of honor killings are motivated by their religious faith. Under Sasse’s formulation of religious liberty, a person who killed his own sister because he believed he was under a religious obligation to do so would be immune from prosecution for murder.
These guys imagine themselves kings in the new magnificent theocratic civilization. They imagine themselves generals in the coming war. These “I would die for my religious liberty” types, the Cliven Bundy hangers-on, the “Islam is taking over everything including my breakfast cereal,” the militiamen and the doomsday “preppers,” they’re all just jerking off to the idea that one day they’ll finally be important.
It’s just narcissism, thinking that the new currency will bear their noble likenesses as they become heroes to the masses. It’s just daydreaming about a world of hot and cold running former head cheerleaders who wouldn’t fuck them in high school. It’s so exhausting to be around and it’s so pathetic, because:
a. NO YOU WILL NOT BE KING. Statistically, even if the world you’re dreaming about does come to pass, you are far more likely to die of dysentery than you are to end up running things.
b. If you want to be a hero, GO AHEAD RIGHT NOW. You don’t have to wait for the world to end. The armed forces are pretty much always hiring, as are your local public schools.
These guys don’t actually want to work for it, though. That’s why they dream about outside forces sweeping over the land and turning them heroic by magic.
A.
Or in my age group, what about people who found waging war in Vietnam to be against their moral beliefs. What did the repubs say about them?
Not to mention it was near impossible to prove oneself a consciencious objector. Even found thus, one was forced to participate in supporting the war in positions such as field medics.
Oh, and so is it legitimate now for me to withhold from my taxes any monies that would have paid for a war?
My religion requires me to plant a sharp ax in the noggin of annoying christianists.
Lucky for them I’m a lazy sinner. For now.
Should be interesting, since Sasse and his ilk think that Islam exhorts its believers to kill kill kill — do they get a free pass? Nah, didn’t think so. They don’t know the secret dickwav — er, handshake.
filkertom: you don’t even have to go that far afield to get some interesting examples.
Puritans hung a couple of Quakers for heresy.