Imagine that you’re walking down a city sidewalk. It’s sunny, and you can hear the cars whiz by. You’re on your lunch hour, and are heading down the street to get a hamburger. Yum! You’re happily thinking about what you’ll do this weekend when a random stranger stops you and says “Give me money. I don’t have enough to pay for my next pack of cigarettes, so you have to pay for it.” Now, you know that cigarettes can seriously affect someone’s health. For goodness sakes, it can cause lung cancer, and this dude is trying to make YOU pay for it. Not cool! You respond by saying “Using cigarettes is wrong, and it can seriously hurt you. This is my money. I do not want to pay for your cigarettes.” Now the dude gets mad, and tells you “The government says you have to support me. Your beliefs are irrelevant here, lady, so give me the money.”
Now that’s just absurd if you ask me. Living in the “land of the free” we should not be forced by anyone to support something we believe is wrong.
Most Americans value this freedom, but that freedom is being tested by our government – the very people who should be fighting to protect it. You’ve probably heard about the HHS Mandate by now. If this goes into effect as planned, employers (including religious ones) would be forced to provide insurance plans that include sterilization, contraception, and abortifacent drugs.
No matter if you believe those services are wrong (that’s a whole other post), we as Americans should realize that forcing people to support something they believe is wrong is 100% crazy. We should be appalled at the fact that our government is trying to force anything on us. Telling me I have to pay for some dudes cigarettes is crazy. Telling me I have to support contraception, sterilization, and abortifacent drugs is CRAZY.
Forcing me to support anything is absolutely contrary to what our country was founded on, and what our Constitution says. In our Constitution, it says that
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
So, did the Constitution change recently, or who decided it’s okay to disregard it?
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| I have a sneaking suspicion this guy might have something to do with this… |
The HHS mandate directly affects all Catholics by prohibiting the exercise of religious beliefs. That’s bad enough, as the Catholics make up around 20 – 30% of our population (don’t quote me on that one though, I didn’t find a reputable source for that number). But what’s important here is that this is not just a Catholic issue. This is not even a religious issue. This is an issue about our freedom.
Our freedom is being attacked by none other than our President. Isn’t that horribly ironic? Yup, it’s ironic, and it’s disgusting. I am disgusted that this HHS mandate had gotten so far, but I know it will not last. Several groups have already taken up lawsuits against it. People are speaking out, and rightly so.
What can you do to stop this attack on our freedom? Here’s what you can do:
1. Educate yourself. Know what the HHS Mandate is all about so you can talk about it.
2. Sign this petition to let the government know we will stand against this mandate.
3. Share this article, and let other people know that we need to stand up against this atrocity.
As Dan Burke recently said in an article: “What the Obama administration needs to understand is that Catholics do not kneel to idols, we do not break rank before the hordes and we do not fear the consequences of an unjust law.”
So here’s what I have to say to Mr. Obama about this mandate: Bring it. We will never kneel to this mandate. We will never change our beliefs. And, we will do everything in our power to overturn this heinous attack on the freedom of ALL Americans. So yes, bring it.
A Drop in the Ocean 