Freedom Has Warts

The joyous thing about liberty is that it has warts.

It's chock full of things that are offensive to someone else.

Glorious, isn't it?

Well, I think so.

Freedom and liberty bring an entire raft of things that piss someone else off.

IT IS SUPPOSED TO!

Take an afternoon to read The Federalist and The Anti-Federalist papers.

It shouldn't take more than an afternoon unless you're a recent high-school grad.

The beauty of the Republic that we were promised was the allowance for widely divergent points of view that didn't ever intrude on how things were supposed to operate.

I could be an atheist and you can be a Catholic and our opinion/conviction about God would not impact how Government treated us.

The thing is, you have to let me deny God and I have to let you celebrate Him.

Aside: Take note that I respectfully capitalized God and Him to show that I respect your right to believe in God as your see fit, even if I don't think He exists.

It's when I demand you cannot worship God as you see fit when it doesn't affect others right to worship that this falls apart.

I do not, and will not, demand that you change what you Believe as long as you don't bring The State to force me to change how I view the existence of God.

I, likewise, promise to not bring The State into forcing you to admit that there is no imaginary being known as "God" and subjugating you to my Atheist beliefs.

Freedom of Religion includes the freedom to deny God.  It also includes the freedom to accept God in many, numerous, sects and branches.

As long as you don't FORCE me to adhere to your Faith, we're cool.  I've no intention of forcing my Godless ways upon you.  I might hope to convince you, but I'd never dream of forcing you.