Well, I'm not sure what it's for the love of. Power, probably. But that's not what they want you to think.

There are major changes being made to the most basic of freedoms in this country and even more are on the way if the current trend continues. These officials pull out their Bible and wave their flag and point to the picture of the wife/husband and the kids and say, "We have to change for the love of God, country and family." But let's look at some of the changes that are being proposed and the possible consequences that don't often make the news— and that is by design of those making these changes. They don't WANT you to consider the consequences because if you did, you most certainly would oppose them.

A former candidate for the Pennsylvania state legislature wants to pass an amendment that declares that the government or any of its agencies shall not interfere with the parents' right to direct the moral upbringing of a child. On the surface that's a very valid notion. We don't want the government telling us what we must teach our child about morals or what we must feed our child or how we discipline our child. Fair enough. But there's a darker side to this proposed amendment. Child abuse and incest laws would no longer be necessary since the parent could keep the government from interfering. A parent could not be forced to send a child to school, or even to feed, clothe or shelter the child, all in the name of teaching a child morals. Kids who aren't fed are being taught to appreciate what they have and to not take things for granted. Kids who are put to work in sweat shops are being taught the "American work ethic". And the government would be powerless to do anything to change it. Is this what we really want for our children?

Some people are now quoting statistics that show most teenage girls get pregnant by adult males twenty and over. So what is their reaction? It's not to prosecute the males for statutory rape or corrupting a minor as one might think. They're using that information to say there's no need to distribute condoms in high school since high school males are not fathering the children of high school girls! Where is the logic in this? Where do these people think twenty-year-old males come from? In five years the boys who are encouraged to use condoms and are given a free supply while in high school will be the ones NOT fathering the babies of the girls who are now ten and eleven years old. This is an example of the shortsighted, quick fix type of thinking many of our elected officials are putting forth. (New studies recently released have shown that in schools where free condoms are available, the rate at which teens are having sex has not increased. So much for the argument that making them available will encourage even more teens to have sex.)

Jane Roe has now decided she doesn't support abortion (at least after the first trimester). The pro-life movement sees this as a victory and is pushing ever harder to get abortion declared illegal. Some even want to go so far as to have the government decree that life begins at conception. Doesn't sound all that awful (if we ignore the fact that this could be against someone's spiritual/religious beliefs). But what about the woman who goes to dinner, has a glass of wine and three days later has a miscarriage? The police, by virtue of the fact that a life has been lost for unknown reasons, must investigate to determine whether the wine caused the miscarriage. Does any woman who suffered a miscarriage want the police questioning whether or not she might have caused it? People involved in accidents where a fetus is lost could be held responsible and, if found to be at fault, charged with murder. Is that really fair or just? (It is law in Pennsylvania already and there are already people being prosecuted under it— despite the fact that there is no guarantee that ANY baby before birth will be born alive.)

Some members of Congress are pushing for a school prayer amendment. How many people in this country realize it's already legal for a child to sit, stand or kneel at his desk and say a prayer whenever he wants to as long as he doesn't disrupt the rest of his class? Yet if the school prayer amendment is successful, schools will be able to set aside time during the day in which to pray. Will it be forced? No, they say. But even today a family in Mississippi is fighting a school that broadcasts prayers over the loudspeaker that are offensive to the family's religion. The children who don't participate are taunted, ostracized and threatened by their classmates and the parents of their classmates. Our founding father's recognized the necessity of spirituality when they declared this one nation under God, but they didn't say one nation under Jesus. Jesus is not once mentioned in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights or the Declaration of Independence because the founding fathers also realized the importance of allowing each and every individual to find their own spirituality.

And finally, we get to the latest batch of laws to be passed in at least 31 states as of today. Those making same-gender marriages illegal. These laws, like those that declared interracial marriages illegal, will eventually fall to the valid argument of unconstitutionality. Gays are citizens as much as any other person in the US and as such are entitled to the same rights as any other citizen. There are those who rail at the fact that Vermont is passing same-gender "civil unions" despite popular opinion against them. I ask you, since when has popular opinion EVER mattered in matters of civil rights?

God in his/her infinite wisdom gave us a mind. We need to start thinking and stop allowing our emotions (which can cloud our thinking) to dictate our actions. God also gave us a heart with which to feel his/her love. We need to start treating others as we would want God (and others) to treat us-- with compassion, tolerance and understanding. And God gave us free will. We need to start acting and taking control of our lives instead of reacting to what others are "doing to us". Too often in today's society people jump on any bandwagon that comes along as long as it says it's for the love of God, family or country. We need to look underneath all those wagons to make sure they're not carrying any hidden explosives that could blow up in our face when we least expect it.

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