It's true; when confronted with a situation where I could either a) be an ass, or b) not be an ass, I choose the former. It's like an involuntary reaction to situations I don't like.
Let me explain this a little better. Today, while walking to the TRAX station after class, there was a man handing out copies of the New Testament. One would think I'd just shake my head, or just take one and get rid of it, or whatever. Well, I did shake my head. He still insisted on giving me one, because he was a persistent little twirp. This is when I could have just taken it and gotten rid of it later. I could have made the decision to behave like a proper human being.
But, dammit, I was mad. I was mad that here, in the country of supposed separation of church and state, it was okay for someone to impose their stupid fairy tales on me. I am totally respectful of religion, as long as its followers leave me the hell alone. The moment they try and pass their crap off on me, though, I am offended. In my mind (which admittedly does not necessarily work like other minds) the act of getting in people's way and pressing your personal religion on them is arrogant, and it is wrong.
So, of course, I demonstrated my anger by throwing the book on the dirt and walking away.
This is hardly the first time I have done this. In junior high, a similar thing occurred which concluded with me skipping down Fort Street, ripping pages from the New Testament and throwing them into the road like confetti.
No, this is not how adults behave, I know. But is it wrong for me to feel upset when someone has the audacity to impose their religion on me? You don't see me standing in the middle of a walkway, forcing people to take leaflets on why if god is real, he/she/it couldn't possibly give a rat's ass about us. You don't see me walking around, telling people they'll burn in hell unless they stop believing.
So is it wrong for me to expect them to follow the same kind of decorum?
Look, I know I'm a minority in this here land of Zion, but my thoughts still count. I'm as much a citizen as everybody else here. I do not worship the Heavenly Father, this is true, but they don't worship Muhammad, and there are way more Muslims on Earth than there are Mormons. Religion is personal. Spirituality is personal. We all have our own standards, and none of us should think we have the authority to tell someone else what to worship. That's their business.
Sometimes I might not be as respectful of Christianity as I ought to be, but sometimes Christians aren't as respectful of my beliefs as they ought to be. That doesn't justify tearing up the Bible or throwing it on the ground, but sometimes, when you're as mad as I was, respect goes out the window. It's unrealistic for me to expect church and state to stay separated, because it's not really. That doesn't mean I can't still feel mad when some guy is trying to get me to take a Bible.
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