So right before the holidays, some dude in the greater Seattle area protested the presence of a Giving Tree inside one of the public offices around here.  You know what I mean right, one of those Christmas trees, used for charity, that has a bunch of tags on it and people grab a tag and buy the gift on it?  So this guy was an atheist and didn't like a Christmas tree - a symbol of the Christian Holiday - on display in the public arena.  His argument, you ask?  Separation of Church and State.

Usually shit like this doesn't bother me that much.  As Americans, there's one thing that all of us have in common and it sure as fuck isn't religion.  It's the Constitution; the Bill of Rights.  First off, I think it's important to remind people that the reason people first came to America was to avoid religous persecution.  It was painfully obvious, particularly in England, that mixing government with religion was a fucking bad combination.  From the get-go, the United States was founded with a clear separation of Church and State.  Why some people can't grasp this, I'll never know. 

First off, there are two types of people in this basic argument.  Actually make that three.  You are either: 1) one of those people who hates religous symbols anywhere in government. 2) one of those ultra-religious people who think everyone's going to burn in hell. 3) one of those people who's somewhere in between, trying to figure out what the fuck's the big deal.

Well kids, despite what your friends have told you, here's how it works.  The basic concept of separation of Church and State is that there should be no state-sponsored religion.  Meaning that the government should never be an advocate of any religion, nor should religion ever dictate state decisions.  Period.  That doesn't mean, however, that the government can't have or use religious symbols.  The gest of separation of Church and State is that the Church shoudn't influence our legislation or be able to leverage political power.  Give me a break, we've been using religions symbols in our government since day one.  It's on our currency, in our pledges and on display in our public offices.  But it doesn't mean that the Church is pulling the strings.

So to the guy who protested the Giving Tree, I say back off.  Fuck, it's for charity!  I also find, with great irony, that the Christmas Tree originated from a Pagan symbol.  Make no mistake my friends, there's a reason why Christmas is when it is.  It convienently helps cover up a Pagan Holiday - the winter solstice.  And for the uber-religious folk out there, believe what you want to believe, but keep it the fuck out of the government.  Shit, as far as I'm concerned you people are no different than the extremist Islamists out there.  Both of you stain the religion you "claim" to represent.  And if you guys have such a hard-on to have a government ran by the church - like Saudi Arabia or Iran - please do us all a favor and get the fuck out of here.  Now.  Row your sweet, oily asses to some island and start your own country.

And for the people somewhere in between these two extremes, buy a Giving Tree gift, have a beer and consider yourself lucky for not being as fucked up as some people out there.