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RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
And now just a few short weeks later, all of us suddenly find ourselves searching for faith elsewhere than where the signs and marquees direct us. But faith needs no seats, no altar, no stained-glass windows, no doors nor even walls.
TOLERANCE
Those of my generation recall the stories we were told that got us hooked on cigarettes. One-minute commercials told women they’d “come a long way baby,” and they deserved the same rights as men. (The primary withheld right apparently being the right to die an early death.) Men were shown one-minute stories about lone cowboys, riding the range, and lighting up a Marlboro—something manly men just do. The power of story led, at least in part, to millions of men and women’s lives being cut short.
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
A friend of mine who lived among the native Inuits of far Northern Canada told me that if a person in the community, through his or her behavior, attitude and refusal to change, had now become a liability to others, he would simply “disappear” for the community. People would literally no longer see, communicate or acknowledge the person in any way, shape or form, even if he was standing right there. He would literally cease to exist, as far as the community went. Then, once he got his act together, people would once again see and acknowledge him.
TOLERANCE
If you’re about my age, maybe you grew up thinking that World War III would be fought between the U.S. and the Soviets… little did you know.
COMBATING BIGOTRY & HATE
A poll found that 82% of Americans feel that it is very important for Christians to be allowed to practice freely, while only 61% reported that Muslims deserved religious freedom.
TOLERANCE
Perhaps it was reticence or a lack of confidence in my young self that John seized upon, but his reaction was instant. He jumped on my offer with the fervor of an offended politician.
COMBATING BIGOTRY & HATE
The very bottom of the money-making barrel, in my mind, would be selling drugs or people. I don’t know whether Ortega has done the former, but he has definitely had a big hand in the latter.
SCIENTOLOGY RELIGION
I never heard about Scientology when I was in high school. Most likely because news didn’t travel so fast back when I was a teenager. I didn’t have a cell phone or a personal computer with which I could freely jump onto the communication lines of the world and pull information from whatever sources were out there. I was more of an outdoorsy kind of guy and didn’t watch a whole lot of TV, but I definitely listened to the radio.
TOLERANCE
What hatred and intolerance look like: The charred remains of 4-year old Melissa Morrison, recovered from the ashes of the Branch Davidian complex in Waco, Texas, after the inferno of April 19, 1993 ended the FBI’s 51-day siege.
TOLERANCE
If you complain long and loud to a Scientologist about your spouse, your boss, your church or your kids, the Scientologist may ask you an interesting question: “Have you done something they almost found out about?”
