I Need The Brightest Yahoo Answers Has To Offer To Answer These Confounding Questions . . . . . . . . Why?

Question

Why didn't our founding fathers allow same sex marriage ?

Was WAS it ok to display the Ten Commandments for so long but only in recent years it's a 'problem' for some ?

Why WAS it ok to display Christmas Scenes / Nativity Scenes on public land , but now it's a 'problem' ?

Were all our founding fathers idiots ?

How bout all the esteemed statesmen of the last 200plus years. . . idiots ?

Or are the complainers now the geniuses ?

Thank you , and Merry Christmas !!

Answer 1

Why was slavery okay in 1776 and it isn't now?


To suggest that something is right merely because it has been done in the past is a weak argument indeed -- just as weak, in fact, as suggesting that something is wrong because it hasn't been done in the past.

Answer 2

Merry Christmas to you too and a Happy New Year.
The very things you question are the things that are right there in the constitution Earnest. Freedom has run amok in our society. The rights granted to us in our own constitution have been distorted and smart lawyers have jumped through the loopholes in it. The right to freedom of religion can also be interpreted to mean freedom from religion as athiests have so well proven. Our founding fathers were pretty narrow minded or led very sheltered lives when you think about it. Otherwise they would have made more definitions in the constitution to cover these issues and more. Have we outgrown the constitution because of our own freedoms and this was just something the founding fathers could not have foreseen? Freedom is a big sweeping ideology and when it's interpretation is challenged we see these kinds of results. So the real question is do we have too much freedom? Is there such a thing as too much freedom? You can't have it both ways either you are a free nation or a nation that is under a religious rule.

Answer 3

The Founding fathers were about LIMITING A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. They were about STATE's rights and individual rights. They did not want a religion IMPOSED by the federal government. The Bill of Rights and Constitution, if you look at it, is ALL about limiting what the FEDs could do, NOT limiting what individuals and states could do.

So...

1.They did not PROHIBIT same sex marriage. Nor did they address any marriage items. That is a power reserved to the States.

2. Those who have a problem with a menorah, christmas tree or other religious symbol do not feel secure in whatever their own religious views are and are not reading and understanding the entire 1st Amendment. These people are way to easily offended and will likely be offended by other non threatening symbols.

3. see #2.

4. Far From it. They were incredibly visionary. They saw the incredible power of individuals compared to the tyranny of an overreaching government. They even allowed for the Constitution to be ammended if some issue came up.

5. Silly question

6. Not sure who you are identifying as complainers.

If any of you doubt the founding fathers belief that God does not have to be completely separated from all Government, simply read the first paragraph of George Washington's Thanksgiving Proclamation. See the link referenced below.

As to religious markers signs and symbols.. merely read the 2nd clause of the 1st Amendment

Answer 4

Let me give this a shot.
1) They did not disallow it. Nothing in the constitution says it cannot be done or that marriage is between a man and a woman.
2) Because people need something to complain about.
3) See No. 2.
4) Absolutely not. They were some of the most intelligent and far-thinking men in the history of the world.
5) See No. 4
6) The complainers are hardly geniuses. These are people who have it too good to actually complain about any real problems. These people should have to go through some really rough times and see what they think about the 10 commandments to Christmas trees then. Nobody is an atheist in a foxhole is the saying and it applies to people who live cushy lives and never had to work for what they have and have never felt despair. This is why I hope for catastrophe because perhaps we can quit fighting about ridiculous things such as everything you've mentioned here.

Answer 5

1. I'm guessing back then it is a very conservative communities, saying you are gay will pretty much made him/her an outcast of the society, stoning etc, let alone the thought of same-sex marriage. There are probably gays back then same as now, except this century they can come out and shout without the threat of bodily harm from the public, though it is still a problem.

2. I have no problem with the display the ten commandments, since its basically the foundation of human Laws

3. I have no problem with the display christmas tree/scenes

3. Yes.. er I mean no

4. idiots in what way ? The modern days of "statesmen" are mostly liars and corrupt. I'm sure there are plenty of those back then but that is a different issue.

Merry Christmas.

Answer 6

I'm not going to cover quite all of these, but here's my opinion on the first 3.

Same sex relations have existed for a long time, but were not prominent in early America, which, if you look at the founding fathers and history, was primarily based on religious beliefs etc. Based on the supposed beliefs of said Christianity, same sex marriage is not permitted. For this reason, the founding fathers did not allow same sex marriage although no where did they specify this.

It WAS okay to display the Ten Commandments for so long but has recently changed because of society's growing concern with offending minorities. I do not necessarily mean minorities in a negative aspect either. A minority is a group of people that does not have the power within a given system. And although the government is slowly bowing to said groups, it is obvious that Christianity still has the majority of the power in this nation if we are being realistic. So, the Ten Commandments have been removed in order to appease these "minority" groups so that the government seems more balanced and less close-minded.

No, not all of our founding fathers were idiots. Although do not qualify your definition of "idiots," I am assuming you mean that they are of lesser intellectual capabilty and/or completely screwed us over essentially through making decisions that you feel have not been beneficial for us today. However, the fact that our nation has become one of the most, if not the very most, influential nation in the world. We have at least for the most part, succeeded in many senses of the word. Because we have been able to thrive and build off of such a humble, though violent, beginning, the founding fathers could not have been such "idiots," or don't you think this would've all fallen apart already?

Answer 7

1) The concept of homosexuals as a distinct group is a fairly common one. While homosexuality has been long recognized, the idea that homosexuality isn't a mental disorder is fairly modern. And certainly a greater majority of homosexuals back then did not reveal it to the world. Remember, the Stonewall Riots, which are now recognized as the beginning of the movement to prevent discrimination against homosexuals, only happened in 1969.

2-3) Once again, this goes to the fact that the times were different. People in the minority were not so secure as to demand that the protections guaranteed by the Constitution were applied to all, and not just the majority. Speaking out against the majority would have led to ostracization at best, and potentially much worse. But as our nation has grown, we have come to realize that if our rights don't protect the least of us, they don't protect any of us.

It isn't a matter of who is and isn't a genius. It is a matter of the society maturing.

BTW, to Princess of the Realm, if you're going to quote the Constitution to prove your point about this nation being founded on religion, try not to use a quote from the Declaration of Independence instead. That has no legal weight whatsoever, and using it when you think it's from the Constitution shows that you don't know what you're talking about.

Answer 8

To answer your questions our country was founded on Judeo Christian beliefs and was set up offering freedom of religion to everyone but not allowing the state to support anyone religion inparticular. The Ten Commandments were displayed as a reminder of the basis of our laws which is why they can be seen on many of our government buildings. Christmas Scenes and Nativity scenes at one point were seen as a nice gesture and almost no one felt religion was being forced upon them.......then the ACLU came along and decided to make life hard for everyone because they saw nice gestures as crmming religion down peoples throats.

Answer 9

Out founding fathers did not allow or forbid same sex marriage. The issue was not addressed in the founding of our nation. It still has no place in national politics. It should be strictly a state issue just as marriage is a state issue. You don't go to a federal judge to get married do you? You go to your city or state and thats how it should be.

I cannot speak for the "some" but The Ten Commandments" are displayed on the walls of the highest court of our land, The Supreme Court, and so far no one is tearing them down. As to people having a problem with that, there are 300 million of us, some of us have a problem with the sun rising in the morning or the color red. We deal with it and life goes on.

It was Okay because no one objected. Now they do. The argument is that they live here and pay taxes the same as the rest of us so they want their religion honored on public land as well. We said no to that so they said then you cant do it either. We had to give in on that so now tax money cannot be spent on one religion in favor of all others. We could go the other way. Public land could be used to honor every religion out there from the Bah'ai Faith to Zoroastrianism but if we did then the public land would be in use by someones religion 365 days a year and twice on Sundays. We figured it was easier and less of a bother to just say no to everyone and have someplace to park.

The Founding Fathers were not idiots but they were concerned with the issues they could imagine 200 years ago. Things change so cut the old guys some slack. They did pretty well all things considered.

Your last 2 questions are variations on the same theme. I can't speak to the mental abilities of everyone for the last 200 years or today.

Your welcome and Happy Hanukkah

Answer 10

1. It was much more closeted then
2. Since early settlers were from Western Europe and most were Christians the issue didn't come up.
3. There are more who have emigrated from countries who are not Christian and since they pay taxes to support the public land they object to one religion only having access to such displays. If we could also erect a Buddha or put up a giant mazzuza or Torah as prominately displayed I doubt there would be a problem. We also value our separation of church and state. Since public places serve everyone and all pay for it the concerns of everyone must be addressed.

Our founding fathers were not idiots. On contrary they were brilliant by keeping church and state seperate.

We have had some questionable leaders in the last 200+ years but few if any were truly idiots?

Complainers are neither idiots nor geniuses but people who believe in what is fair for one is fair for all.

Marry Christmas to you too.

Answer 11

1. The founding fathers didn't address marriage at all. You could say they didn't allow different sex marriage also.

2. Our country always had freedom of religion but there were not many non-Christians to protest the Christianizing of everything as there are now. Our culture changes with the times and its a good thing.

3. See answer for number 2.

4. No, they weren't idiots.

5. Who exactly are these esteemed statesmen you are asking about?

6. I don't understand where you are going with the last question, I can't answer it. But it does seem that your question is a complaint of sorts, so maybe you should ask yourself.

Happy Holidays.