[Moneyguy1]

Rick:

We agree on what our taxes should and should not be spent on. But, I would also agree that "faith based initiatives", for example, if they are receiving federal funds, must be regulated so that funding is not used to attempt to convert or to influence. In reality, though, we have little choice over how our dollars are spent since those decisions are made by 535 people we send to Washington. Whether the money is spent on the war or on a bridge to nowhere in Alaska, no one in those august bodies really seem to listen or even care.

CS: That is really not the point. We can choose to ignore a sales pitch because it is not legislated. Once some moral value is enacted into law, it cannot be ignored. That is a fear I have. Like Rick said, if abortion on demand is somehow approved and federally funded, it is no longer something we, as citizens, have any further voice in. We have a pledge of Allegiance with the words "under God" included. We can, when reciting the pledge, currently choose to include or eliminate these words, but by some stretch of the imagination, if it were legislated that these words must be included and spoken, then it is no longer an option. I would not be so certain that, over time, attempts to establish a theocracy will not be attempted, one small brick at a time. It has happened in other countries; even England has an official state religion (albeit rather tolerant overall).