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Greetings Governor Johanns,
I am writing you regarding your recent proclamation of May 22 as "March for Jesus Day".
While the Jesus is a Divine and Important figure to many Religions,
he is not considered to be Divine to all Religions. Those Earth
Based "Elderpath" Religions such as Wicca worship a tripartite Deity of
The
Maiden, Mother and Crone. We follow the cycles of Nature and
Worship the sanctity of Life, all life. We believe in the eternal cycle
of Life, learning and that each person is resurrected when they complete
their current cycle. We do not believe that only one being has been resurrected
and that being controls our assignment in the "hereafter". Each person
is responsible for their actions and the consequences of those actions.
Your stance that you do not agree with our Religion and therefore would
not sign a Proclamation for it directly contravenes the principles this
Country was founded on; Religious Freedom for ALL. Our "Founding Fathers"
were Deists, not Judeo-Christians, they wisely fully separated Church
and State
in the Constitution and Bill Of Rights.
Both the First Amendment and The Bill of Rights plainly state this.
I quote the following directly from The Bill of Rights in support of this
position.
Your proclamation, while from a State Governor rather than Congress, directly contravenes this by having the effect of declaring Jesus to be the "Official Holy Person" of The State of Nebraska.
The Witches Anti-Discrimination League has, for Thirty years stood for
full and equal administration of The First Amendment to The Constitution
and Article the third of the Bill of Rights. We do not ask you
to declare a march in honor of our Goddess, nor do we wish to have
a march declared in honor of another single Religions Deity.
Those who wisely wrote that The State should have no power to declare one Religion above another said it for a reason. They saw the results of Religious Inquisitions, 1622 to 1705 in New England, as well as the reasons Settlers from England and Europe fled to America to begin with. One Religion was given precedence over another with disastrous and deadly results. They decided that all Religions were equal and as such, no single Religion could or should be given preferential treatment .
We call on you to Revoke the Proclamation making May 22 "March for Jesus Day" and substitute in its place a March Religious Tolerance. This march would be in support of all Religious Faiths and Traditions, a time where all Religious and Faiths would embrace each other and stand Heart in Hand and Hand in Hand to learn respect for the beliefs of others. This might then become the beginning of true Brother/Sisterhood and peace for all peoples.
In closing I might remind you that Freedom of Religion means ALL Religions.
In Our Lady And Our Lord,
Steve Foster
President, Witches Anti-Discrimination League(WADL)
PO Box 821
Connersville, IN 47331
765-827-5833
http://members.tripod.com/~Elderpaths/wadlhome.html