We're a nation - and state - of free people

We could consider what in the wide, wide world of sports would lead someone to think Idaho would ever label itself a "Christian state." Lack of education, particularly in civics, might be near the top of that list, but some very bright people have little or poor educations, and some superbly educated people are shockingly stupid.

Maybe the genesis of such a preposterous proposal would be psychological in nature, and analysts could sip tea around a conference table and theorize what emotional problems or actual physiological afflictions might vault that ill-conceived notion from inside brain to outside mouth.

We could talk and talk and talk and theorize and theorize and theorize. Or we could just listen to our kids, as one parent did this week before sharing the following post with readers on cdapress.com.

As I sat shaking my head in disgust after reading this story this morning [Getting on the pulpit; KCRCC seeks to declare Idaho a Christian state], my two youngest children (13 and 14 years) asked me what was the matter.

My children have been raised as Christians... even acting as Altar Servers at our Church since they were big enough to carry the Cross.

They are both also Honor Roll students.

When I told them that a faction of the Republican Party was proposing that Idaho be declared a Christian State, they both exclaimed, "No! You can't do that. It's unconstitutional!"

They're not even old enough to vote, yet they have more common sense, and a better understanding of our Constitution and Democratic process than the adults who concoct these ridiculous ideas... and they have more political and social awareness than both the Republicans who have been elected to office in this state, and the constituents who voted for them.

My 14-year-old son correctly pointed out that declaring Idaho a Christian state would make us no different than theocracies like Iran, or other Muslim states. When asked why this was a bad thing, he said, "Because it opens the door for bigots and racists to discriminate against people based on their interpretation of the Bible. It means our courts could make laws and punishments like an eye-for-an-eye, or stoning people like in the Old Testament. How is that different than the Sharia Law of ISIS that we're fighting against?"

My take-away from this whole exchange was a tremendous sense of Hope for our future.

And our take-away is that the present doesn't look too bad, either. The vast majority of Kootenai County Republican Central Committee members defended the U.S. Constitution and rejected this absurd proposal.