by BB Curtis

Every once in a while, when not paying full attention, one’s ears and brain pick up on a seemingly paltry statement that, when revisited, takes on intensified importance.  That happened this morning.  I wakened early – a lot early – and decided to get to my desk and take care of my daily ritual before the sun came up.  I usually listen to a couple news shows on YouTube and then let it take me where ever it wants to go.  I ended up on PBS’s coverage of a debate on Roe v. Wade.  Please don’t stop reading because you have an ingrained opinion on this topic or are tired of it.  This is not about Roe v. Wade. 

It is about a statement made by a House representative from Louisiana, Mike Johnson.  He was relating a point he was making to our Declaration of Independence, the document that was the official beginning of the Revolutionary War against Britain, fought to gain freedom for the Colonies from British rule.  He was reading his statement from his laptop, so it was pre-prepared and not off-the-cuff. 

Here’s how he quoted the Declaration of Independence, ” . . . all men are created equal and in the image of our creator.”  My head exploded, and I replayed it.  This man is in on a special committee investigating basic human rights in the USA.  He is one of 435 people tasked with making laws that affect 331.45 million people (as of 2020).  That sounds like it’s quite significant just by the numbers.  The people on this committee are expected to report back on the topic at hand which is fraught with religious overtones, and he misquoted a major US document in a manner that is also fraught with religious overtones that don’t exist in the document.  My already shaky confidence in the whole of the USA government was shaken up some more.  

He replaced the part about rights – the point of the commission he’s on – with a Christian-based statement on creation.

Why is our country in huge trouble?  This is part of the answer.  Those who do not know or remember what that document says now think it is Christian based.  Trust and believe, there are those among a few groups who will start using this misquote to prove this, that, and whatnot. 

Here’s what the Declaration says:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of happiness.”

From <https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration/what-does-it-say>

See that list of rights that are actually in the document?  They were the basis upon which our country’s government got started, not whether or not someone was created in the image of a being who is believed in by some people.  We are in so much deep shit!

Here’s the YouTube video and the misinformation is at about 3 hours and 34 minutes into the video: 

© Bobbi Bartsch Curtis, 2022, all rights reserved.

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