Overstepping Logic and Authority

Folks, there’s an old saying that some people cannot see the forest for the trees. Well, the people at the American Humanists Association are incapable of even seeing the trees. These “Do no-gooders” are demanding that a local charitable food bank cease receiving donations from school children. Huh? Surely I jest. No, I’m not making this up.
Old Fort Baptist Church near Summerville, like many churches, has a food pantry to help out the needy. Kids at nearby Oakbrook Elementary School have been raising money to help buy the foodstuffs. According to the scrooges at the AHA, this is in direct violation of the highest law in the land- the United States’ Constitution. They are using the fictitious “separation of church and state” mantra to protest the evil doings of these kids.
Message to the self-named “Humanists” put down the cup of Kool-Aid and get a grip. Oakbrook is not some subversive organization indoctrinating a young cadre of revolutionaries. These are kids trying to help their community. The actions of the children, the school, and the church should be commended.
For a group whose slogan is “good without God,” is it not ironic that they are attempting to stop acts of goodness? I wonder if they operate their own food pantry? I doubt it. I expect they are too busy nitpicking and making mountains out of molehills.
Onto another rambling … Most of us have probably heard the phrase, “the will of the people.” Those words are a laugh and have no merit in today’s society. They’ve been replaced by “the will of a person.” I refer to the recent ruling by a federal judge who stated that the vast majority of voters in South Carolina were wrong several years ago when we confirmed the age-old definition of marriage.
First off, let me say that homosexual marriage will not affect my life in any imaginable way. I have no dog in that hunt. My concern is the power that an appointed individual has over the wishes of hundreds of thousands of voting citizens. I realize that we do not live in a democracy, but living in a land of petty dictators is not my cup of Earl Grey.
I don’t recall any mention of marriage in the U.S. Constitution. Therefore, any issues dealing with the institution should be left up to the states. For better or worse, our state had decided to codify the traditional “man-woman” definition of marriage. Overstepping its authority yet again, Uncle Sam and his minions have told the states where to go. I’ve heard some ask if voting is just a waste of time since our decisions can be brushed aside by one or a few individuals? Well, in this case it certainly was.
James David Altman lives in West Ashley and has been a contributing columnist for several publications.
He’s the son of the late former S.C. Republican House of Representative of John Graham Altman III. You can reach him at rabidreb@gmail.com.