Commentary on "to offend" and its various spawn - Part I

This will be coming soon.  I've tried for three consecutive evenings to write it.  I'm having difficulty articulating my arguments clearly.  The basic idea is that I loathe "to offend" and all of its spawn:  offensive, offended, offending.  I'm working on writing my position.  When I'm done, I'l update this post, but know I haven't abandoned the blog.  I simply want to wait until I have quality arguments before I publish them.

"Get over it" seems a bit too simple for this discussion; however, methinks when the final argument is made, that will be the sum of it.

The Commentary

There are many facets to the idea of offending someone.  I'm going to focus on only one:  Religion.  It annoys me to no end the ridiculousness put forth by both the left and the right about the presence and celebration of religion.  If you don't already know, I do not follow an organized religion.  Choosing not to belong to a religion does not make me denounce all instances of religion I experience, which brings us to my first issue.

This is the text of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment or religion, or prohibithing the free practice thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

All this amendment says is that the U.S. Congress will not create a law created with respect to a religion and that the right for those to practice their religion shall not be infringed.  It does not say, citizens are to be protected from seeing religion in their lives.  It does not say that me as a non-follower of religion will be able to live in a society without Christmas trees, NOR does it say government entities cannot display cultural paraphenalia that may have religious connotations.  It says Congress cannot pass a LAW respecting the establishment of religion.

When I see fools flip out about seeing a Christmas tree in a government building, my blood boils.  I'm not a Christian.  I could not care less whether or not a Christmas tree exists on government property.  If I were to walk into the Georgia capitol building and see a Christmas tree, I would not think that its there to tell me, as a non-Christian, that I'm not welcome.  I'd see it as a symbol of a holiday that is a part of American culture and a holiday which a large number of Americans celebrate.

Now there would be a problem if there was a law in the U.S. Code that mandates all government buildings display a Christmas tree, for that is a clear violation of the First Amendment, which sets the stage for my second point.  I'll expand on it for my next blog post.  My brain is weary, and I want to make sure my words are sound.