did kathy hochul just declare a state religion?

because you do not want to see the final form of the "state that claims to know the will of god" evolution

we start here as governor “never elected” proves once more that those who least earn the big chair are often the ones that feel most entitled to abuse its power once seated.

first we hear this:

“the vaccines are from god.”

“there are people out there not listening to what god wants. and you know who they are.”

“i need you to be my apostles.”

Dr. Benjamin Braddock @GraduatedBen

NY Governor Kathy Hochul goes on unhinged religious rant, says “The vaccine is from God” and “I need you to be my Apostles”:

leaving aside the horrifying idea of governors with apostles spreading the good word because they know precisely who is not following “god’s plan” (which always works out super well) we then lurch into this:

Mary Margaret Olohan @MaryMargOlohan

New York @GovKathyHochul denies the legitimacy of religious exemptions: "There are not legitimate religious exemptions because the leaders of all the organized religions have said there's no legitimate reason."

“no religious exemptions” because “the leaders of all the world’s religions have said there is no legitimate reason.”

um, now call me a “catbox lawyer”, but i’m pretty sure this is not how the separation of church and state is supposed to work.

note that use of that little word “ALL.” “the leaders of ALL the world’s religions.”

really?

all of them?

because i do not believe you.

who for example, is the leader of world judaism and speaks for every last jew?

how about the global quaker pope?

or perhaps the archbishop of buddhism or shinto or zoroastrianism?

who precisely spoke as “the leader of all muslims on earth” here?

who spoke for all protestants and evangelists and baptists?

this claim is farce.

what she’s describing is not even possible, much less plausible.

and that is a simple, undeniable truth.

she’s taking the religion of a select few and using it to deny rights to others.

what are we to call that if not a “state religion”?

this violates every fundamental tenet of american religious freedom. it invokes the idea that Herself, the anointed governor of zero votes, knows not just the will of her god, but ALL gods and speaks in one voice about what they permit and approve of.

she and her “disciples” are to lead the benighted apostates to reason and bring them back into the light. back into the fold.

the idea of religion as a personal practice or as a covenant between the individual and their god free from “organized leaders” never even occurs to her.

she invalidates the whole idea through specious and self-referential argument.

she dismisses the concept of individual conscience and relationship with the divine entirely.

and that is the antithesis of religious freedom and the commencement of religious persecution.

at least she didn’t go so far as to “other” and vilify the unbelievers. oh, wait, that’s EXACTLY what she did.

i am not a religious gato. my objections to vaccine mandates lie elsewhere in the roots of liberty, personal agency, and an inalienable right to self determination and bodily integrity.

but i do have some religious friends and their relationship with their own spirituality, the still, small voice of their morality, and their connection to whatever higher power they choose is their own business.

it’s none of the state’s.

such interference is unconstitutional, immoral, and outright dangerous.

when the state starts claiming it knows the will of god, don’t walk. RUN.

there is a reason our founders were so incredibly clear on this topic.

you do NOT want a hands on reminder of what it was.

thus endeth the sermon.

go forth in implacable peace and hopefully in wisdom.

a-cats.