Passover Post Eastern Europe

Wow. We have a lot to be thankful for. This passover I am not just celebrating an ancient escape from slavery. I am taking stock in the value of a nation where there is a separation between church and state. Long may it continue to reign. Two things threaten what is special about religious freedom in America. The first is politicians who vow to end it. These are the same guys who seem hell bent on taking us not just back to the Constitution, but to the first century. Admittedly, life was good for them then--they were completely in charge. What is not to like? Well, how about the fact that civilizations do best when their women are educated? Not a compelling argument for that crowd, I am afraid. They want their cake and to eat it to--go back to the morays of the first century, but don't forgo your Blackberry and your iPad when you take us back to an era where slavery was the norm and you could stone your children to death for disobedience. The other threat to religious tolerance is radical Muslim doctrines being mistaken for mainstream Muslim religious beliefs. When those who would have Obama out of office declared him to be a closet Muslim, the answer should have been "So what?" But it wasn't. Attaturk, the man who founded the secular state of Turkey, took a page out of the American constitution. He made government adamantly secular. As we celebrate Passover and Easter this weekend, may we also praise a country that allows those two celebrations to be held side by side uneventfully.