we'll give you florida. it's a fair trade.

So the founder of Domino's Pizza (a former employer of mine, frighteningly), Thomas Monaghan, is trying to set up a town in Florida called Ave Maria. It will be governed by Catholic principles, not the laws of the USA. I guess some groups are freaking out, saying it's un-American, which is hilarious in and of itself, being that the laws of this nation are leaning more and more towards religious ideals every day.

My thought is this - let the crazy religious right have their own town. Who cares? I'm totally for that. That way, I can stay the hell away. They're all in one place, making them very easy to avoid. They can leave us alone, and our constitution alone. Too bad this town is only going to be about 20,000 residents (which is actually pretty scary). I say we just disown Florida, giving it entirely to the religious right. They can have Jeb, too.

Florida is perfect. There would be no reason to go there. You don't have to drive through the state to get anywhere, and it doesn't have a ton that can't be found elsewhere in the country. Sure, it'd be an inconvenience for all the grounded folks (living in reality), as they'd have to get the hell out of there fast. But who would argue? It would suck to lose your home, but it's a small price to pay to corral all the bible thumpers in one area, right?

I think this guy is on to something. I think he thinks this success is going to teach us something - that roman catholics can live separate, in peace, and prove that somehow this breeds better citizens. I think he's missing the point. I want them to separate themselves out. Please. Go ahead and teach me that lesson.

I think it's just sad, raising your family in such a sheltered way. I want my kids to experience diversity, to understand all the different things available in this world. I want them to know different religions, cultures, countries - everything. The more exposed they are the better, in my opinion. It's kind of like baptism, on a much larger scale, of course. Baptizing your infant basically commits them to one religion for the rest of their lives (or so the church would like). Why not let them grow up and decide for themselves? Yes, it's an accepted practice. I think a lot of people do it without thinking. If you ask me, anyone who believes their small infant will go to hell if they're not baptized is just plain freaky. I'm sorry, but I can't get on board with a God who would send an infant to hell solely because it wasn't baptized. That's insane.

So, good riddance, I say. Go and live in your mono-dimensional little Catholic town. I'm actually interested to see how these children fare, actually. How many go insane and reject the system entirely. It'll be interesting.