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When the
president 'W' claimed we have no right to be free from religion in
American, did he state a fact, or just an unsupportable opinion? We have
religion going on all around us, to be sure, but do we have a right to
demand those who do it, or have it, and want to make us share it, to
please leave us alone—stop sending us those rancid messages full of
god-awful platitudes—stop stopping us on the street to make us listen to
their sermons—stop telling me I'm doomed to go to hell when my kids are
sick, my boss is waiting, and I don't want to listen to them or see their
idols and graven images hanging on a wall. Do I have that right?— or is
the president and his throng of god-spielers wrong?—even though he did
acknowledge we have freedom of religion.
First, let’s
define the differences between the words 'from' and 'of' and discover
exactly what a little education will gain us. These definitions are copied
and pasted from American Heritage Dictionary:
of
prep. 1. Derived or coming from;
originating at or from: men of the
north. 2. Caused by; resulting from:
a death of tuberculosis. 3. Away from;
at a distance from: a mile east of here.
4. So as to be separated or relieved
from: robbed of one's dignity; cured of
distemper. 5. From the total or
group comprising: give of one's time; two of her friends; most of the
cases. 6. Composed or made from:
a dress of silk. 7. Associated with or adhering to: a man
of your religion. 8. Belonging or connected to: the rungs
of a ladder. 9.a. Possessing; having: a person of honor.
b. On one's part: very nice of you. 10. Containing
or carrying: a basket of groceries. 11. Specified as;
named or called: a depth of ten feet; the Garden of Eden. 12.
Centering on; directed toward: a love of horses. 13.
Produced by; issuing from: products of the vine. 14.
Characterized or identified by: a year of famine. 15.a.
With reference to; about: think highly of her proposals; will speak
of it later. b. In respect to: slow of speech. 16.
Set aside for; taken up by: a day of rest. 17.
Before; until: five minutes of two.
18. During or on a specified time: of recent years. 19.
By: beloved of the family. 20. Used to indicate an
appositive: that idiot of a driver. 21. Archaic.
On: "A plague of all cowards, I say" (Shakespeare). [Middle
English, from Old English.
from
prep. Abbr. fm., fr. 1.a. Used to indicate a
specified place or time as a starting point: walked home from the
station; from six o'clock on. See Usage Note at escape. See Usage
Note at whence. b. Used to indicate a specified point as the first of
two limits: from grades four to six. 2. Used to indicate a
source, a cause, an agent, or an instrument: a note from the teacher;
taking a book from the shelf. 3. Used to indicate separation,
removal, or exclusion: keep someone from making a mistake; liberation
from bondage. 4. Used to indicate differentiation: know right
from wrong. 5. Because of: faint
from hunger. --idiom. from away. Maine. Not native to Maine.
[Middle English, from Old English].
Those who are
quick to insist we do not have constitutional guarantees of "freedom from
religion" will be jumping the gun right now with hallelujahs about the
above two definitions showing them to be correct. I believe their delight
might be preorgasmic, however, and would order them a little bit of calm
before they storm any atheistic gates. Please note the usage of the word
'from', wherein it is defined as relative to events or places in space or
time. No other use of the word 'from' is given in this dictionary, except
to equate with 'of' in one instance.
'Of', however,
includes 'from'. Please especially note #4: "So as to be separated or
relieved from: robbed of one's dignity; cured of distemper." From
that, "Freedom From Religion" is not a stretch for anyone to make as their
claim.
Even without a
dictionary's blessing, however, 'of' and 'from' are commonly used when
referencing places and conditions. That "I am free from diseases" most
obviously means the same thing as "I am free of diseases." I am 'Lloyd of
Van' (Lloyd d'Van as a surname) tells everybody where I am 'from' when I
am away, and that I am 'of this place' when I am home. Were I Lloyd
O'Connor, my name expresses my lineage in a monarchical society: I am
Lloyd Of Connor; I am Lloyd From the Connor Family, and I am
constitutionally guaranteed Freedom From Religion.
I am also
constitutionally guaranteed freedom from speeches.
|Not
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