Bill O’Reilly
Bill O’Reilly is a conservative columnist who often writes about politics. He is headstrong and loves America, believing his opinion is the only opinion. Recently, he wrote about religion in the United States, or the lack thereof. Christianity is on a decline, with 70% of the country’s people practicing this faith – an 8% drop over the past seven years. The prevailing question now asks what the other 30% is practicing. According to a study, it is not Judaism or Islam, Buddhism or a similar -ism, but rather non-religion. The study done by Pew Research shows that there is a growing number of atheists and agnostics in our country. Bill O’Reilly is of the opinion that this is a bad thing. He goes as far as to equate non-religious people to Nazis, as they worship false deities and believe in physical objects. Of course, America’s “Nazis” are benign, only believing in feminism, welfare, wealth distribution, and environmentalism. O’Reilly even goes as far as to say our country is doomed because “[faith is]…being replaced by rank self-gratification.” Do you agree with O’Reilly that if people lose religion, our country will go down the drain because we “believe in nothing?” Will the United States be in turmoil if people don’t believe in a higher power, or is it for the better that people solely trust themselves?
I believe minimum wages should definitely be increased. A good example is wall mart. They pay their people 8$ an hour, so the people can barely live on the little money they have, and the waldons are one of the richest families ever. Their workers are poor, and can barely buy enough to live off if and or pay rent. People should be given a chanceto make more money.
This is a very tough topic, religion is an extremely important part of many Americans lives but also, some Americans do not even think about their religion. I do agree with O’Reilly in the fact that it is good for people to believe in something instead of not having any beliefs. Believing in a God or simply something more than human life gives a person direction and hope, in my opinion. Although, it is good for people to believe in only themselves, I believe that religion is important, no matter what the religion is. This is a very controversial topic and everybody is going to have their own opinions and personal beliefs, but in this case I do agree with Bill O’Reilly.
I don’t agree with O’Reilly. Religion is a difficult topic for most people to discuss, but whether or not someone believes in a higher power or not it won’t determine if this country will survive. In the United States, government and religion are two seperate things. The government doesn’t make decisions based on a certain religion. Therefore running this country has nothing to do with people believing in something and people who don’t. I think that this country with continue to survive with people who believe in practicing a religion and with people who don’t believe in practicing a religion.
I believe that minimum wage should be decreased to create more job opportunities. If more people are employed, there would less people without homes and in poverty. More families would be supported with even the smallest amount of money. It would be better to have a lot of families with a little bit of money rather than fewer families with a lot of money. If minimum wage was lowered, it could impact other things too such as, crime rate or theft. Less people would be compelled to steal or create violence because they will have money to buy things that are needed in everyday life.
I agree with Raspberry, I believe that women should wait to have children until after they are married. If woman were to have a child before getting married, there could be issues later on that would affect the child’s life. If the mother and father of the child end up separated, the child would have to travel back and fourth. It would be a life long issue for the child and possibly for the parents, even if the parents ended up together.
In my opinion, thoughts regarding different races are mostly developed by society’s influences. If a child is born into a colored family, the child will become accustomed to seeing colored skin and vice versa. Although, some children may not have any opinion or realization of different races. I don’t think that children could be born with thoughts concerning different races. For example, if a house was painted grey for many years, but then was switched to green, it may look weird because people were so accustomed to seeing a grey colored house.
I think that politicians should let society make the changes. IF the people don’t want change, then change won’t happen. The people need to be the ones to initiate changes such as fundraisers and donations. I agree with Williams when he says that for change to happen, people need to want the change. Politicians can’t force something on people that the people don’t want.
Being part of the 30%, I would have to disagree with O’Reilly. It’s not surprising that a conservative columnist would prefer a country with more theists as opposed to atheists/agnostics. The rise in non-religious people will not have a significant change on the country because most people won’t allow them into government anyway. The fast majority of politicians are Christian (or say they are) because there is a slight stigma toward non-religious people and politics. The separation of church and state doesn’t exist when a heavily Christian country feels more comfortable being led by Christians. Also, I found a pretty good explanation for the existence of atheists from a religious standpoint. It goes like this:
[“There is a famous story told in Chassidic literature that addresses this very question. The Master teaches the student that God created everything in the world to be appreciated, since everything is here to teach us a lesson.
One clever student asks “What lesson can we learn from atheists? Why did God create them?”
The Master responds “God created atheists to teach us the most important lesson of them all — the lesson of true compassion. You see, when an atheist performs and act of charity, visits someone who is sick, helps someone in need, and cares for the world, he is not doing so because of some religious teaching. He does not believe that god commanded him to perform this act. In fact, he does not believe in God at all, so his acts are based on an inner sense of morality. And look at the kindness he can bestow upon others simply because he feels it to be right.”
“This means,” the Master continued “that when someone reaches out to you for help, you should never say ‘I pray that God will help you.’ Instead for the moment, you should become an atheist, imagine that there is no God who can help, and say ‘I will help you.’” ]
I have to disagree with O’Reilly. This is America in the 2010s, and I think that most of us have come to realize the freedom of belief, and that we can believe in whatever we want to believe in. So if that means no religion, then that’s fine. If O’Reilly really loves America, then he would accept the fact that America lets people be free and think how they want to think. I think it’s a bit extreme and cruel to say that people with no religion are “Nazi’s” because nobody is hurting anybody. Religion can be a great thing, but nobody is doing any damage if they choose not to believe in anything.
I disagree with O’Reilly that if people lose religion, our country will go down the drain. Today we have the freedom to choose whatever religion we choose to practice or to no practice any at all. The United States, in my opinion, will not be in turmoil if people don’t believe in a higher power because the government isn’t controlled by one’s religion.
I without a doubt agree with Bill O’Reilly. If people don’t believe in any sort of higher power what so ever, then where do they get their morals from? I feel that by people believing in a higher power, this holds them to higher standards. Such as the way they act in their community or interact as neighbors. With the increasing of the non-religious population, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the increasing of selfish people increased as well. The United States could be in serious trouble if this continues. It could turn into a self absorbed nation, where nobody cares about anything but themselves.
I disagree with Bill O’Reilly that if people lose religion, our country will go down the drain. You don’t need to “believe in something” to do good, and you don’t need a higher power to tell you something is right or wrong, that’s something you as a individual unique human being get to choose for yourself, what you define as right or wrong, the United States shouldn’t rely on religious texts to do good things for people, people who choose to not believe in anything simply don’t believe in a higher power, this does not equate to them lacking morals or being a bad person, the nation will not be affected if people choose not to believe in a higher power.
I disagree with Bill O’Reilly. Just because people do not believe in Christianity, or anything, does not mean they are “nazis.” In this country we have right to believe or not believe. Our lack of beliefs will not put this country in turmoil. If two people practice the same religion they still can have different views on the world, that’s what has kept us going as a country and made us what we are today. The continuation of this will not lead to anything that hasn’t already happened.
Although I am a religious, I disagree with Bill O’Reilly’s belief that the United States will be in turmoil. It’s true that at one point in history, religion was the main focus of people’s lives. However, that was when the world was building itself to become stable and needed something to believe in. Since the country is already fully stabilized and has a working system going on, there’s no need for people to be forced into religion. Honestly, I think it’s better that people start believing in themselves more instead of a god or someone else because they will be happier that way. I respect O’Reilly’s opinion if he believes that religion is needed to survive, but comparing non-religious people to “Nazis” is uncalled for and not appropriate. Overall, I do not think the United States will be in turmoil and I think O’Reilly should re-think his opinion of non-religious people.
I agree with O’Reilly that if people lost religion our country will go down the drain because “we believe and nothing.” I think this because many people are grounded and rooted in their religion and they have grown up with it and it’s their faith. I think that if people don’t have someone or something to believe in besides just politics, or some people don’t believe or like politics at all, then turmoil would happen in the United States. Also if people want to solely trust themselves, how can we trust them because if they don’t have the government or religion they could break laws and harm others. Lastly I think since American went through all the trouble to get religious freedom we shouldn’t take that away from those who truly care about it and we should stop persuading people to lose their religion because the media has a responsibility in this.
I dont necessarily agree with O’Reilly in the sense that the United States would be in absolute turmoil. I personally think that is a little dramatic. I agree that people in our country rely on their religion for guidance or support, but can you go as far as to say that people that do not believe are “Nazi’s”? I understand what he is trying to say, but I don’t find it to be valid or reasonable in my opinon. Our neighbors, friends, family, co-workers, people that we surround ourselves with everyday, either are religious or are not and both are able to function and live happy, healthy lifestyles. Now I am personally religious myself, but I understand if someone doesn’t believe in a higher power. That is their decision and their own personal belief. O’Reilly makes non-religious people sound so horrible. There are great people in the world, that due to their own opinion, choose to not believe in a higher power. It does not make them any less of people in any way. If people lose religion, the country is not going to be a goner, life will go on.
I disagree with Bill O’Reilly’s opinion that a less religiously oriented society is a bad thing. In fact, I believe a decrease in the number of people who believe in christianity and an increase in Atheism is a positive trend in our society. Mr. O’Reilly compares non-religious people with Nazis. This seems to equate them with the depraved and violent legacy of Nazi-ism. However history shows that it is the true believers of religion who are most likely to carry out mass killings like Nazi’s did. From the Crusades, to the Inquisition, to the Troubles in Ireland it has been religious fanatics and not the non-religious who have demonstrated a long history of genocide and holocaust. Mr. Reilly seems to imply that Atheists and Agnostics do not have a moral code, which isn’t true. Their moral code simply isn’t based of Christian superstition. To be honest, an increase in agnostics and Atheists in our country would be a good thing because those belief systems encourage informed decision making, education, and tangible outcomes based on science and free thought. What could be better for our free society than a well informed and educated population which makes decisions based on evidence?
I have also read about Bill O’Reilly, I have really enjoyed his writings. I love his topics and how much he loves his country. I agree with O’Reilly that if people lose religion, our country will go down the drain. I do not agree that we will go in turmoil though, because it is very important to trust yourself.