We have a legal tradition, a wise one, in America of separation of church and state. Some legal scholars testify that this is not in the Constitution, and maybe these thinkers are correct. If it is not in the Constitution, we should pass an Amendment to put it in. Yes, I know, that would never get in.
Now from my nonexistent handbook on moderation as applied to worldly concerns, it is written in the second paragraph on Page 17, that interpreting the US Constitution, requires some judgement, give, mercy and common sense, so that we know when to judge in favor of the letter of the law interpretation versus the spirit of the law interpretation and application.
Where a breach is major, patent and dangerous (like Obama through execcutive orders doing legislating, a strictly Congressional power under the Constitution), the letter of the law should apply immediately and swiftly in court.
Where the Constitutional violation is harmless (Printing In God We Trust on the side of police cars) or some village in South Dakota with mangers and baby Jesus on the ground of city hall, then we do not want atheist fanatics and the ACLU suing to spirit-of-the-law local enjoyment of minor, insignificant breaching our separation of church and state Constitutional arrangement.
Where Muslims in America use sharia law courts to flout the Constitution, that rises to the level of letter of the law Constitutional breaching that cannot be countenanced. Should I run for President and be elected, and seek to assume dictatorial powers, and make Mavellonialism the official state religion for all of America, that radical breach of the separation-of-church-and-state would have to be aggressively blocked while I was impeached and run out of office.
We need to know when to wink and look the other way, and when to enforce rigidly all infractions of the legal letter of the law situations.
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