Love and Affection between People

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Ahhh Iran and the US.  What do we have in common? Not much. We have, however, a clear example why religion and politics are a mixture made in hell or hades or the underworld...depending on your view.

Iran wants to ban St. Valentines Day. Ok.  Here is the column in the WSJ and here is another view about Iran and the spread of this western tradition.

So we are clear, St. Valentines Day (aside from the Chicago Gangland shootings) is a day first celebrated by the Catholic Church and then became a secular holiday of sorts after getting bounced from the church calendar in 1969. Iran doesn't like it now because it is a "western influence" day and against their religious traditions. OK.

In the same vein, we have and will have a war on Halloween by certain segments of churches in the US. Halloween is, as you know, All Hallows Eve before All Saints Day, when the dead are remembered.  Hmmmm - one celebration of love and the other of memory.
Banning or opposing these days is, of course, a free right - here guaranteed by the constitution - there guaranteed or not so by a state that is ruled by religion.  These are threshold issues in case you don't get my point. In Iran if 99.9% of the people wanted to buy their loved one a Valentine's day chocolate they couldn't because religion has overruled government and the people and said no.  Here, the anti Halloween folks can scream and holler all they want but they can't get a foot in the door of our basic rights.

Got it?