Mississippi wants Bible as the official state book

[Thumpalumpacus]

Note to self. Do not move to the US.

Yes, because one state fairly represents all fifty.

[robvalue]

I agree, the bible needs more exposure. Hardly anyone has even heard of it.

It could be the state's "how not to write a book".

[Norman Humann]

Note to self. Do not move to the US.

Yes, because one state fairly represents all fifty.

That was only the most recent one on the long list of reasons.

They wear their shoes in the house. That's the main one.

[Animated Earth]

The Bible coudn't be in a worse state.

[h4ym4n]

Next up: Mississippi adopts the penis as the State Organ.

And spent foreskins as the state symbol.

[Chas]

Here's to the state of Mississippi,
For underneath her borders, the devil draws no lines,
If you drag her muddy rivers, nameless bodies you will find.
The fat trees of the forest have hid a thousand crimes,
The calender is lyin' when it reads the present time.
Here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of.

And here's to the government of Mississippi,
In the swamp of their bureaucracy they're always bogging down,
And criminals are posing as the mayors of the towns.
They're hoping that no one sees the sights and hears the sounds,
And the speeches of the governor are the ravings of a clown.
Oh, here's to the land you've torn out the heart of,
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of.

-Phil Ochs

[Esquilax]

Note to self. Do not move to the US.

Yes, because one state fairly represents all fifty.

Well, it's not just the one state, is it? I read the other day about a town in Texas, I think it was, that put an official ordinance on the books that god was the owner of the town. Religiosity is just crazy high in America, and displayed in much more ostentatious ways, than in other countries. It's something I've definitely noticed upon moving here; I pass by three churches just going to the store up the road. It's crazy, compared to what I'm used to.

Don't get me wrong, I like America, but it is an adjustment when compared to Australia.

[FatAndFaithless]

Yes, because one state fairly represents all fifty.

Well, it's not just the one state, is it? I read the other day about a town in Texas, I think it was, that put an official ordinance on the books that god was the owner of the town. Religiosity is just crazy high in America, and displayed in much more ostentatious ways, than in other countries. It's something I've definitely noticed upon moving here; I pass by three churches just going to the store up the road. It's crazy, compared to what I'm used to.

Don't get me wrong, I like America, but it is an adjustment when compared to Australia.

When you went through Immigration, did they give you your complementary American Flag (made in China) and quick-reference Bible?

[Tonus]

Well, it's not just the one state, is it? I read the other day about a town in Texas, I think it was, that put an official ordinance on the books that god was the owner of the town. Religiosity is just crazy high in America, and displayed in much more ostentatious ways, than in other countries. It's something I've definitely noticed upon moving here; I pass by three churches just going to the store up the road. It's crazy, compared to what I'm used to.

Yeah, some parts of the country are particularly thick with religious buildings and eventually you realize the extent to which it is part of the lives of the locals, in ways both obvious and subtle. To be honest, NYC has no shortage of religious buildings, but maybe because of the population density it doesn't seem like it. The suburbs in Ohio where I will be moving to in the summer probably has far fewer such buildings, but the density of both buildings and people makes them stand out much more. That, and the inescapable realization that 99% of them are Christian churches, instead of the mix of mosques and tabernacles that you'll find in New York.

Thankfully, I haven't seen any difference in the people, at least as regards being open about religious belief. The people in the Ohio suburbs are so nice in general that it's getting to feel awkward. I didn't realize how guarded I always am around strangers until I was out there, because in NYC it doesn't take long before you run into an asshole of some stripe or another. It's like whoa... there are other people like me out there???

[abaris]

Yes, because one state fairly represents all fifty.

But you have to take into consideration how alien most of the so called American way of life is to most parts of the western world. I'm not talking about the big coastal hubs like New York. LA or San Francisco, but about the vast countryside and southern cities. Apart from the religiosity it's also the more mundane things we would worry about. Such as not having universal health care, but a system where you pay heavily just for the very real chance of your insurance company dropping you in the gutter.

I like to visit the US, but I wouldn't move there unless for a very high paid job. Slim chance for that, by the way.