Crazy Days, Crazy People

Last weekend I manned our local Americans United chapter table at our local annual Hempfest celebration. It's always interesting doing tabling, especially at something like Hempfest, and Saturday was no exception. Our spot was sandwiched in between a medical marijuana tent and some neo-hippies selling items made from hemp fibre, so we had a pretty good location.

Maybe too good.

First a woman came up and said that we (AU) should stop fighting god and that the Ten Commandments should be on display in every government office and classroom because we're a "Christian Nation". I told her that was a common misconception and handed her one of our "Is America a Christian Nation?" pamphlets that dispels -- succinctly and thoroughly -- that concept. She started shaking it in my face and yelling at me, and then as she was stomping away she shouted, "And god bless you!".

One of the girls at the next booth turned to me and said, "It didn't sound like she really wanted god to bless you..."

No, I'm sure she meant the opposite, but I was glad to see that she took the pamphlet with her.

About an hour later a man came up and immediately started into an intense unblinking monotone rant about the Federal Reserve and how we've been operating without a Constitution since March 4, 1933 (the inauguration of FDR), and that all members of Congress should be forced to swear allegiance to Jesus Christ and to the Constitution.

So then he kind of runs out of breath, because the first rant was done without inhaling, and then he says "You don't have a clue about what I'm talking about, do you?"

I was sorely tempted to advise him that, since he was a constitutional scholar and expert, then he knows that Article VI Section 3 provides that there shall be no religious test for holding public office. But I didn't, since this guy appeared to be fairly unhinged, several bubbles out of plumb, a dozen bricks shy of a load, etc etc. The last thing you want to do is try to reason with a crazy person.

"No, I really don't," I said instead.

Wrong answer, apparently, since then he started again from the top. It went by so fast that I couldn't get it all, but the gist of it was that the Federal Reserve has enslaved us since March 4, 1933 (that date was pretty important, evidently, since he mentioned it several times) and the only way out will be an armed and violent revolution. "Watch for it!" he yelled as he was walking away. "I don't have to worry because Jesus Christ is my savior!"

Like I've always said, Jesus, save me from your followers...