the businesses listed in The Shepherd’s Guide have not beenrncontent simply to list themselves, but they have gone so far asrnto sign a statement of faith, stipulating that “I have received JesusrnChrist as my personal Savior” and pledging “to hold thernhighest Biblical code of ethics in my business transactions.”rnThe local newspaper has been uncharacteristically civil in reportingrnon this Guide, but at least one businessman wrote in tornsay that the project violated the first rule of American business,rnwhich is to keep religion out. I do not actually recall hearingrnthat rule pronounced at any of the three Rotary meetings I havernattended, but perhaps the Rotarians do not divulge theirrnmysteries to the profane. Some groups certainly do act as if theyrndo not separate religion from business. Catholic schools andrnchurches, for example, sell advertising to Catholic businessmen,rnand in some cases the church urges parishioners to give theirrntrade to the Catholic businessmen who have taken out advertising.rnMy Lutheran friends also seem to know where everyrnLutheran appliance store or carpet shop is located, and my Jewishrnfriends are just as well-informed. Blacks are always issuingrnappeals to patronize black-owned businesses, and here in Rockfordrnblacks came out with their own Yellow Pages just a fewrnweeks before the Evangelicals did. Obviously, many of us likernto shop where we know and are known by people, and suchrnparochialism can only be regarded as a sin in the eyes of thosernwho either have no religion or who find such a pretense useful.rnThe non-Christian businessman’s denunciation is only onernsmall indication that we do not live in a Christian country orrneven a God-fearing country. Jefferson’s private opinion thatrnthere was a wall of separation between church and state hasrnbeen turned into a constitutional rule establishing an iron curtainrnthat confines religious activity to the church and home. Ifrnonly some of Jefferson’s other opinions could achieve the statusrnof law, A few weeks ago the Chicago Tribune published arntypically idiotic piece by some professor or other, saying he believedrnJefferson would today be on the side of those who wererntrying to keep religion out of public life.rnOh, really? This is the same Jefferson who feared andrnloathed the Supreme Court as an uncontrolled agent of tyrannyrnback in the benign days of John Marshall, whom he wouldrnhave impeached for his violation of states’ rights, and yet nowrnhe would be supporting the federal courts in their drive to subordinaternall local institutions to the power of the governmentrnin Washington? I am convinced that the vast majority ofrnConstitutional lawyers and “political scientists” cannot readrnEnglish, much less understand the Constitution.rnBut why go on? Real Americans already know that the federalrngovernment has declared war on religion and that notrneven the fig leaf of the 14th Amendment—passed illegally atrngun point—can sanction court rulings against creches in publiernsquares, prayer in schools, and the parents’ right to preventrntheir daughter from murdering their grandchild. We know allrnthis or ought to, but what can we do, poor, helpless subjects ofrnthis vast state, to resist, or if not to resist at least to survive andrnthrive without collaborating with our oppressors?rnFor a variety of reasons, we must pay our taxes. In the firstrnplace, they will come and get us if we do not, and it is a goodrndeal harder to be good parents and faithful friends when we arerndeprived of our property and sent to federal prison. More importantly.rnChristians are commanded to “render unto Caesarrnthe things that are Caesar’s,” and to the extent we continue tornenjoy the protection of the police, sue in the courts for damages,rnand drive on the roads, we are obliged to obey the lawsrnand pay our taxes. If a man were to sell up and move into thernwilderness, he might be morally justified in repudiating therngovernment, but they will still hunt him down and shoot himrnor his family for resisting arrest.rnIf few of us are ready to play the part of Randy Weaver, ourrnsituation is not hopeless, and projects like The Shepherd’srnGuide point the way. We cannot always shop with Lutheransrnor Baptists or Catholics, but we can choose to keep our moneyrnout of the hands of unbelievers and persecutors. In fact. ThernShepherd’s Guide is itself a good deal too evangelical for myrntaste. While it does list Catholic churches, I cannot seem tornfind any obviously Catholic or Episcopalian businesses. Therernare surprisingly few Lutherans in the book, and under insurancernI sec neither the Lutheran Brotherhood nor the Aid Associationrnfor Lutherans. Of course, it is their business, and if they do notrnwant mine, they are doing the right thing.rnI should be the last man to object to any of the most provincialrnor more parochial conspiracies, but perhaps it is time for arnbroader front. Various religious groups have over the years recommendedrnspecific boycotts against corporations that purveyedrnpornography or supported infanticide, but it is time to uprnthe ante, so to speak, and to declare economic war against allrnthe corporations that are attacking Christendom. If somernChristian coalition would actually do the work and draw up arnreliable index of prohibited businesses, I would cheerfully takernthe pledge to abstain. In the meantime, we might think inrnterms of a few obvious categories.rnWhy not begin by refusing to watch television shows or gornto films whose producers and stars are flagrantly opposed to everyrndecency? Excepting for a moment the cases of real artistsrnlike Martin Scorsese, who continues to play the part of the perpetualrnex-Catholic, why not simply refuse to cut Hollywood anyrnslack? If Tom Hanks wants to promote homosexuality, it is notrnenough not to go see Philadelphia—he did not expect us to.rnBut if we refuse to buy tickets to Forrest Gump or even to rentrnthe video, then he and his masters will begin to get the picture.rnThe same treatment ought to be given everyone who does anrnAIDS benefit concert (e.g., Kathy Mattea) or sports an AIDSrnribbon at an awards ceremony. At least we can still watch ClintrnEastwood and Gene Hackman.rnThe same principle applies to studios and producers andrnstars involved with obviously blasphemous films; companiesrnthat use nuns, priests, and heavenly voices in their commercials;rnpublishers that put out books like Passover Plot; and writers whorngive interviews to Playboy. Why be generous? I avoid moviesrnwith Barbara Streisand, because she is ugly, and Eddie Murphy,rnbecause he is foul-mouthed in his comedy routines. A year orrntwo ago I was about to do a television spot on the Constitution,rnbut as soon as I found out it was being produced by Time-rnWarner—the producers of “Cop-Killer,” I withdrew. I couldrngo on, “but the task of filling up the blanks I’d rather leave tornyou . . . “rnThere are more issues than blasphemy and immorality tornconcern morally responsible consumers. Many large companiesrngive money to the baby-killers at Planned Parenthood andrnNOW, and in recent years this grisly index has included Pillsbury,rnLevi Strauss, General Mills, and American Express. Thernnext time you are eating the processed food products at thernOlive Garden, you might consider that you are destroyingrnmore than your taste buds and digestion.rnSome major corporations have signed antiwhite affirmativernDECEMBER 1994/15rnrnrn