So the difference is that magic can't exist on its own, but the belief in it/or tale of it is mythology and this can exist?
When I was a kid, I got my ass whipped on a regular basis when I had it coming. I'm not out there today killing, raping or pillaging. I actually consider myself a productive member of society. It's called teaching kids that there are MEANINGFUL consequences for their actions.
I don't doubt that at all. I got whipped, too. But I absolutely do not think that is the only way to have children turn out good. A lesson is only as good as the person who learns it.
And I didn't get my ass whipped, yet I'm not out there killing, raping or pillaging. I know all about meaningful consequences for my actions. Spanking is not the only way to learn this. Plenty of kids that are spanked turn into murderers also.
It is a little confusing. Magic is not real, however fiction itelf is real . . . even if magic is a part of it. Magic actually works in a mythological world, of course. It just doesn't work in reality. This is why I say Alladin's Genie granting wishes is not magic because it cannot be real. However it can be fiction. And so it is.
Specifically for state income taxes? I don't recall, but it wasn't much because I only work part time. In a year, that will be a different story. It's the principal of the matter. Should the entire population be forced to pay for a religious object that only some of them believe in? Our government is supposed to be seperate from church & state. That means not showing a preference for any religion - I understand this isn't completely possible because the majority is christian, but it's more possible now that it ever has been before.
In other words, you didn't "pay" for anything. Give me a break. That BS of "we pay for it" is just that. BS. With all of the wasteful spending the Government manages to do with money, who gives a damn if a few bucks are expended by some City Council for a Nativity scene. Granted, not everyone is a Christian, but most are. And the manger scene has represented Christmas for most people since Christ was a corporal. If some atheist wants to bitch that "his money" shouldn't be spent on the display, let him show some receipts.
