They put up a cross
Nearly nine meters tall
And they said it was there
For the sake of us all
But the courts say the cross
Is now destined to fall
Cos it’s on the wrong side
Of the wall… [Read more…]
If you haven’t yet, watch this video, courtesy of Chris Rodda. Then, forgive me for re-posting this verse. It’s just that it’s all too appropriate, once again.
The chaplains are ready to answer the call
In the guise of supporting our fitness
To breach and dismantle the church-and-state wall
And to act as a born-again witness
And the Head of the chaplains will smile and nod,
For God and for country (but mostly for God) [Read more…]
In sunny Santa Monica
When Christmas comes around
For sixty years, you could be sure
That Jesus would be found
For sixty years, the public park
Was Christian, through and through
But recently, they learned, the park’s
For other people, too! [Read more…]
Stephen Colbert takes Justice Scalia to task, and (importantly, if we are to convince religious believers that separation of church and state is for their benefit) shows the desecration of the cross inherent in Scalia’s view. Video, after the jump: [Read more…]
Today in a meek, if not mollified, manner
The Christians of Cranston removed the old banner
By simply defying the law of the land
They wasted a hundred and seventy grand
The banner is gone, and the page has been turned…
The question remains: has the lesson been learned?
story, after the jump: [Read more…]
Ok, so it wasn’t fit to print in a school newspaper. Krystal Myers now has a bigger soapbox to stand on, with her letter printed (under her own byline) in The Knoxville News Sentinel. Here, see for yourself.
As of this writing, all comments are positive. Of course, three comments is perhaps early in the game.
To reiterate my view: the school may have been well within their rights to suppress publication to prevent disruption. They acted legally, but not intelligently. The bigger question is, how will they deal with the behavior Ms. Myers describes in her column? There, they are acting neither legally nor intelligently. They need to clean house.
Gonna get me a pen and a paper
Gonna write to the head of the board
I’ll tell him, in schools
The majority rules,
So each day they should pray to the Lord
Gonna get me some paint and a placard
Gonna make me a beautiful sign
And I’ll make myself heard
While defending The Word—
The opinion that matters is mine!
Gonna write to my members of Congress
Gonna reach anyone I can reach
Cos school prayer is a right
That’s deserving of fight!
It’s a matter of freedom of speech!
Gonna get me a laptop computer
Gonna blog me a story today
I’ll scream it; I’ll shout it,
I’ll rant it; I’ll pout it,
I’ll spew it and spout it
No reason to doubt it—
The fact that I don’t know a damned thing about it
I’ll never let get in my way.
Krystal will not be pushing the issue, it seems.
She has no hard feelings toward the school, and recognizes their position in trying to control what is published.
I note one big difference between Krystal and Jessica Ahlquist (of Cranston, RI): Krystal takes this stand with the support, but not the agreement, of her parents. This, of course, puts both Krystal and her parents into a different situation than the Ahlquists; I cannot fault them if Krystal chooses not to pursue legal remedies.
But time will tell on that–she does have the support of civil libertarian organizations if she chooses to take that path, and Lenoir City would be smart to revisit their policies and actions in advance of such a choice. Krystal has pointed out a problem, and if they are smart, the school board will address it before Krystal or another student decides to take it to court.
“We would let you print your letter
But we think it would be better
If it didn’t point out places where our policies are wrong;
We’re not happy with your saying
School board meetings start with praying
And there’s indirect coercion—can’t we all just get along?”
First amendment violation
Seems a hobby in this nation
When the Christians in majority think they can set the rules
They so often act unfairly
And it’s pointed out so rarely
But it seems as clear as Krystal, there’s a problem in the schools.
With authorities denying
Publication, they are trying
To prevent a conflagration, and disruption, so they say;
Though their motives may be noble
There’s this “internet” that’s global
And the schools are going to learn that it’s a brave new world today.
Rant follows: [Read more…]
What with the decision not to appeal, and now some articles reporting on the scholarship Jessica will be getting (the brainchild of The Friendly Atheist, and proudly supported by Freethought Blogs), a whole new crop of people are hearing about the Cranston Banner for, apparently, the first time. Or if they have known about it, they haven’t learned much, because they are using the same ignorant arguments they have from the beginning.
And they are continuing to threaten. I read a fresh comment today specifying that someone should knock some of Jessica’s teeth out. So, yeah, this has been a fixture of Cranston commentary since at least October. But in the minds of some, who are more concerned with her soul than her safety, there are sadder things about the Banner case… like Jessica’s atheism.
Why couldn’t she just look the other way? After all, only six words out of the whole banner are objectionable! Besides, since atheists don’t believe in God, they shouldn’t be offended by any mention of Him! And it’s not fair to shove atheism down our throats! Hey, when she wins, all that money will say “In God We Trust” on it!
Though some Cranston Christians supported her, for the most part it was “Praise the Lord and start the persecution“. Christians were, it seems, a highly oppressed majority. It was clearly Jessica’s fault that the school had been violating the constitution, and with God on their side, they would surely win the appeal!
Her own representative called Jessica an “evil little thing”. Local businesses refused to deliver her flowers.
The Christian mob wanted their own religion to have a special, favored status, and to be able to punish Jessica for her atheism. On the other side of the world, we saw what that looks like. And we saw that it can happen to Christians when they are in the minority. The only way to be certain that you will not be mistreated when you are in the minority, is to keep those laws safe when you are in the majority. It’s a matter of mutual respect, and of maintaining that wall.
It’s a lesson Cranston is learning the hard way. And one which, as evidenced by their comments, some people are not learning at all.
(and I have learned that I had no idea how much I had written on this one thing!)