Social Commentary: Separation, A Healthy Choice

Earlier this week, the Giles County, Virginia School Board held a public meeting to debate the issue of an earlier ruling it had made mandating that all of its schools remove The Ten Commandments from all classrooms. This came after a letter was received by the Board from an organization known as Freedom From Religion. Siting the current interpretation of the Constitution on the matter of "separation of Church and State" (the Constitution makes no direct mention of the separation in that specific way), the letter charged that the Commandments being placed in public classrooms was a violation of that this principle. The letter cited no specific party or complaint for sending the letter. It did also say that the School District could face possible legal action if the Commandments were not removed. The School District complied creating, naturally, an uproar in the community.

Of course, with a subject as emotionally charged and potentially volatile as this one, the meeting was over flowing. I applaud the School Board for scheduling the meeting to involve the community in the decision process and for the many people who attended. The TV News report that I saw, said about a dozen people spoke. I saw short sound bites of 3 or 4 people. All were emotional and all were in favor of returning the Commandments to there original spots in the classrooms. I did not see a single person speak against their return.

As easy as it would be to initially rage against such thinking, perhaps it's better to step back and look at it from a different POV; at least until I start raging again. It is clear to me that under the current interpretation of the Constitution, there are to be NO public displays of ANY religion in any State or Federal institution. ANY display of ANY religion. PERIOD.

However, at the same time, we live in a democracy whose guiding principle is government by the people, for the people. And in this particular community, apparently, the will of the people is to have those Commandments returned.

OK. So where does this leave us? We have two very strong guiding principals directly opposed to one another at work here. Eventually, as is generally well served in our democracy, the Courts will, hopefully, do their job and apply the law as it sees the law.

As for me, I hope that they will side with those of us who are strong believers in the principal of separation of Church and State. Those Commandments need to come down and stay down. There are those of a religious bent who would argue that this country was founded by the grace of a Christian god and, therefore, the Commandments have a natural and rightful place in our everyday lives, including our schools. Some go even further and say that beyond the religious significance, it has a cultural one as well; we were founded by Christians, therefore, it's also part of our heritage. Still others say it just a set of sensible, moral, guiding principles.

Respectfully, I say hogwash! I respect those who are deeply religious. Some of my best friends are. :) I was raised a nice, Italian-Catholic boy. I even went to Catholic grammar school, K-8. Believe me, I've had a lot of religious instruction! But I have rejected that indoctrination. To me, religion is like a beautiful suit that just doesn't fit: I WANT to wear it but I just can't. But why I have rejected formal religion is not relevant to my discussion today. However, the fact that I have is of the most importance here. The implication in this case, as it is in Alabama where the Governor "rejected" all non-Christians, is that if you are not a Christian then you are not really an American. This is why I believe the principal of separation is broader in its application here than majority rule is.

Those in the religious right would have you believe that it was divine inspiration that guided the hand of Thomas Jefferson and the other framers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, making this one nation, under god (which was added to the Pledge of Allegiance in the 1950's, NOT by the Founding Fathers, by the way). But if you read further, you will find that most of these men where adamant about the principal that the State should NEVER dictate a man's spiritual believe and, therefore, had NO place in the daily working of government. Most of them had seen what State sponsored religion and subsequent repression could do to a community. That's why they sought out a New World, free from religious intolerance, particularly from THEIR OWN GOVERNMENT. And, in a sense, it was two way street; one would not impose its will on the other i.e. separate.

Making this a Christian country guided solely by Christian principals is no different than radical Muslims who insist that THEIR religion is their sole guiding principal and, so, impose Sharia Law!

We are The Melting Pot, a bouillabaisse of languages, cultures, ethnicities AND religions. To choose one religion over any other just flies in the face of what America really means; as a concept AND in reality. So, logic dictates that if we can't have one, we should have none.

Worship the god of your choice to your hearts content but, please, keep within the privacy of your own home or other appropriate place, like your church or your synagogue or your temple or your mosque or your ashram or your cave. But , please, keep THEM ALL out of my school.

And on a sad note, yielding to public pressure, the School Board in Giles voted to return the 10 Commandments to their place in the classroom and take their chances in court. America, it's a beautiful thing! KEEP THE FAITH.

photo: F. LoBuono St. Paul's, Minnesota.