First
amendment should protect religion
Jason
Garthoffner
Last
summer the American Civil Liberties Union
defended Sultana Freeman, who sued the Florida
Department of Motor Vehicles. Freeman, a
Muslim woman, was not allowed to receive
a photo ID with her face concealed as required
by her religion. The ACLU argued that her
first amendment right to practice Islam
was being infringed upon.
The
lawsuit was groundbreaking inasmuch the
ACLU finally recognized that an American
citizen has religious rights.
The
ACLU and other leftists have been waging
war on religion for years. Arguing the first
amendment does not allow the church to have
a place in the realm of state. This is fine,
but they are not consistent on the issue.
Author
David Limbaugh's newest book "Persecution"
outlines in great detail the left's use
of the first amendment, and the blatant
double standard of the allowance of Christianity
in the public compared to other religions.
The following examples can be found in "Persecution."
At
one school in Texas two girls were sent
to the principal's office for carrying copies
of the Bible. After being reprimanded they
were probably asked to be good little students
from then on and carry more appropriate
books like "Heather Has Two Mommies."
One
little girl in New York was reprimanded
for praying before snack time. Another boy
in St. Louis was segregated and ridiculed
by teachers for his praying before lunch.
Ignoring
the people they should be helping, the ACLU
threatened to sue an elementary school in
California when the words "God Bless
America" were put up on it's marquee
during Sept. 11.
They
also represented Michael Newdow, an atheist
who wanted the Pledge of Allegiance ruled
unconstitutional because his daughter said
"under God" when she recited the
pledge.
Our
beloved Democratic run California Legislature
found time in their busy schedule securing
civilian rights for illegal immigrants to
mandate that all seventh graders take a
three week immersion course in Islam. The
course requires the students to choose a
Muslim name, learn Muslim prayers and chants,
plan a trip to Mecca and play a Jihad game.
Yes,
a Jihad game. I don't know the rules, but
they could possibly entail something like
the first child to yell "kaboom"
on the school bus ride home gets an "A."
Understandably,
this blatant government endorsement of Islam
must take a lot of energy for the righteous
left to ignore in their effort to stay focused
more pressing issues. Such as their crusade
to remove the word "God" from
existence, and combating the vile act of
giving thanks for food.
The
difference between what the ACLU and the
left defend and what they fight for is that
they are fighting instances in which no
particular religion is being endorsed. The
word "God" can mean the supreme
being to any number of religions; Christians,
Jews, Native Americans, Africans, and Hindus,
to name a few, can all accept the phrase
"God Bless America" in their own
way. This does not violate the first amendment's
prohibition of "respecting an establishment
of religion."
However,
arguing Freeman and other Muslims deserve
special concessions not given to others
is a violation. So is the state forcing
seventh grader Johnny Anykid to take the
name Osama, and then praise Allah?
It
is not any secret that the founding fathers
created the Constitution with their Christian
values in mind. They did, however, recognize
their differences even among themselves
as seven different sects of Christianity
were represented at the Constitutional Convention.
James
Madison once declared that "in a free
government, the security for civil rights
must be the same as that for religious rights."
This should serve as a reminder the first
amendment was not created to prevent government
from recognizing religion. Rather, it was
created to not oppress any one religion.
By
the way, Newdow's daughter still says "under
God" when she recites the pledge. She
does so voluntarily. Oh well, at least the
left has seventh grade to look forward to.
Maybe she'll pick the name Sultanna.
Jason
Garthoffner is an art major at Cal State
Long Beach.
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