By now, most of you have heard of the dispute between Bradley Johnson (calculus teacher at Westview HS in Rancho Penasquitos, California) and the Poway Unified School District. The District ordered Johnson to remove two "religious banners" from his classroom. Johnson refused, lawsuits ensued and, according to the San Diego Union Tribune:
A lower federal court had ruled that this infringed on Johnson’s First Amendment speech rights. But the appellate panel cited a list of U.S. Supreme Court rulings establishing that the government had the right to limit speech of public employees on the job in ways that would be unconstitutional outside the employer-employee context.This doesn’t strike us as controversial at all. Johnson remains free to advocate whatever religious views he wants – just outside his calculus classroom. We hope this distinction is acknowledged even by those who see this ruling as an affront to their faith.
In other words, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (seated in San Francisco, CA) says Johnson can't post a sign in his classroom that advocates his Christian faith. This sounds entirely reasonable; it is a public school, not a mission home. However, as the ancient sage observed, "context is everything." What exactly did those unconstitutional signs say?
Here they are:
Oh, the horror of it all!
Such rank, flagrant and shameless Christian sentiment polluting the minds of our impressionable youth cannot be tolerated! The manifest unconstitutionality of mentioning God in the public arena! I am appalled! I am aghast! I am disgusted! I am revolted! I am shocked, shocked, I tell you!
Oh, wait a second . . .
In God We Trust first appeared on US coins in 1864. It was adopted as the National Motto of the United States of America in 1956. Legal challenges have three times reached the US Supreme Court – twice in the 1970s and again in 1996 – where the High Court found the Motto constitutional. In two later cases, during the last decade, the Justices declined to review lower court decisions, stating that the matter was settled law.
One Nation Under God is part of the Pledge of Allegiance. First written in 1892, the Pledge and other standards of conduct were compiled by representatives of 68 patriotic groups (including the US Army and Navy) into the Flag Code in 1923. The Flag Code became part of US law in 1942 ("4 USC § 1 et seq" in legal terms). It has been modified four times, most recently in 1954, when Congress added the phrase "under God." In 2010, the Courts of Appeals for the Ninth and First Circuits upheld the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. The United States Supreme Court denied review of the later decision, which is a tacit affirmation of the decision.
"God Bless America" is the title of a song, also part of the song's chorus. Written by Irving Berlin in 1918, while Berlin was serving in the US Army, he rewrote it and debuted it on Armistice Day (now called Veteran's Day), November 11, 1938, sung by the great Kate Smith. She followed up with a performance in the Warner Brothers' film, This Is the Army (1943). The song became her signature piece and an immediate American classic. Some (including this pundit and the Library of Congress) honor it as "America's unofficial national anthem." Shortly after publication, Irvin Berlin established the God Bless America Fund, dedicating the royalties to the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America.
"God Shed His Grace on Thee" is part of the chorus of "America the Beautiful." The lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates as a poem called "Pikes Peak"; inspired by a visit to that mountain top, it was first published in the July 4, 1895 edition of a church periodical and retitled, "America." The music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward, for another song, in 1882. Lyric and score were combined as "America, the Beautiful" and published in 1910. It has often been proposed as a national hymn for the United States, or a new national anthem. Among patriotic music fans, few performances surpass that of Ray Charles.
"All men are created equal," etc. . . . do we even need to mention that this is one of the great phrases of the Declaration of Independence? Penned by Thomas Jefferson, on behalf of the Second Continental Congress, it further declared, "We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions . . . declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States . . . And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor." [emphasis added.]
By the way, Bradley Johnson put up the pair of 7-foot by 2-foot banners in 1982. No one complained until 2006. That's 24 years (and thousands of students) without a single objection!
Those are the facts and the context.
It is appalling to this pundit – as it should be to every American – that a federal appeals court should (on the eve of Constitution Day) hand down a decision that limits the rights of Americans to express their patriotism, especially when the "questionable" phrases are:
- Official symbols of the Union (prominently displayed in many courtrooms, and by law, on every one of the billions of coins and currencies issued by the federal government) or part of the legal code of the Union (which is recited by both chambers of Congress at the beginning of every daily session).
- Among the most beloved and popular musical compositions in American culture, performed in official, government-sponsored and government-sanctioned patriotic events all across the Union and at US military bases around the world every single year.
- An excerpt from the founding document of the United States.
Just when you think liberal political theory cannot sink lower, they hand us a new reason to fight them at every opportunity.
Thanks for listening, tune in next week for another rant.
No comments:
Post a Comment