Pace: the final frontier, chapter 8 — Ignorance reigns supreme

Remember that long post I said I wanted to write? Well, this is it ... and it still doesn't cover everything I wanted to address.

If you've been following the Pace High School prayer story since its inception (and if you haven't, you can catch up here, scrolling past this current post), you know that public opinion out of Santa Rosa County and the greater Pensacola area has been strongly in favor of the illegal actions of Pace High principal Frank Lay and athletic director Robert Freeman. To me, this shows nothing more than (1) people around here don't care much about the law, and (2) supporters of the two men essentially are ignorant.

Don't get me wrong: if they want to throw money away contributing to Lay's soon-to-be-unsuccessful legal defense, more power to them. The problem here is not that they want to support their friend/colleague/fellow Jesus-worshipper, but rather the overriding attitude that their worship of Jesus somehow puts them (and Lay) above the law.

"We feel what Frank Lay has done echoes the conscience of the community," said [Lay's friend, insurance salesman Robert] Smith, a former Santa Rosa county commissioner and, more recently, the leader of an unsuccessful charge to keep liquor sales out of the county.

"Our school district in Santa Rosa County is so unique. We continue to excel academically. There's something going on over here that's right, and we think this is part of it."

The Rev. Ted Traylor, pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, also is lending a hand by promoting the legal-defense fund on his blog. Lay is an 11-year member of Olive Baptist and a deacon there.

Traylor, who writes his personal views every Tuesday and Friday, said Lay and Freeman shouldn't face charges for asking a blessing.

"To quote the Commander in Chief on another issue: this is acting stupidly," he wrote. "But, this is the America we live in today. Socialism is next. Then comes communism. If we do not stand with Frank, they will come and take us away next."

Oh, come on, Rev. Traylor! They'll be far too busy taking away your guns and your hard-earned money to come and take you away! Seriously, though, you see what I mean? These people place the "conscience of the community" above the U.S. Constitution!

Smith is even producing T-shirts (shown at right, courtesy of WALA Fox10 News) that completely (and, I imagine, intentionally) misrepresent the issue, asserting that the very institution of prayer is under assault here (whereas, as has been stated repeatedly here and elsewhere until I'm blue in the face, no one seriously is contending that the students can't pray -- even in school! It's merely prayer organized and led or approved by public school personnel that is proscribed by law!).

But, unfortunately, such ignorance is not just limited to Lay's friends. Check out the craziness that has appeared in recent letters to the editor in the Pensacola News Journal:

August 11:

The name may be Frank Lay, but everything I have seen in the man is "stand-up." Meanwhile, the un-American Casualty of Liberties Union is attempting to take away the very liberties they purportedly are trying to protect.

Most men lie down at the first sign of real adversity; not Frank Lay. This man has spent his career educating our youth, instilling professionalism in students and teachers alike, molding discipline and character. Lay, in my opinion, has the intellect to manage at the highest corporate level but he chose to be a servant and give instead of take; a man of integrity; a man of courage to speak his mind; a man who actually lives the faith that harbors his soul.

As I look around and see the decadence and immorality cascading to levels unseen, I am overwhelmed that we still have great American men who take a stand to protect what our forefathers forged more than 200 years ago.

— Carl F. King II

Hey, I think it's great that Frank Lay is a man of faith. He should feel free to practice his faith in church, at home, even in a public forum ... but not in a place where his professional authority is conferred by the government. As for "protect[ing] what our forefathers forged more than 200 years ago," I'm not sure what Mr. King thinks was "forged" back then, but it definitely was not the ability to foist one's particular faith onto others with the backing of the government. Religious freedom means not only practicing whatever religion you wish (or none at all), but also freedom from governmental establishment of religion. More on that below ...

Also from August 11:

In my opinion I think U. S. District Judge Margaret Casey Rodgers should be ashamed of herself for instigating these charges against Mr. Lay.

In God We Trust.

— Carol Alfonsin Boyle

Setting aside for the moment the fact that "instigating" doesn't mean what Ms. Boyle apparently thinks it means, Judge Rodgers is sworn to uphold the law, which in this case means enforcing the consent decree she approved, one to which the Santa Rosa County School District agreed. Lay and Freeman violated the decree; that is contempt of court under the law. The real shame is that Ms. Boyle deigns to tell a federal judge how to do her job.

August 14:

While wackos kill innocent folks in gyms and schools, murdering commandos kill a Beulah couple, lunatics, robbers, rapists, illegals, gangs and drug dealers roam our land at will, we're wasting money we don't have and manpower we can't afford prosecuting two revered school teachers who are widely credited for helping turn out the best-educated students in Florida for the federal criminal offense of praying before a meal. Where is the ACLU when their rights are trampled?

If Frank Lay and Robert Freeman are dubbed criminals, this surely will end as a tragedy we will see as a weakened school system. If this is the sorry thanks we give to two good men who have dedicated their lives to bettering our children, then fewer good men will volunteer.

In a play off a statement made by our first lady, I am finally ashamed of our country.

— Sandy Wyatt, Pace

[...]

I have grandchildren coming up in this world. I wish there were something I could do to stop this insanity. Why are "they" so afraid of God? I pray that this mess will be straightened out and with a happy ending.

— Devona Willis, Laurel Hill

Ms. Wyatt, why do you hate America? The only weakening of the (public) school system would be if school officials were permitted to impose their Christian beliefs on the students, some of whom are not Christian and likely some of whom do not believe in God. If a parent wants Christian education, there are plenty of private schools that would be more than willing to accept Pace's students. To put it simply: religious indoctrination has no place in public school.

By the way, Ms. Wyatt, the criminal offense wasn't "praying before a meal;" it was violating a temporary injunction against school activities that violate the U.S. Constitution -- violations Santa Rosa County school officials previously were more than willing to commit. But nice strawman argument anyway ...

And Ms. Willis, I would respond by asking why "you" are so afraid of the law and the Constitution? This isn't insanity; no one is being told they can't pray (or they shouldn't be told that) -- just that they can't have prayer led by public school officials. Big difference ...

August 18:

I believe civil disobedience (for Christians) is justified when God's principles are opposed.

There is only one God, the one who enjoys Frank Lay's allegiance! Lay is a man of God, not ashamed of His Master! America needs more like him, like most of our founding fathers. This mother of a Pace High graduate was grateful he was in that environment.

If every "Christian" in the educational system took a stand for God, we could take back our public schools and our beloved country from Satan's bunch. The ACLU would get a run for its money.

Liberal judges need to know the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, before it's too late. We'll all stand before the Judge of Judges one day.

Our School Board should never have signed the "consent decree." I wasn't surprised at the member who reported the incident. She opposed the elective Bible course offered years ago. Thank God for Chuck Norris and his wife who researched the legality thereof.

God bless you all as only he can.

— Chrys Holley, Milton

This letter practically defines the "whackjob Christianist" genre. Ms. Holley seems to think only Christians have a right to civil disobedience -- this in a country founded on the right to worship as one wishes, or not at all. It would be difficult to be more wrong (in light of settled American law and jurisprudence) than this letter ...

I think it's great, Ms. Holley, how happy you are for your son having graduated from Pace High. But how should the students from Jewish families or Muslim families or atheist families react to that? See, Ms. Holley, you don't have the right to push your beliefs on others in a public school. That's the bottom line. And if you don't like it, you're free to try to repeal that part of the First Amendment. Good luck with that.

August 19:

We have a constitutional right to free speech, not to be protected from what we don't want to hear. All of us have to listen to things we do not like, such as the vitriol launched against those who believe in prayer.

It is wrong for a few unbelievers to tyrannize and prevent the free speech of the majority and to prevent the free speech of student leaders because of what they might say. No one is forced to join in.

Congress prays. The Constitutional Convention in June of 1787, stymied by its members' disagreements, began to pray daily at the suggestion of Ben Franklin. National days of prayer and fasting were commonly declared in the early days of our nation.

It is not prayer that is the problem in this country today; it is the lack of it and the denial to God of His proper place in our lives that are.

— Carolyn Hinton, Pensacola

Where did you earn your law degree, Ms. Hinton? Free speech is not absolute -- American courts, including the Supreme Court, long have recognized limits to free speech. These limits include certain restrictions on the time, place, and manner of speech and limits on free speech in public schools. Religious indoctrination simply is not permitted in public schools, and it shouldn't be permitted now.

You may be surprised to learn that the Constitution does not exist to ensure the rights of the majority, Ms. Hinton; rather, it serves to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority. If we followed your rules, we'd still have slavery and women wouldn't have the right to vote. Fortunately on both counts, that's not the case. As for "no one is forced to join in," that's just bullshit and everyone knows it. What constitutes "forced" in your opinion, Ms. Hinton? If a Jewish child doesn't want to pray to the Christian God, do you think he or she will feel free to decline in a Santa Rosa County public school and, more to the point, that said child won't be ostracized for failing to pray?

Sure, Congress prays. But there are limits to the prayers, the prayers are offered by various denominations including Jewish rabbis and Muslim clerics, and the members of Congress are adults who are capable of declining to pray or not deriding others who choose not to pray. This isn't a freedom of speech issue -- it's an issue of freedom from the establishment of religion, which is expressly provided by the First Amendment.

Get over yourself, Ms. Hinton. Your attitude sucks.

But the very best example of this kind of stark raving Christianist lunacy comes from one Dorothy Jacobs of Pensacola, who brilliantly argued in a letter published on August 20 (page 2 at link), "Wake up, America! The Constitution promises freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion. Will we soon be called the United Soviet Socialist States of America?" Precisely wrong, Ms. Jacobs, as the First Amendment provides for both freedom of and freedom from religion. And what this has to do with socialism -- an economic theory -- I have absolutely no idea. She's probably just railing against that eeeeeevil black man in the White House ....

I know this was a long post, but I think it was necessary for you to understand exactly what we reality-based people have to face in northwest Florida. The News Journal runs letters at least two-to-one in favor of Lay and Freeman; whether that's reflective of their own bias or the number of letters they're getting, I don't know. Either way, it's frightening to see the lack of respect for the Constitution around here.

I've generally opposed the idea of jail time for Lay and Freeman, who will face their criminal contempt charges in a September 17 hearing ... but if giving the two wrongdoers a little time behind bars will wake up the Christianists to the reality that they can't impose their fundamentalist "values" in a public school setting, then maybe locking them up for a bit is the right way to go.

(More discussion on this tonight on Blast Off! Radio at a special time, 7:00 pm Eastern .... details to come show details are here.)