The School/Declaration of Independence Issue

[housewolf]

My apologies if this has already been posted here. The issue cropped up on another thread today and I came across this tonight so here it is.

Here is a page someone set up specifically to address this issue.
It's really wild up there in Cupertino where this is all going on.

Summary:

A quick review of the lawsuit and the media brouhaha instigated by Stephen Williams' supporters indicates that this has all the makings of a typical right-wing hit job: a frivolous lawsuit, false propaganda (by the plaintiffs and the media) and intimidation/character assassination

---> snip

The New York Times, in God, American History and a Fifth-Grade Class, writes today about the Thanksgiving-week "Declaration of Independence Banned" story. They cover the story in a he-said/she-said manner, saying the teacher's contrived lawsuit,

"...has single-handedly turned the Declaration of Independence into a powerful tool for the Christian right in its battle against secularist teaching of colonial history..."

The Times story does not even mention that the controversy -- the reason they are covering the story at all -- only exists because of the inflammatory claim that the Declaration of Independence was banned by the school because it contained the word 'God,' and does not refute this outright lie beyond one "he said" statement. The school had not banned the Declaration of Independence, it had asked a teacher to stop giving unconstitutional "supplemental handouts" (like this, perhaps?) to students.

The original story surfaced in the Right's echo chamber (Drudge, Limbaugh, Fox...) the day before Thanksgiving -- carefully timed to make it impossible to refute for several days, and to stir up emotions at family dinnertables. Now the story is widespread, which is probably the reason the Times addressed it at all. A Google search of "Declaration of Independence banned" yields 17,200 citations. (That is a search of the text in quotes, not for sites containing some mix of the words.)

----> snip

More...
http://www.eriposte.com/philosophy/fundamentalism/stevenscreek.htm

[murielm99]

1. Thanks for the link.

While I have seen this story, the link to the material the teacher was using is revealing.

This teacher seems to be one of the religious nuts who are trying to use the courts to break down the barriers between church and state.

[housewolf]

2. More right-wingers pushing the envelope...

It seems like another version of the 10 Commandments case, just pushing, pushing to keep things riled up. They've been emboldened by the results of the election.

[Warren DeMontague]

6. Right. It goes hand in hand with the "They're trying to De-Christianize

Christmas!" meme they're flogging this week.

:puke:

[Guaranteed]

3. WOW!! I had NEVER seen this: The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom

Written by THOMAS MOTHERFUCKING JEFFERSON, LURKING FREEPER FUCKS, and passed under JAMES MADISON:

----------------------------
VIRGINIA STATUTE FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

Whereas Almighty God hath created the mind free; that all attempts to influence it by temporal punishments or burthens, or by civil incapacitations, tend only to beget habits of hypocrisy and meanness, and are a departure from the plan of the Holy author of our religion, who being Lord both of body and mind, yet chose not to propagate it by coercions on either, as it was in his Almighty power to do; that the impious presumption of legislators and rulers, civil as well as ecclesiastical, who being themselves but fallible and uninspired men, have assumed dominion over the faith of others, setting up their own opinions and modes of thinking as the only true and infallible, and as such endeavouring to impose them on others, hath established and maintained false religions over the greatest part of the world, and through all time; that to compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves, is sinful and tyrannical; that even the forcing him to support this or that teacher of his own religious persuasion, is depriving him of the comfortable liberty of giving his contributions to the particular pastor, whose morals he would make his pattern, and whose powers he feels most persuasive to righteousness, and is withdrawing from the ministry those temporary rewards, which proceeding from an approbation of their personal conduct, are an additional incitement to earnest and unremitting labours for the instruction of mankind; that our civil rights have no dependence on our religious opinions, any more than our opinions in physics or geometry; that therefore the proscribing any citizen as unworthy the public confidence by laying upon him an incapacity of being called to offices of trust and emolument, unless he profess or renounce this or that religious opinion, is depriving him injuriously of those privileges and advantages to which in common with his fellow-citizens he has a natural right; that it tends only to corrupt the principles of that religion it is meant to encourage, by bribing with a monopoly of worldly honours and emoluments, those who will externally profess and conform to it; that though indeed these are criminal who do not withstand such temptation, yet neither are those innocent who lay the bait in their way; that to suffer the civil magistrate to intrude his powers into the field of opinion, and to restrain the profession or propagation of principles on supposition of their ill tendency, is a dangerous fallacy, which at once destroys all religious liberty, because he being of course judge of that tendency will make his opinions the rule of judgment, and approve or condemn the sentiments of others only as they shall square with or differ from his own; that it is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government, for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order; and finally, that truth is great and will prevail if left to herself, that she is the proper and sufficient antagonist to error, and has nothing to fear from the conflict, unless by human interposition disarmed of her natural weapons, free argument and debate, errors ceasing to be dangerous when it is permitted freely to contradict them:

Be it enacted by the General Assembly, That no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.

And though we well know that this assembly elected by the people for the ordinary purposes of legislation only, have no power to restrain the acts of succeeding assemblies, constituted with powers equal to our own, and that therefore to declare this act to be irrevocable would be of no effect in law; yet we are free to declare, and do declare, that the rights hereby asserted are of the natural rights of mankind, and that if any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal the present, or to narrow its operation, such act shall be an infringement of natural right.

Source: W.W. Hening, ed., Statutes at Large of Virginia, vol. 12 (1823): 84-86.
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EAT THAT YOU UNAMERICAN PIECES OF SHIT!!

[sandnsea]

5. Try this, on education

When they want religion in the schools, or say we shouldn't have public education.

"At every of these schools shall be taught reading,
writing, and common arithmetick, and the books which
shall be used therein for instructing the children to read
shall be such as will at the same time make them acquainted with Graecian, Roman, English, and American history. "
A Bill for the More General Diffusion of Knowledge (1778)
- Thomas Jefferson
http://facweb.furman.edu/~svecmichael/ED11/library/jeffknow.html

[Warren DeMontague]

4. Yeah, some crusty old duffer at a party

at my neighbor's house brought this up the other night. I didn't even know the actual story until now, but I certainly know rightwing AM Radio Bullshit when I smell it.

...my wife sometimes makes the mistake of assuming that since we're in Northern California, everyone she talks to is a liberal. I often keep my mouth shut in certain situations... because I know better.

I like my neighbor, so I bit my tongue, mumbled something about how Jefferson was a Deist and politely ended the conversation.

[bobbieinok]

7. IMPT NOTE--the info on David Barton as the primary source of

'American was founded on Christian principles by Christians' and 'the separation of church and state is a myth'

[snippy]

8. An organized campaign of lies from the republican party?

I am shocked, shocked to find that the republican party has engaged in an organized campaign of lies. Where are my winnings?

[Guaranteed]

9. KICK! this beautiful thread nt

[comsymp]

10. Indeed it is

Thanks, all, for the contributions to it!