Pubdate: Sun, 13 Aug 2006
Source: Lowell Sun (MA)
Copyright: 2006 MediaNews Group, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.lowellsun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/852
Author: John W. Whitehead, Special to The Sun
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and 
president of The Rutherford Institute.
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?135 (Drug Education)

THE WAR AGAINST RELIGIOUS FREE SPEECH

There is a war raging in America, and it may be the most important 
war we will fight in the coming years. But it's not a war against 
terrorism, drugs or AIDS.  It's a war against free speech, primarily 
religious free speech.

Let me give you some examples. The microphone was unplugged by school 
officials when a high school valedictorian began talking about Jesus 
Christ. An instrumental version of "Ave Maria" was eliminated by 
school officials because it might be religious. A city councilman was 
told that he cannot end his prayers in Jesus' name, while other 
council members can pray as they see fit. These are all examples of 
individuals who were simply expressing their First Amendment right to 
free speech -- religious free speech. Until recent years, this was 
protected speech. But things seem to be going from bad to worse. A 
recent court decision dismissing the case of a rock band that was 
discriminated against because of its members' religious beliefs 
highlights the problem.

Officials at Rossford High School in Ohio asked Pawn, a rock group 
that included several students attending the school, to perform at a 
school-sponsored anti-drug assembly that was scheduled for December 
21, 2004. Pawn performs original compositions written by its band 
members, all of whom are Christians. The band attempts to convey 
positive messages through its music about the use of drugs, alcohol 
and sexual promiscuity. Pawn agreed to perform at the assembly and to 
present messages to the students between songs. Pawn also agreed that 
its statements between songs would not be religious and would be 
limited to the "Just Say No" anti-drug, anti-alcohol message of the 
assembly.  Attendance at the assembly was to be purely voluntary, 
with all students given the option of attending Pawn's performance, 
study hall or a movie.

Both the school and Pawn began making immediate preparations for the 
assembly. Pawn's performance was announced to students, and posters 
were printed to promote the event. However, a week before the 
assembly, school officials rescinded their invitation to Pawn because 
of the religious content of the group's songs.

Obviously, this is a classic case of discrimination against a group 
of people because of who they are and what they might say. It's what 
some courts have called viewpoint discrimination, and it's an 
important ingredient of free speech. And it's a perfect example of 
how far government officials are willing to go to avoid any 
association with religious individuals, ideas or speech. And 
specifically, free speech by Christians.

A lawsuit followed in which all these key First Amendment principles 
were argued. And just last week, Federal District Court Judge Jack 
Zouhary ruled that Pawn had no protected right to free speech. The 
court adopted a "government speech" analysis as the basis of its 
decision. This doctrine, which is now being used more frequently by 
the courts, holds that if speech occurs on government property, it is 
not protected by the First Amendment. As Judge Zouhary wrote in his 
opinion: "This is not a case about the state discriminating against 
speech and religion, but rather about the state having control over 
who speaks on its behalf."

There is a very real danger in this type of thinking.  The places 
where people are allowed to exercise their free speech in America are 
gradually being eliminated.  City squares are disappearing, replaced 
by parking lots. Corporations are buying up entire towns and turning 
them into private property. And the government is expanding at a 
rapid rate. Thus, as the government speech concept widens to 
encompass more and more, speech occurring on public property can and 
will be barred by government officials. Thus, free speech as we have 
known it will die away.

History teaches us some valuable lessons. Every society that grows 
more authoritarian eliminates free speech.  It is free speech that 
tyrants fear most for there is nothing more dangerous than ideas that 
reach fertile minds. Moreover, it must not be forgotten that often a 
citizenry willingly forfeits essential rights for security. We have 
seen this in the U.S. in light of the post-9/11 paranoia.

But there is another way that citizens forfeit their rights: It 
happens when they have little to no clue about what those rights are. 
Recent polls and surveys indicate that average Americans have little 
knowledge of their rights as laid out in the United States 
Constitution. Thus, it is very easy for the government to ride 
roughshod over our basic freedoms.

Eliminating free speech and other rights is an incremental process, 
which begins gradually. Today the target, especially in public 
schools, seems to be Christians.

We still have time to act. And we must act because free speech is the 
basis of democracy. Without it, the future looks grim.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake