The Declaration of Independence, God and the Public Square

Political Vanguard ^ | 12/01/04 | Thomas G. Del Beccaro

[dplinn]

No more veils, no more hidden agendas. The far Left's desire to remove God from the Public Square was laid bare for all to see. The headline read "Declaration of Independence Banned at Calif. School" but the storyline was more telling: "A California teacher has been barred by his school from giving students documents from American history that refer to God -- including the Declaration of Independence." Beyond the absurdity of banning a history teacher from using American historical documents, including the document that gave birth to our Nation, lies an important cultural issue: Should God be removed from the Public Square? The far Left wants no less. The irony, of course, is that the far Left asserts that American History supports their claim that God should be removed from the public square - the oft misunderstood cry for separation of church and state. Sadly, there are judges who agree with that historical analysis. The myths of that analysis are plain to all but those who refuse to see. Without trying to exhaust the readers' patience, we should know: ~ That America was founded not so much on the principle of religious freedom - but religious freedom from whence they came - from places like England. Many a town in America was founded around a specific faith and collected taxes from its people to support that faith - thereby making that town less welcoming for those of other faiths.

~ The first Constitution written in America, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut stated "there should be an orderly and decent government established according to God."*

[LindseyWalker]

I really hope the focus of the GOP can get off all of this religious talk. If not, we're going to be pigeonholed as the party of the "religious kooks" over the next four years, and the Democrats will be able to become the party of the moderate voter. We got lucky this election, but if all our party does is talk about our moral superiority, we're going to have Hillary moving in to the White House in 2009.

[groundhogsteve]

Folks the real story here is “Religious Right lies through their teeth”. And most of you suckers fell for it. Let me explain.

The Declaration was not banned in Cupertino. What was banned was a heavily edited handout with only the religious references in the Declaration – “nature’s God”, “Creator”, and “Divine Providence”. Also other handouts, that put together, show that this teacher was coming to class with an agenda to push – the “Christian Nation” line.

One handout had quotes from famous leaders regarding religion. One of the quotes, from George Washington, is now listed as “unauthenticated” by David Barton, a “Christian Heritage” proponent masquerading as a historian. Barton was the very guy who publicized these quotes in the 1990’s. Also in that handout, Jesus is quoted about the bible. Help me out here, what does that have to do with teaching the ‘religious, economic….etc.’ reasons that our nation was founded for that the teacher claims he was only following the California curriculum guidelines? Further, there is no countervailing opinions – for example, some of the things that Jefferson, Adams, or Paine said that would drive Jerry Falwell over the wall.

Another handout was the supposed “Washington Prayer Journal”. This document was rejected almost 100 years ago by the Smithsonian as not being an authentic Washington artifact – the handwriting did not match, and the spelling was too good. (Washington was a notoriously poor speller).

But what story was promoted by the Alliance Defense Fund and all the right wing radio talk show hosts? “Declaration was banned”. But when you look at it, it is clear the Declaration was NOT banned, and the principal was probably right to review – and reject – these supplemental materials being brought into the classroom.

So, the very people who want to post the Ten Commandments in every classroom violated one of them themselves – from ADF to Rush to Sean and the whole gamut of minor-city pundits : Thou shall not bear false witness, folks. I hope the CUSD board sues the pants off of ADF, Fox News, Rush, and Hannity for slander.