VICKSBURG - The saying about what happens after a camel gets his nose under the tent applies in many contexts - but none more than in law. From a narrow decision, interpretations can blossom out of control.
We're ending a holiday season of record anti-religion silliness. Perhaps 2005 will be a time of more clear thought, less overreaction. A return to reason is past due.
It was more than 40 years ago that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in its first school prayer cases. The "camel's noses" were Engel v. Vitale (1962), which struck down required recitation of government-composed prayer in New York, known as the "Regent's Prayer," and the combined cases Abington Township v. Schempp and Murray v. Curlett (1963), which challenged prayer and Bible verse reading in classrooms.
The court ruled only that the government or one of its entities, such as a public school, cannot compel (force, make, demand or specify) that a person under its control (such as a student) pray.
That decision was perfectly in keeping with the opinion of the nation's founders who fervently believed people should be free in their religious practices. (It's why they and their ancestors had come here. Remember?)
It's also perfectly in keeping with Christian doctrine, at least as I understand it. If a prayer is to have any meaning, it has to be voluntary - from an individual's heart to God's ears.
Initial reaction to the decisions was muted. Then the rest of the beast started edging in.
No required prayers became no prayers at school.
No prayers at school became no mention of prayers at school.
Along the way - and in dozens of twists on that original, narrow ruling - we've come to the point that the only book affirmatively banned from some high school libraries is the Christian Bible.
We've come to the point that if a teacher or student wears a simple cross on a necklace, that teacher or student might be written up for harassment.
We've come to the point where history textbooks copiously ignore the profound ties between belief in God and how this nation came to be. And not just in the context of all that pilgrim stuff. Much more recently, Dr. Martin Luther King quoted the Bible in every speech he made about injustice in American society and law. But you wouldn't know that from any textbook in use in any Mississippi public school. That King was an ordained Christian minister, son of an ordained Christian minister, and his application of biblical truths to the world of his time don't merit mention. The texts say he "righted wrongs" but never mention how he, personally, came to understand the difference.
We've also come to the point when school band and choir concert programs - in some locales - must be purged of any song that contains any religious reference. And, again, we're not just talking about hymns. In "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," Santa enlists Rudolph's aid on a foggy "Christmas" Eve, you know. That has been changed to "foggy winter's eve" in some elementaries by some nutty superintendents and school boards and their lawyers who "just want to avoid any controversy."
We've come to the point where the mere existence of religion is not mentioned so that no one will be offended.
It's a blessing to live in Mississippi, where, by far and large, forgetting about Christ at Christmas has not become fashionable. All across this state - in what might actually be called radical acts of civil disobedience - school choirs did sing "Angels We Have Heard On High" and bands did play "We Wish You A Merry Christmas," making apologies to no one.
But even in Mississippi districts, look at many official calendars. They say students are on "winter break."
In education, what this means is that we've come to the point where denying truth is a required part of the school day. And if we think kids are so dumb they don't notice, we're wrong. The adults, the teachers in their lives, are advocating a double standard - living in a pretend world. And when children grow up doing the same thing, we'll probably just look at each other and wonder what's wrong with them.
Well, the answer will be us. If education is not about truth and seeking truth, it has no value.
People may or may not have personal faith. That's optional, and it's a freedom we should all cherish. But religion is real. It is as much a part of our past and present as anything else.
Acting like it doesn't exist is (1) not a requirement of the U.S. Supreme Court, and (2) like trying to ignore the presence of a large camel in a small place.
It may be possible, but it sure isn't very smart.
