Bedrock

I wrote the following in response to 2 columns by Charles Haynes of the First Amendment Center . I don't know about you, but I get tired of being told that Christianity being seen or heard offends people, when we are the majority in this country, and that we must yield to their discomfort. Then they tell us we have no right to ask the same of those who offend us with the sleezy sights and sounds of raunchy music, TV shows and films, movies, and advertisements, that we must endure almost everywhere. Anyway, here's what I wrote to Mr. Haynes: Dear Mr. Haynes, I read both of your “graduation prayer” columns, I still firmly agree with the majority. I am distressed that a senior scholar at the First Amendment Center would seem to take a position so far removed from the First Amendment: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech.” Despite the way that recent courts have distorted t...

I started this article in April; it's still a work in progress, but it makes the point I want to make... In the circus, high wire or trapeze acts that perform without a safety net to take a great risk, just to amaze an audience with their skill and bravery, but hopefully not their foolhardiness. The risk, of course, is serious injury or death if these highly skilled and experienced entertainers make a single mistake. Of course, they earn good money for taking such risks, and the decision to carry out dangerous exploits is theirs to make. Hopefully, they also provide themselves and their dependents with health and life insurance. Life is uncertain. Some activities, jobs, professions, and amusements are more dangerous than others. As a teacher, I had my students read a book called The Giver about a place without risks. Making a world perfectly safe required removing much of what makes life worth living. For junior high teenagers, the word for such a world is boring. Creating ...