On Jan. 10, 1963 a document published by the Communist Party USA was read before a joint session of congress and subsequently entered into the Congressional Record. This document outlined the 45 objectives of the party which, when accomplished, would allow for the takeover of our country. Objective #17 calls for the infiltration of the school system with an aim toward softening the curriculum (i.e. dumbing down). It also calls for the takeover of teachers associations. Objective #30 demands that the founding fathers be discredited, presenting them as rich, white aristocrats with little or no regard for the ‘’common man.’’
In her letter to the editor on July 5, Linda Wormley states that “we should all be familiar with a founding concept of our country, that being the separation of church and state.” My fear is that the school curriculum has been so “softened” that those who read her statement actually believe that it’s the truth. It’s not. The phrase “separation of church and state” is not in the constitution. Never has been. One only has to read the writings of the founders to find that, mostly, they were men of faith and conviction. The “separation” phrase did not become the contemporary standard for judicial policy until 1947 in Everson v Board of Education. Hardly a founding principle. Justice Gallagher wrote concerning the phrase: It has received so much attention that one would almost think at times that it is to be found in our Constitution. ‘’Justice Potter Stewart observed: The court’s task is not aided by the uncritical invocation of metaphors like the ‘wall of separation,’ a phrase nowhere to be found in the Constitution.’’
Justice William Rehnquist writes: The “wall of separation” is a metaphor based on bad history, a metaphor which has proved useless as a guide to judging. It should be frankly and explicitly abandoned.
The public’s current understanding of the religious provisos of the First Amendment has been shaped by a phrase which does not even appear in the Constitution!
Linda, I’m sorry that the cross troubles you so. It didn’t trouble our founders. Indeed, they embraced it and all that it stands for. They viewed America as a gift from almighty God. To remove the cross from public display runs completely counter to the beliefs of those who founded this great nation.
Terry Bradley
Newton