Another victory for religious freedom.
So here’s the setup: one day, in Wilson County, Tennessee, the principal of Carroll-Oakland Elementary School brings all the students from the whole school into the gym, where she introduces representatives of the Gideons and explains why they are there, and then proceeds to tell the whole student body about the time she received her first Bible. The principal tells the students that taking a Bible is not mandatory, but then the students, row by row, are brought forward–graduation-style (or communion-style, if you prefer)–and each student is given a Bible.
I honestly just can’t fucking believe that there are still public school principals out there who don’t see the problem with this! No, the taking of a Bible was not technically mandatory, but then we all know how much elementary school children enjoy being ostracized in front of the entire student body by a group of Bible-thumping adults, don’t we? Fucking unbelievable.
I’d just love to see the outcry that would result from a local synagogue passing out copies of the Talmud, or a local mosque passing out copies of the Qur’an.
He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates his duty he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.
–Thomas Paine
