Prayer and freedom - a healthy discussion
It’s good to see Cape Henlopen school board members seeking further discussion of the district’s response to the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s letter about prayer gatherings following football games. It’s an issue that delves into the most cherished core value of this nation: our freedom. Freedom is a value that people willingly sacrifice their lives to help preserve.
The Freedom From Religion Foundation cites decisions by the highest authority in our land - the federal Supreme Court - to suggest that Coach Collick skates on thin legal ice when joining his players for prayer. But Cape board members who want further discussion of the issue - rather than just saying ‘You’re right, we will never transgress again’ - are following the advice of no less than Socrates, Emerson and Thoreau, who advocated the benefits of questioning authority, even if it means questioning the Supreme Court.
Questioning doesn’t mean defying the law.
We’re still a land of laws, and processes for passing laws and interpreting them. We’re also at a time in our nation’s history when many decisions and interpretations are being questioned, debated and discussed. This is healthy and what makes democracy such a dynamic and organic form of government.
The beauty is that the freedoms enumerated and articulated so succinctly in the First Amendment to our nation’s Constitution guarantee that we can peaceably assemble and openly discuss issues like this without breaking some oppressive law.
And it’s part of the declaration the Cape Gazette has published on its front page in every edition since the 9/11 attacks: The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.
It may not be worth making a court case out of this, which would mean spending thousands of taxpayer dollars in a courtroom which would be better spent in the classroom.
But that doesn’t mean the issue isn’t serious and doesn’t warrant discussion.
That discussion should begin with how we can preserve the positive and unifying impact of peaceful and noncoerced assembly - and prayer if those in the assembly so choose - following football games, without trampling on the freedom of those - including coaches - who make individual choices about participating.
