September
25, 2003
Ann Coulter
David Limbaugh's new book, "Persecution:
How Liberals Are Waging War Against Christianity,"
will make you cry for your country. (But don't pray for
your country if you're anywhere near a public school!)
Released this week, Limbaugh's copiously researched book
documents how the courts, the universities, the media,
Hollywood and government institutions react to any mention
of Christianity like Superman recoiling from kryptonite,
Dracula from sunlight, or Madonna from soap and water. His
straight, factual narrative of what is happening in our
public schools makes you wonder how much longer America
can survive liberalism.
In a public school in St. Louis, a teacher spotted
the suspect, fourth-grader Raymond Raines, bowing his head
in prayer before lunch. The teacher stormed to Raymond's
table, ordered him to stop immediately and sent him to the
principal's office. The principal informed the young
malefactor that praying was not allowed in school. When
Raymond was again caught praying before meals on three
separate occasions, he was segregated from other students,
ridiculed in front of his classmates, and finally
sentenced to a week's detention.
Before snack time in her kindergarten class in
Saratoga Springs, N.Y., little Kayla Broadus held hands
with two of her classmates and recited this prayer: "God
is good, God is great, thank you, God, for my food." The
alert teacher pounced on Kayla, severely reprimanded her,
and reported her to the school administration. In short
order, the principal sent a sternly worded letter to
Kayla's parents advising them that Kayla was not allowed
to pray in school, aloud or with others.
The school board then issued a triumphant press
release crowing about its victory over a kindergartner
praying before snack time. Thus was creeping theocracy in
Saratoga Springs stopped dead in its tracks! Kayla's
mother brought a lawsuit, winning Kayla the right to pray
out loud. But she was still prohibited from holding hands
with others while she prayed. Hearing the G-word in
kindergarten might interfere with the school's efforts to
teach proper sexual techniques in the first grade.
Thanks to the vigilance of an alert teacher at Lynn
Lucas Middle School outside of Houston, two sisters
carrying Bibles were prevented from bringing their vile
material into a classroom. The teacher stopped the
students at the classroom door and marched them to the
principal's office. (Maybe it was just the sight of public
school students carrying a book of any kind that set off
alarm bells.) The sisters' mother was called and warned
that the school intended to report her to Child Protective
Services. When the mother arrived, the teacher threw the
Bibles in the wastebasket, shouting, "This is garbage!"
In another display of tolerance at Lynn Lucas Middle
School, school administrators snatched three students'
books with covers displaying the Ten Commandments, ripped
the covers off, threw them in the garbage, and told the
students that the Ten Commandments constituted "hate
speech." (Also, it would be insensitive to expose the Ten
Commandments to students who had never been taught to
count to 10.)
After the massacre at Columbine High School,
students and families were invited to paint tiles above
student lockers. The school district had taken all
reasonable precautions, immediately deploying an army of
secular "grief counselors" with teddy bears to descend on
the school after the attack. Nonetheless, some students
painted their tiles with "objectionable" messages, such
as: "4/20/99: Jesus Wept" and "God Is Love." This would
not stand: The school removed 90 tiles with offending
religious messages.
A federal court upheld the school's censorship of
the religious tiles. Of course, Columbine school officials
had earned a measure of deference after having inculcated
such a fine sense of morality in their students that two
boys could walk into school one day and stage a bloody
massacre. You don't argue with a track record like that.
Not all mentions of religion constitute "hate
speech." In Tupelo, Miss., school administrators
methodically purged all Christmas carols of any religious
content – and then led the children in a chant of:
"Celebrate Kwanzaa!" At Pattison Elementary school in
Katy, Texas, Christmas songs are banned, but students are
threatened with grade reductions for refusing to sing
songs celebrating other religious faiths.
In New York City, the chancellor of the Department
of Education prohibited the display of Nativity scenes in
public schools, while expressly allowing the Jewish
menorah and the Islamic star and crescent to be displayed.
Some would say that was overkill inasmuch as New York City
is already the home of the world's largest public display
built in commemoration of Islam: Ground Zero.
Between
issuing laws prohibiting discrimination against
transgendered individuals and running up a $38 billion
deficit, the California Legislature mandated a three-week
immersion course in Islam for all seventh-graders. A
"crash course" in Islam, you might call it, if that
weren't so ironic. Students are required to adopt Muslim
names, plan a trip to Mecca, play a jihad game, pray to
"Allah, the Compassionate" and to chant "Praise to Allah!
Lord of Creation!" They are encouraged to dress in Muslim
garb. Students are discouraged, however, from stoning
girls at the school dances, abusing their "Jew" math
teachers or blowing up their classmates.
A popular student textbook, "Across the Centuries,"
treats the Inquisition and Salem witch-hunts as typical of
Christianity, but never gets around to mentioning the
Muslims' conquest of Spain, the Battle of Tours, or the
execution of Jews in Qurayza. Or 9-11.
There is no surer proof of Christ's divinity than
that he is still so hated some 2,000 years after his
death. Limbaugh's "Persecution"
covers it all in staggering, heartbreaking detail. His
methodical description of what is happening in our public
schools alone will call to mind the hate speech banned in
Columbine: "Jesus Wept."
Ann Coulter is host of
AnnCoulter.org, a
TownHall.com member group.
©2003 Universal Press Syndicate
Contact Ann Coulter |
Read Coulter's biography
|