Voice of the People - January 14, 2009

Keep religion out of classroom

It truly saddened me to read that a member of our state board of education and former Rock Hill school board member would consider wasting our student's precious school time and district resources with this Bible as Literature course. If you read Britt Blackwell's letter carefully, you will note that the main "textbook" would be (of course) the Bible. Mr. Blackwell goes on to say that it is because of the removal of the Bible from our public schools that we, as a society, find ourselves in the mess we are in today. He seems perfectly comfortable laying all the blame on our "Godlessness." Funny thing is, in my entire lifetime I have not witnessed human beings of any religion being immune from the greed and entitlement that is the real reason for our collective financial and moral decline.

I would be interested to know if Mr. Blackwell would be comfortable with a course on the Quran or maybe Wicca? If it is true that a single school in California is "shut down" for an hour a day for Islamic worship, then it is up to the parents and the school board to put a stop to it. Our public schools are not meant to be churches or temples but were established to educate children on academic subjects. If you wish your child to receive religious training, you should take them to the church of your choice and teach them all about what you believe. It is not the school board's right to force the system to promote a single religious viewpoint.

When I first became aware of this push to reinsert the Bible into public school, I took it upon myself sit down and have a look at the course "textbook." I took with me a very learned man, and, together, we sat for over two hours reading over and considering what was being presented. My assessment was that this was just another thinly veiled attempt to promote Christian ownership and superiority, and I know Thomas Paine would truly object to even having his picture in the book. My friend announced that the book belonged in a course on myths and legends. I made a promise to myself that if this ever came up again that I would be more than obliged to speak out, not against religion, as it is each person's right to believe as he or she will, but because to teach this in public school would be promoting a certain religion, which is unconstitutional.

In fact, the textbook relies upon the King James Version of the Bible, and it left me wondering if the Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Mormons would appreciate being left out. It does not matter that a majority of parents in Rock Hill want this. What matters is that they are free to teach their children anything they want about religion on their own time, with their own dime and not use public funds in an effort to indoctrinate those who are of a different belief system or religion.

Please note before you pen that letter that this is not an attack on Christianity but a cry for reason and acceptance of all religions because that is what America is all about. Our freedoms are precious and have been under attack by some of the most inept and dishonest politicians ever to hold office. The past eight years have been horrendous, let's not continue down that road. It is time to break free from the restraints and stand up and be counted.

E.S. Anderson

Rock Hill

Hooray for smoking ban

Hooray for everyone who works in a place that still allows smoking! Relief is coming. Thank you to Mayor Echols and the City Council who voted to protect workers from the dangers of secondhand smoke. You did a great thing for our community. I hope York County follows your wise leadership and enacts the same policy. I also hope that our neighbors both in South Carolina and across the border in Mecklenburg County will do likewise. Everyone deserves the right to breathe clean air!

Tabithia Engle

Fort Mill

This story was originally published January 14, 2009 at 12:56 AM with the headline "Voice of the People - January 14, 2009."