Update on Eddie Tabash Event

I wanted to share some developments and information with you about the Eddie Tabash event on 3/25. (See background info here and here):

I went back and forth for a while in debating whether I wanted to have an on-campus event or hold a debate off-campus, at a church, in the hopes of drawing in a much larger crowd. I went ahead and made sure the first option was available, and in checking on the second option, I saw that it would be difficult to set up and coordinate with a church venue, given the day that it is designated on.

So far, the largest room I've been able to procure on-campus is Norman Hall 137, with a capacity of 360.

I have this room from 1 - 5 PM on 3/25.

I have been talking to some leaders of Christian groups at UF about getting a debate opponent for Eddie, and I'll hopefully know more soon. I spoke with Howie Kauffman and C. John Sommerville, as well as the Christian Study Center of Gainesville, and I hope to finalize things within a week (or two at the outmost).

Dr. Sommerville has a webpage here, and he wants to debate religion in academe. I'm not sure if Eddie and he will work out, since Eddie has five specific topics he wants to debate:

1) Does God Exist?
2) The True Meaning of Separation of Church and State
3) The Threat of the Religious Right to Modern Liberties
4) Goodness Without God: Why the Bible is an Unfit Basis for Moral Conduct
5) Science Versus the Supernatural

Basically no responses whatsoever from any of the campus groups I emailed showing serious interest in the debate. Almost all of them wrote me and gave one reason or another as to why they aren't interested or don't feel it's in their group's best interests. (Perhaps many of them recognize the distinct disadvantage they are in by trying to lay out a cumulative logical case for specific aspects of their faith...or maybe they just don't like debate, who knows.) One guy from Campus Crusades said he brought it up at a meeting, and no one wanted to go for it as they felt it "divided" and cultivated an "us vs. them mentality" and that debates only bring out "hardcore Christians and hardcore atheists". Even if that last part is true, I don't see why that undercuts the merit of debating those positions, regardless of the composition of the audiences. Especially if A/V equipment is employed to capture the debate for educational use.

I do plan to try to tape this event, whether it turns out to be a lecture or a debate. My biggest hope right now is that Howie Kauffman can work something out for me with someone pretty good. Probably not lucky enough to get Bill Craig at this late date, but someone of his repute and level. Keep your fingers crossed, and keep pray...er, I mean, hoping. ;-)

I'll post more soon as I know more.

Open Letter in Dixie County Advocate re 10C suit

A friend of mine from Dixie County is to thank for re-typing the entire text of an long open letter that appeared in the LTE section of the Dixie County Advocate this week (2A). It is beautifully articulate and wonderfully wise. It leaves the "logic" of the decision to place the monument there in a heap of smoking ruin. I'm also glad the paper allowed it to be printed.

And...so much for the, "No one from here disagrees with it!" defense:

"An Open Letter to the Citizens of Dixie County, My Birthplace"

Let us gut the old saw we all know, and stand it on its head. Let me ask not what we can do for my country, but what our county, viz., Dixie County, can do for us. Apparently this is made possible by a new twist of county commission reasoning. For I, born in Cross City and native resident there for the first 17 years of my life, have already served my country, in Tokyo and Yokohama Harbor, persuasively 9,000 miles from home.

To return to what? To return to a County Commission, a half-century later only to witness the wholesale abandonment of the U.S. Constitution, and a supposed flouting of its core principles? Do not the commission members grasp the intent of the 1^st Amendment to THE BILL OF RIGHTS of the Constitution, effecting the clear separation of church and state, or do the governing fathers of today's rural hamlet hugging the Nature Coast of Florida devise itself somehow separate and apart, and not an entity to otherwise obey our sacred foundations and way of life?

Before the county fathers would ever submit to the whim of a local major contributor, to have a semblance of the Ten Commandments monument placed literally at the courthouse steps, at its seat of power, did the commission even bother to entertain the question of its overall appropriateness, and to whether such placement would meet legal muster? Did its members plumb the learned opinions of the township's elder statesmen, or its retired education? I think not.

Back in the late Forties, my uncle served as Principal of Dixie County High School, pinchhitting as an instructor of civics, government, English and algebra. It was Uncle Marshall Davies who had as pupils the grandfathers of the kids who grew up to be today's crop of sitting commissioners. Uncle Marshall's prime intent was to see that all the children in his realm of influence would grow and learn to their educational pace, and above all become economically self-sufficient. Times and conditions were so utterly raw and hard back in those days, but he was thorough and self-motivated to exact the measure of each and every student, for that is the sole function and ambition of an educator. But now to what avail, if these children of my uncle's pupils evolved to commit today's malfeasance in elected office? Yes, malfeasance!

Another blunder and misstep of the commission is to have adopted the faulty logic of its own legal guide, the attorney advising the panel. The attorney abandoned logic, emotionally blending with the religious fervor of the crowd to tell Fox TV network that Dixie is Dixie, and the balance of the nation could go chase itself. I suspect that when this egregious abuse of judgment is said and done, that lawyer will find himself hauled before The Florida Bar and made to show cause why he should be allowed to keep his license to practice law. This stems from the fact that there is clear precedent barring such a monument in its particular location, viz., the Establishment Clause. Never in my day would I have dreamed of so callous a scenario. And here I was a half-century ago, during the military years, trying to save the country, not bury the country, as is being done in such cavalier fashion today.

This scenario, if played out, and somehow not interrupted, would see a petition filed, addressed in Federal court, and the first sitting magistrate hearing the case handing down an order mandating the effective removal of The Rock from the courthouse steps property. Should the members of the Commission self-righteously disobey, another order would be entered dispatching the United States Marshals Service, and attendant force, as deemed necessary. The commissioners would be placed in large black vans and transported to Jacksonville for detention. Should local police officials dare to intervene, they too would be stripped and transported to lockup and the lot of then cited for contempt. Google's lenses would peer from the heavens, capturing the moment, that all here is not fun and games.

This, my friends, is what you do not know, and what you should begin knowing. One simply does not set out to find himself on the muzzle end of a federal court order. And for good reason, otherwise the entire nation would splinter into chaos. A very similar situation, as relates to this case, played out just a while ago, which saw the chief justice of a state supreme court driven from office on a federal contempt citation, and finally disbarred from the practice of law itself. My Word, does not Cross City begin to get the drift of walking this thin line?

As I see it, there does exist a legal out, a plausible exit, and that too is gracious in the process. The prime mover, the major sponsor of the Big Rock project who came forward to make the endeavor financially possible, could adopt a change of heart, and entreat the commission to reverse its efforts and remove the monolith. Mister Joe could then step in, lasso his Rock, and drag it to the far northwest quadrant of his cow pasture, for the cows to dwell upon while contemplating the Absolute Idea existing in time and space.

Within a month or two the good townsfolk would begin to savor how strangely sweeter the milk. Yes, this is the upside, and just look at the enormous amount of money the county saved in not having to fight this legal monster, a case unwinnable on its face, a case to forever stain the legitimacy of the county, a case in effect rendered moot before it was to get off the ground. Because Mister Joe finally saw the courage to do the right thing and tacitly agree to withdraw the monument, before the authorities really noticed. But the county must go about its duty and act quickly now, if it wants to preserve its legacy.

My intent here is not to be harsh, but to be forthright.

After all, I was born 70 years ago in Cross City, less than a quarter-mile from the old courthouse's eastern steps. I and friends played as kids on and around those steps in the far distant yesteryear. I admire my little hometown, and ache for its relative simplicity and laid-back demeanor. But the way the county commission of today measures simplicity, against being downright simple, might find the two mutually exclusive. Therein lies this problem.

Page Davies
DCHS Class of 1954
Clearwater, FL

It makes me cry tears of joy. :-)

I found it interesting that in the paper's mention of the last Commission meeting, not one peep about the 10C case appeared. I've written Candace Corbin about getting a copy of the last few meetings' transcripts.

The attorney he mentioned was Joe Lander, and you can see Joe's emotive "defense" of the county's actions here on YouTube. My detailed analysis of the legal issues here, and everything we've linked to on this situation, including extensive local media coverage as things have unfolded, here.
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Technorati tags: Gator Freethought

Sun LTE on church-state separation

Surprise, surprise, another theocrat is angry that she can't use the government to push her religious views onto others. The LTE follows below:

Let's really separate
February 17. 2007 6:01AM

The ACLU is suing Dixie County over the Ten Commandments being placed at the courthouse. If the ACLU and the federal judges want separation of church and state, I suggest we do this separation all the way.

Since Christians don't have the right to place the Ten Commandments on property their tax dollars paid for, we Christians and our churches should be exempt from all federal, state, county and city laws and from paying any taxes. If our wishes do not count, then we should not be forced to contribute to the cause. We should be allowed to form our own laws and taxation, to be separated from government. The government should not be allowed to use our churches for voting. If separation is the desire then let's do it all the way.

The original laws of this country were founded on the Ten Commandments. If you were to take the original laws and our new laws and put them side by side, you would be hard pressed to find much resemblance.

The ACLU hates Christians and God. By our new laws and standards they should be charged with a hate crime. One day you will stand before a real Judge, and your arguments won't hold water. May God have mercy.

Beverly Sarra,
Hawthorne

How many non sequiturs can one person make in one LTE? By Beverly's reasoning, if you can't use the government as a tool to advance your cause, then you aren't under that government in any way. By Beverly's reasoning, people's "wishes" matter more than inalienable rights granted by the Constitution. By Beverly's reasoning, the original laws which followed Bible teachings about slavery and burning witches and stoning homosexuals should be reinstituted. Wake up, Beverly, but it's the 21st century, and there was this thing called the Enlightenment.

I have no problem with taking "separation all the way" -- but Beverly would, because it wouldn't equate to her getting what she wants. No, instead, churches would be treated like every other business -- they generate profits from sales and marketing and advertisements -- and would be taxed. See, tax-exemption is part of the problem, Beverly -- your churches already don't pay taxes.

This sort of ignorant drivel showcases exactly the form of freedom that theocratic fascists like Beverly want -- they think that because we all pay taxes, that one sect out of us can use those taxes to promote their religious causes. Even though the entire purpose of a courthouse, or a road, is to serve the public and common good, Beverly think she has the right to use it to proselytize.

It's exactly the same "logic" (sneer quotes) as was displayed on CNN (YouTube link) when Karen Harris said,

HUNTER: Eight to 12 percent. (INAUDIBLE) They're not hurting anyone. I personally don't have a problem with an atheist. Believe or don't believe what you want. Don't impose upon my right to want to have prayer in schools, to want to say the pledge of allegiance, to want to honor my God. Don't infringe upon that right.

Whoa! You have a right to have prayer in schools? No. You have a right to pray yourself. You have a right to believe whatever you want. You don't have a right to use any government entity to push your version of your beliefs on anyone else. These people are confusing the difference between freedom of religion and freedom to use the government to serve their own religion. And that's dangerous.

Beverly, you can put the 10 Commandments in your own yard. That is your right. You can hang them in every room of your house. You can walk into any public building and pray all day long, including your kids praying in their own school. Your freedom to do those things voluntarily is Constitutionally guaranteed, and that the ACLU fights for Christians and their rights to those civil liberties?

And how many times must the truth be drilled into your thick skull that just as you have the right to do those things as an individual, no one has the right to use the government, or government authority, to promote their own religion? You hope to use the government and its power and money to revive and reform society to conform, forcibly, to your religious views. But we won't stand for it, and the Constitution is on our side. You lose...
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Technorati tags: Gator Freethought

Spring 2007 Social Event #1

BYOB party at the home of Rob Tobias and Andrew Duncan: Spanish Trace, #91. ( 3500 Windmeadows Blvd). Show up anytime after 9:30pm or thereabouts on Friday, Feb 23rd. If you need directions, call Rob at 352-246-3892.
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Technorati tags: AAFSA

Great Video Series in Defense of Science

...not that it needs defense intellectually, just culturally. See them HERE, and the scientists interviewed HERE.

(HT: Ed Brayton)
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Technorati tags: AAFSA

Article in Dixie County Advocate re 10C suit

The Dixie County Advocate, the county's only newspaper (to my knowledge), has an article about the recent developments in the ACLU-filed lawsuit in their Sunday edition:

ACLU Files Federal Lawsuit Over Placement Of Ten Commandments Monument
By Terri Langford, 2/15/2007

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida (ACLU) recently filed a lawsuit at the federal courthouse in Gainesville, FL, sighting that Dixie County has violated the Establishment Clause of the United States Constitution by placing a monument, bearing the Ten Commandants on the county’s courthouse steps.

Since its placement, there has been much debate from both sides, with the majority of citizens in Dixie County in favor of keeping the monument on the courthouse steps and the majority of liberal activists from outside of the county in favor of upholding the laws of our Constitution that state there must be separation of church and state. With the lawsuit in place, the next step to take will be in the hands of the Dixie County Commission.

The “establishment of religion” clause of the First Amendment can be summed up to the following: Neither a state nor the federal government can set up a church. Neither can pass laws which aid one religion, aid all religions, or prefer one religion over another. Neither can force nor influence a person to go to or to remain away from church against his will or force him to profess a belief or disbelief in any religion. No person can be punished for entertaining or professing religious beliefs or disbeliefs, for church attendance or non-attendance. No tax in any amount, large or small, can be levied to support any religious activities or institutions, whatever they may be called, or whatever form they may adopt to teach or practice religion. Neither a state nor the Federal Government can, openly or secretly, participate in the affairs of any religious organizations or groups and vice versa.

One case that is referred to often is where former Chief Justice of Alabama, Roy Moore, installed a monument of the Ten Commandments in the state judicial building in 2001. In 2003, he was ordered by a federal judge to remove the monument. Moore argued against the order, stating his right to acknowledge God. However, the courts used the separation of church and state argument that is listed in the establishment clause as grounds for removal of the monument on the government owned property. In keeping with the clause, the federal court also noted that Moore had the right to acknowledge God as a private person and to place the monument on his privately owned land.

The Dixie lawsuit is the newest case to be filed in the federal court system. In a press release issued by the ACLU, Howard Simon, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida stated: “Government does not have the right to tell Americans which God to worship. The Ten Commandments are an important part of the Judeo-Christian religious tradition and should be read from the pulpit of churches and synagogues – but the Constitution prohibits the government from endorsing religious messages such as this one. In addition to the commonly held secular commandments about murder, stealing, an honoring one’s mother and father, the Ten Commandments also include strictly religious statements.”

J. Brent Walker, Executive Director of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty said, “The question is not whether the Ten commandments embody the right teachings; rather the question is who is the right teacher – politicians or parents, pubic officials or religious leaders, judges or families,” Other points made in the press release were that by the erection of one version of the Ten Commandments, it sends a signal to others that they are not welcome and will be treated unfairly. Dr. Lesley Northup, Associate Dean, Honors College, FIU stated in a teleconference last week that a display like the one on the Dixie County steps does not show religious freedom, but promotes a type of religious depression. She added that all religious people should be wary of such symbols. “What hurts some of us hurts us all,” she stated.

It was asked of the panel during the teleconference, what, if any were the differences between the Alabama case and the Dixie County case? Besides the monument being outside on the courthouse steps and not inside the building; they are also looking at the phrase placed at the bottom of the monument which states, “Love God and Obey His Commandments” as an 11th Commandment.

There have been numerous local citizens who have voiced support of the monument since its placement in November 2006. The ACLU stated they were filing the lawsuit on behalf of their members, of whom they have approximately six residing in Dixie County. However their names have been kept from the public.

A copy of the lawsuit can be read online at http://www.aclufl.org/pdfs/Legal%20PDfs/Dixie Complaint.pdf.
More information on the ACLU can be found on their website at www.aclufl.org. [I added links]

While the monument was paid for by private citizens, it is not clear as to what the cost of fighting the ACLU lawsuit will be, however taxpayer resources are already being expended through county employee man hours. According to Dixie’s County Attorney, Leenette McMillan, as of press time, the county had not been served papers concerning the lawsuit and was not able to comment at this time. Once those papers are served, the ball will be in their court as to whether they will challenge the validity of the lawsuit or come to some agreement with regard to the monument.

Aside from some of the silly grammar mistakes (run-on sentence in 2nd paragraph, "sighting" instead of "citing", no comma after "However", "a type of religious depression" should probably be "a type of religious oppression") I was actually impressed by the article's attempt at balance. Yes, they put "liberal activists" in there, but they also did a fairly good job at paraphrasing the legal ramifications of the 1st Amendment, and admitted that the "other side" has the backing of the law: "...the majority of liberal activists from outside of the county in favor of upholding the laws of our Constitution that state there must be separation of church and state." Note she didn't write, "in favor of their interpretation of the Constitution..." or some similar exposition.

I hope that the county doesn't fight it -- I don't want to see them squander their resources on a case they'll certainly lose. What they have to remember is that even with the free legal defense, they will have to pay the plaintiff's legal costs once they lose, and that could be hundreds of thousands of dollars. Put the thing on private property, where it belongs.
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Technorati tags: Gator Freethought

Eddie Tabash Campus-wide Event on 3/25

As I posted earlier, Eddie Tabash is coming to UF. I have now confirmed with Debbie Goddard the date of March 25th for Eddie Tabash to come to UF. As of right now, he has no debate opponent lined up for UF -- the guy he is debating elsewhere in the state on different dates cannot make it to this one. However, I just wrote the following message to about 20 people involved in campus religious organizations, hoping to solicit a debate opponent for him, and get them to help us out with advertising and attendance: [note that I added links to the debate for this post, they weren't in the e-mail]

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Dear Staff and Officers of Campus Religious Organizations,

I'm the president of UF's student freethought group. The reason I'm writing you today is to ask you to co-host, co-sponsor, and/or participate in our campus-wide debate event on March 25 featuring atheist Eddie Tabash regarding the existence of God. I'm writing a lot of you, from all different denominations and faiths, for a good reason. I've also tried to reach some of you by phone.

If you are receiving this email, you are an officer or faculty advisor of one of the following organizations:

* Baptist Collegiate Ministries
* Campus Crusade For Christ
* Campus Unitarian Universalists
* Catholic Student Fellowship at the University Of Florida
* Chapel House
* Christian Campus House
* Gator Christian Life
* Islam On Campus
* Jewish Student Union
* Lambda Chi Alpha
* The Navigators

Too often debates on the existence of God are solely hosted by Protestant/Evangelical Christian groups. I would love for those groups to be involved now, but I would also love to see other faiths and denominations represented and participating. Due to the format of the debate, there will be an extensive Q&A session following, during which time the audience will ask either of the debate participants questions. That means your groups should be encouraged to attend and involve themselves, even if for no other reason than to ask questions afterwards.

Eddie has a debate opponent lined up in three venues in Florida during his trip to the state for debates, but not here at UF. Those of you in Campus Crusade for Christ may know that William Lane Craig has debated Eddie (also see here), as well as Richard Swinburne (reviews: link 1, link 2, link 3). I invite and ask you to please work with us to line up a debate opponent. If I get more than one offer, then great! We'll talk to those persons and figure out who might be best suited to represent each denomination. Perhaps we can have a debate involving multiple theistic positions, with Eddie as the atheist. Although that is atypical, it may be a more educational experience for our collegiate audience. That possibility could be considered. Most importantly, we need an experienced, qualified representative of your faith group who is capable of participating in defense of the existence of God.

There is not yet a time set for March 25. Because many of you do special things on Sunday, we are very flexible on the time, and we thought that perhaps an early afternoon time would work best for everyone -- perhaps 2 or 3 PM. We are also looking into reserving a room on-campus that afternoon -- perhaps Carleton Auditorium, or some other very large hall. If you have suggestions on either of these two considerations, please let us know.

If you are interested in co-sponsoring/co-hosting this event, and if you want to help line up an apologist for your faith to debate Eddie, please reply to this email, or call me at 352.870.4413. You can read more about Eddie at his website, or at the Secular Web:

* http://www.tabash.com/
* http://www.secweb.org/index.aspx?action=viewAuthor&id=323

Please feel free to FW this message to anyone and everyone whom you think would be interested in attending, or in participating in this event. Thank you so much!

With warm regards,
-D
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So I'm really hoping we get at least one good opponent for Eddie set up. I'm really excited about this, and I'm going to need your help in spreading the word, putting out ads and flyers, and getting all the details squared away. As of this moment, details on whether it will be a lecture or a debate, what time of day it will be, where it will be held, etc., are still being worked out. However, you can spread the word that he will be here that day, and to keep your calendars clear. I'll keep you posted on developments as they arise.

(Please Digg this story (vote for it to spread the news).

Gator Freethought Members Publish Views on Church-State

After the LTE I mentioned was published on 2/9, set directly above an LTE from the diametrically-opposed view by Ashley Emans, we got some feedback from other students. She didn't present much of an argument, nor a particularly cogent case, merely declaiming more platitudes about the "Christian Nation" and the "myth of church-state separation". Here are some responses to her letter, and I'm posting the original full-text of GF member Stacey Kroto's letter below the fold (the edits and redactions made it a bit less coherent):

Constitution protects religious freedom by STACEY KROTO
Founders supported limited government by LOGAN PYLE
Christians not necessarily most moral by REBECCA WHITLEY
Separation of church, state not a myth by CODY SAMET-SHAW
First Amendment protects all religions by JAY JACKSON

I'm always ecstatic to see these issues brought to the light and students voicing their opinions in support of the Constitution. It is high-time we redouble efforts for consciousness-raising regarding this integral issue to our society's future. Here is Stacey's original:

In response to Ashley Emans' letter of Friday, the constitution allows for freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. This is where Americans get mixed up in this debate about the separation of church and state. This means there will be no state-sponsored religion – like the Church of England. It doesn't mean religion is going to disappear from the public eye, that's a bit unrealistic.

This country has always elected Christians into presidential office – but does this have anything to do with ideology? The answer is - not likely. Christian beliefs are based upon Judaic beliefs and I feel confident in saying that I do not see a Jew being elected as president of the U.S. anytime soon, if not ever in my lifetime. Therefore we come back to a Christian thing, not an ideology/morality thing.

This nation does not need a Christian in office to be a moral government – I found this comment of Emans' insulting and frankly, ridiculous. She must be a member of the group of people who thought Rep. Keith Ellison should be sworn into office on a bible regardless of the fact that he is Muslim. This is not a Christian nation - regardless of how badly some want it to be. Trying to put religion back into government is not healthy for our nation's growth.

I'm proud of her, and all of them :-)
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Technorati tags: Religion, Church-state, Politics

Paula Zahn with Richard Dawkins on Darwin Day (2/12/07)

After the first (arguably horrific) segment done on the PZ hour regarding atheists and discrimination, the producers decided to take a stab at it again; this time, they actually include atheists on their panel, and feature Richard Dawkins in an interview with Paula.

Check out the video here.

Digg it!
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Technorati tags: AAFSA --

Eddie Tabash Campus-wide Event

**UPDATE: We have a tentative date -- Sunday March 25th. It will indeed be a debate. I'll keep you posted as details develop.**

We should have a concrete campus-wide event coming up in about a month. I mentioned that I had been in contact with Debbie Goddard from the Center for Inquiry -- On Campus regarding bringing Eddie Tabash to speak or do a debate at UF.

Eddie has done numerous debates and lectures on topics related to church-state separation and God's (non)existence. He has debated the best and brightest on theism: Peter VanInwagen, Greg Bahnsen, William Lane Craig, and Richard Swinburne.

He will be in Florida, visiting some of the CFI affiliate centers, (CFI-Florida has more communities than any other state! Daytona, Ft. Lauderdale, Tallahassee, Miami and Naples) during the third week of March, and he can stop by and do a debate or a lecture. Right now, he's on the calendar at Ft. L and Tampa on 3/22 and 3/24, respectively. I definitely would love to see a debate here, as they draw much larger crowds and generate more buzz; they're working on getting an opponent for him.

Spring break will be from March 10-17, and so the week of March 18-23 would work out well for us. I don't have a lot of details yet, but I will post them as things move along. I hope to have more details soon, so that we can start the media drive and advertising.

Letter to the Editor Published in Alligator Today

Read it below:

Letter to the Editor
Separation of church and state needed
Fri., 2/9/07
By S. DANIEL MORGAN
President, Atheist, Agnostic and Freethinking Student Association at UF

I was involved in the Dixie County courthouse monument debacle as it went from local gossip to national news: I did an appearance opposite Joey Lander on Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" on Nov. 29. I have talked behind the scenes with some people who were interested in challenging the legal status of the placement of the Ten Commandments monument at their county courthouse. Yesterday I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw that a motion had finally been filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The names of the plaintiffs are being withheld for good cause - intimidation, harassment and violence are commonplace in rural communities with these sorts of cases. It takes guts to go against the grain, and I'm proud of their courage for moving this case forward. I fully expect to see that monument relegated to its proper place - private property - and none too soon. The demise of this affront to the separation of church and state is certain. If we don't fight for the freedoms we enjoy as private citizens, we will see them swallowed up by intrusions of government authority. We must write letters to newspapers and politicians to voice and defend civil liberties, or else the steady erosion of liberty will continue unabated by forces of tyranny and theocracy. All it takes for those forces to win is for us to remain silent and afraid. Thank you, courageous citizens of Dixie County, for refusing to be either.

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Technorati tags: Religion, Church-state