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.
Technorati tags: Religion, Church-state
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