I’d like to thank the members of Cornerstone Church in Salisbury for their pledge to fight the ACLU’s lawsuit against our county, and attorney Bryce D. Neier for his generosity as well.
I’d also like to respond to those who support the ACLU’s position. Quoting a Bible verse that suggests our commissioners should go into a closet to pray won’t help your cause. Other Bible verses can be quoted to suggest otherwise. Also, it’s unfair to say they’re using Jesus’ name for political gain. They’ve always prayed this way. Besides, do you really think their job pays enough to justify all this trouble?
Finally, wishing our commissioners would change where or when they pray, and thus avoid the lawsuit, is understandable. But don’t call it compromise; it’s called surrender.
As you know, prayer is allowed at county commission meetings. It’s the sectarian prayer (the Christian sect, in this case) that the ACLU is against, claiming it violates the establishment clause and doesn’t treat everyone equally. But let’s get real. A short prayer doesn’t “establish” anything, except perhaps, the speaker’s personal beliefs. If they start reciting Bible scriptures to explain their votes or decisions; then yes, this would establish a religious agenda and become a problem.
And you realize that even if the ACLU wins, it’s not over. Their next target will be non-sectarian prayers, because someone will still be offended. Then, after that, it might be commissioners who speak out publicly against abortion. The ACLU attorneys never quit; it’s how they earn their living.
They even defended the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA). In the “Frequently Asked Questions” section of its website, the ACLU says it represented “members of NAMBLA because, while the ACLU does not advocate sexual relationships between adults and children, we do advocate robust freedom of speech.” It’s ridiculous.
Fifty years ago, Madalyn O’Hair got public prayer out of public schools, and here’s what’s happened:
In New York City, more money is spent on education (per student) than any other major city, and yet 80 percent of high school graduates enrolling in community colleges can’t read or do simple math. Most of them will have trouble finding a decent job and will need government assistance.
There are over 1 million jobs available right now that can’t be filled because there aren’t enough qualified college graduates. Yet almost half of the recent college graduates are either unemployed, or working at jobs that they could’ve gotten without an education.
Schools always want government grants for science and math classes, instead of concentrating on these subjects first and the liberal arts trash later.
Last year, the New York Times wrote: “For women under 30, most births occur outside marriage.” That’s an amazing accomplishment, even for liberals, considering that 50 years ago this would’ve been unbelievable. The Times also said this leads to poverty. Who’d have guessed?
None of these things happened by accident. The Democratic Party’s main strength lies in convincing people that they take care of the poor; so there’s a constant need for more poor people.
If you haven’t read Amity Shlaes book, “The Forgotten Man,” it’s worth reading. She examines the Great Depression and the programs that were enacted to help the poor, the homeless and the unemployed. These programs did help, but they ended up putting (and keeping) more people in poverty; and also helped the Depression last so long. Average working people (the “forgotten man”) became nothing more than a source of revenue for liberals to keep poor people content and quiet; and like today, they were called racist or uncaring anytime they offered real solutions.
If you’re going to be offended anyway, why not put that energy into something less self-absorbing, self-centered and self-pitying?
Future generations deserve better than this. It can start here.

Steve Pender lives in Rockwell.