Observations and inanities by a second-shift assistant supervisor in the Puppy-Grinding division of the Evil Atheist Conspiracy® (our motto: "Sure it's cruel, but think of the jobs!"), your host, Brent Rasmussen.
The New Face Of American Theocracy
It is a truism that religious bigotry and the entitlement mentality of the wanna-be theocrat grow strong in our small community school boards. It's relatively easy to get elected to a school board as a trustee, and in a small town most folks think just like you do.
Imagine the surprise of the Wylie, TX School Board trustees when during a bond meeting, School board member Ralph James tried to begin the meeting with a recitation of with The Lord's Prayer. He had got out "Our Father..." when bond committee member Mikki Lewis stood up and said very loudly, "Excuse me?"
Mikki Lewis is Jewish. Her husband is a Catholic. Her father is an atheist, and his parent were orthodox Jews.
[link] ...it wasn't on the agenda, and it surprised me," said Mrs. Lewis, a mother of two in the Wylie school district.
"I wasn't there to pray or practice my religion," she said.
Afterward the committee decided to have a "moment of silence" instead of a prayer. Mrs. Lewis then emailed the superintendent to discuss her protest. However, instead of a reply from the superintendent, she received a response from school board trustee Sue Nicklas - who does not seem to get the whole "U.S. Constitution, First Amendment" thing.
[link] "I must share with you first and formost [sic] that there are many people who are praying for you," Ms. Nicklas wrote. "In ten years as a trustee of the Wylie school board, you're the first parent to complain about a prayer, and the very first person in my 68 years that has ever had the audasity [sic] to interrupt God and one of His children in prayer."
Ms. Nicklas said Mrs. Lewis "doesn't set the agenda for meetings. We are elected by the people ... in the community."
Wylie is a Christian community, Ms. Nicklas said.
"You go with the culture and customs of the community," she said.
Uh, no.
You see Mrs. Grundy, that's not the way it works. Christianity isn't "more equal" than every other religion out there, and because of the First Amendment, U.S. citizens have a reasonable expectation that we won't be preached at by our elected officials. Quite frankly, no one gives a flying fudge sickle about your self-righteous proclamation about "many people praying for" Mrs. Lewis. Jesus! How arrogant can a person get, anyway?
Tell me the truth, Sue - is that part of your publicly elected secular job description as a Wylie ISD school board trustee? To organize voodoo chants against the unbelievers? I don't think so.
It isn't "audacity" that made Mrs. Lewis speak up after four years of cowed silence, Mrs. GrundyNicklas - it was a sense of outrage! A sense of injustice perpetrated by the bullying 400-lb gorilla of the Christian majority!
Here's a little secret I can let you in on, Sue: You don't get to be "more equal" than everyone else. You don't get to have the privilege of including your own personal wacky religious rituals in public meetings. Period. The end. Yes, yes, even if you have wink-wink, nod-nodded at it for 10 years. Just because you and your fellow Christian theocrats have been breaking the law for ten years does not magically make it legal.
Also, your tut-tutting at Mrs. Lewis was truly despicable. She is the one trying to get you to follow the law - YOU are the one breaking the law.
For the sake of our Constitution, I sincerely hope the citizens of your school district vote you out at the next election.
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Poor victim!
You gotta feel sorry for Miss Nicklas, the victim in this.
She's a victim of an educational system that failed to teach social studies, civics, American history, or any of those things that cover the US Constitution, law, etc. Let us all pray for her. And drop her a line to let her know that we are all praying for her. Praying to Kali.
How can she teach children to obey laws that she ignores?
Having lived in that part of the world and dealt with my share of Sue Nicklas', I have to shake my head and just hope that enough other people are in charge of the curriculum that the schools under that Board's aegis don't lead to a whole passel of lawbreakers.
I do think it would be lovely if we could get terrorists to start flying under the name of "Sue Nicklas" and stop using the name James Robinson.
Email Sent to Sue Niklas
Never as elegant as Brent, but sent nonetheless:
I would like to act surprised by your words and actions concerning prayer during the recent bond committee meeting. However, I am not. This is just another fine example of what happens when Christians gain power within their little microcosm of a community. They instantly see to it that their beliefs are forced onto others, and then those whom oppose their tyranny are labeled as trouble-makers, outsiders enforcing their will on the majority, and the line is drawn: We're a Christian Community... Mikki Lewis is not a part of that community.
Do not worry. Mrs. Lewis and her family will surely suffer at the hands of your 'Christian' community for her 'audacity'. Christians often see to it that opposition is silenced whenever possible. She and her family will be ridiculed, threatened, and made into pariahs in no time. This will make you happy. The Christians will thump their chests and howl with glee at what they did to this outsider attempting to destroy their community. Because, you know, prayer is just that important at meetings. Without it all operation will cease. God will suddenly frown on your schools and bad things will happen. Or, nothing will happen because prayer is the equivalent of talking to yourself.
You should have stepped up and done the responsible thing: Apologized to Mrs. Lewis for imposing your will, unknowingly, on her, and then moved on with the meeting, excluding all prayer in the future and telling those other members who wish to participate to do so for the school district from the privacy of their own private homes. That would have been sensible. It would have even had the effect of making Mrs. Lewis look a bit silly under the power of your ability to forgive and forget. Instead, you lashed out, and now she and her family will suffer in many ways under the scrutiny of your community.
We live in a pluralistic society. You are educated. You should already know this. Power corrupts, apparently. I am truly disappointed at these events. But, I'm sure you're getting enough positive feedback from the community to offset what I have to write. You can now quietly put all of this out of your mind and know in your heart that you did the right thing by setting Mrs. Lewis up for a nice fall.
- Matt
Thank-you Matt
I just want to thanks to Matt who's words are all to true.
Nicely Said
I like it. I always have to be vigilant to avoid coming on too strong rhetorically. Your letter was excellent. Reasoned, calm and measured in tone, but there is no question about where you stand. Very nice.
Thanks!
Huh - I learned something. Even with all my graduate studies of English literature, and my deep appreciation of Heinlein, I didn't realize the tradition behind "Mrs. Grundy". I just figured the references in Heinlein were something he'd created.
Thanks, Brent!
Jim Downey
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