Delivered 10.21.14 during the Public Forum:
I'm here again to discuss the invocations offered at this meeting. I'm not going to waste my breath arguing for an inclusive moment of silence – the same one you prescribe for rest of the school system. Nor will I try to persuade you that this is a school prayer issue, and not one of legislative tradition. If need be, our courts WILL settle these questions. I'm simply asking this board to bring its practice out of the dark - and to RESPOND so we may all know your prayer policy.
You've received letters from two civil rights attorneys, charging religious discrimination in your current process. You're all aware of the legal peril facing our school system if nothing changes. Yet, you move forward with the same procedures, where each SB member has discretion to reject unwanted invocations... and where all prayers, predictably, reflect the majority faith, as if endorsing it.
And there lies the problem – limiting public religious expression to one type is NOT legal. And, refusing invocation offers from minorities is clearly unconstitutional. Several of us have requested inclusion and were met with dubious rejections: ranging from "Are you Christian?... no... then no, not ever" and "I choose those who represent MY beliefs" to "I don't need your service" or no answer at all. Keeping a system in place, which sanctions such government discrimination, is not only illegal and unwise, it's unAmerican. What's more, this constitutes a violation of my 1st Amendment rights. And I don’t take that lightly.
So, I'm imploring this board to look closely at your process and to SERIOUSLY ASK how you may continue school-board-led prayer without violating the Constitution - if you even can. How are invocations chosen? Who may pray and who may not? What is proper content and what is improper? Your constituents deserve hard answers to these simple questions. So please, enlighten us.
Any discussion should result in ONE SIMPLE THING - a WRITTEN policy available to the public. A carefully outlined procedure could make your process more fair, or at least more clear. Such a policy would remove the burden of censorship from each SB member. And it should lessen the legal liability to our school system. Those seem like worthy goals.
In conclusion, I want to pose a hypothetical situation: How would it feel if this governing body consistently asked YOU to pray to gods you don't believe in? What if every prayer spoken aloud here contradicted YOUR deeply-held beliefs? <Well, that happens to someone EVERY time this meeting starts with a sectarian prayer. And... if you wanted to offer your own blessing, how would it feel to be rejected as 'offensive'?> Would you want your government to do that unto you, as you do unto others? I hope your answers (and a little empathy) will guide your actions. You can do better. In fact, you must. Thank you.
TIME DIDN'T PERMIT:
<By way of help, please look to the Supreme Court. Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has already suggested a system that comports with the Galloway decision's guidelines. It calls for a random and inclusive rotation. AND it advises that invocation speakers may not proselytize, preach damnation, nor denigrate other religions. That would be a good start.
Of course, you could avoid this problem by taking a more inclusive approach - one where our government doesn't ask ANY citizen to pray against their faith. That solution is the legally sound and non-discriminatory moment of silence - the same solution you publish as policy for every other school function.>
Many of our citizens don't believe in prayer at all. They would rather our government stick to civil matters. Even heathens such as they recognize - if this body justifies public prayer under Galloway v Greece, it should be administered fairly and clearly. It would behoove this board to clearly define your policies according to the law and to be prepared to defend them. That's all I'm asking today. Please - take this chance to act proactively and voluntarily.
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