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****************************** "Separation of Extremists and Religion In America" (SPECIAL NOTE: Congratulations to our military for bagging Saddam!) Is there no room for moderation and reason in this country when it comes to religion any longer? In Bakersfield, CA, the local YMCA recently sent fliers promoting an upcoming basketball camp home with students. No biggie. The Y's been sending fliers like this home with students for years. No mas. At least, not in Bakersfield. Some egg-headed, numb-skull school district lawyer ruled the Y could no longer include its mission statement - "To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build spirit, mind and body for all" - on such fliers. Promotion of religion. Separation of church and state. Blah, blah, blah. Same ol' song and dance. This is ridiculous. The fliers promoted a BASKETBALL CAMP, not religion, for crying out loud. OK, let's swing east to North Carolina where, according to WSOCTV.com, "A guidance counselor at Concord High School was suspended Wednesday for answering a student's question about homosexuality." "Beth Pinto said she was suspended with pay" after "students asked her what the Bible's position was on homosexuality and she quoted a verse," said the report. "School leaders say that's against the state's position on the separation between church and state." Seems to me there's a big difference between advocating or promoting religion and honestly answering a student's legitimate question. Um, isn't that the role of an educator in the first place? Which brings us to Christmas. That's right, Christmas. Not the "holiday season." Not the "winter recess." Christmas. Good grief, Charlie Brown. In Tacoma, WA, an elementary school music teacher changed the lyrics of a classic song at a holiday concert from "The harsh wind blows down from the mountains, and blows a Christmas to me" to "blows a white winter to me." I'm surprised Jesse Jackson and the NAACP haven't filed an objection to the change yet, but that's another story for another day. And don't even get me started about the Christmas tree. It's bad enough that seasonal nativity scenes representing Christ's birth are banned from public display during, um, CHRISTmas...but decorated trees? What kind of imbeciles come up with kooky ideas like this? Now it's no secret that I'm a supporter of the principle of REASONBLE separation of church and state; a position not specifically spelled out in the Constitution but certainly embraced by no less than Thomas Jefferson his own self. Neither TJ nor I think mixing the two too closely is good for either. We are, after all, a constitutional republic, not a theocracy. I believe, therefore, that ex-judge Roy Moore went too far in using his government position to promote a religious doctrine in a government building with his 2 1/2 ton Ten Commandments shrine down in Alabama. HOWEVER, I also believe that efforts to erase even a HINT of religion from the public square are equally extreme and patently absurd. There is and should be a reasonable line of separation between church and state. But you've got the ACLU trying to draw the line on the far left and Roy Moore trying to draw it on the far right. What we need is to find a "reasonable man" standard to resolve these issues in a...duh...reasonable manner. I'd be happy to volunteer for the job if it would mean we could put these silly little battles behind us and focus on, oh, I don't know, how about shrinking the size and cost of government while killing terrorists before they kill us. At least, that seems reasonable to me. # # # Chuck Muth is president of Citizen Outreach, a non-profit public policy advocacy organization in Washington, D.C. The views expressed are his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Citizen Outreach. He may be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
