It is astounding what changes have occurred in the last month.  The horrors of September 11, prompted many of these changes.  Every American was emotionally affected.  Deep within us all is the primary need for a safe environment.  The terrorism caused feelings of fear, sadness, and helplessness in nearly everyone.  Americans shed more tears than at any other time in our 225 year history.  The terrorism was followed by stories of heros and individual acts of courage.  Then, a groundswell of flags and "God Bless America" arose.  It gave many a feeling of unity and security in the midst of an official religious pluralism that included "persons of all faiths."

      On the Sept. 13 broadcast of the 700 Club, Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson blamed "the ACLU," abortionists, pagans, feminists, gays, lesbians, (People for) "the American Way," and "NOW" (National Organization for Women) for creating a secular nation that caused God to allow this tragedy.¹  In a NY Times interview later the same day, Falwell reiterated his position saying, "I sincerely believe that the collective efforts of many secularists during the past generation, resulting in the expulsion [of God] from our schools and from the public square, has left us vulnerable."    The next day on the Christian Broadcast Network (CBN) website, Pat Robertson stated that pornography, rampant secularism, the occult, abortion, the absence of prayer in schools and insults on God "at the highest level of our government" had sent the Almighty over the edge. These statements were seen as harshly inappropriate and were criticized by many, including President Bush.

      The apology Falwell offered four days later, claiming he'd "misspoken" while "in shock and mourning" and Pat Robertson's claim that he did not fully understand Falwell's comments is certainly not supported by the tone and content of broadcast commentary or the follow-up interview, or Robertson's CBN website post.  And, of course, Falwell and Robertson's comments were only the first salvo.

      On a morning talk show, Billy Graham's daughter said the terrorism occurred because "...for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman that He is, I believe that He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand that He leave us alone?" 

      In USA Today Kathleen Parker wrote an article titled "God, country gain fragile new toehold" that began "One can't help notice the silence of atheists these days."  It pointed to the coming religious revivalism as God and country merge, as flag-waving and "god blessing American" slowly dissolve the essential separation of church and state.

      Persons experiencing tragedy, suffering, and fear have long sought out the succor of religion. For many, religion gives them the stability to undertake humanitarian actions.   For others, prayer is an inexpensive solution that gives the illusion of actually doing something helpful.  Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, President Bush's home minister and spiritual advisor, blamed Christians for the conflict.  He said, "Had we as a body of Christ been focused and faithful and praying for bin Laden, I don't know what would have happened. But I sure know he could have been shaken by the power of God. Don't forget this is power over practicality. With men and women some things are impossible. But with God all things are possible. It is not ours to reason, it is ours to be obedient. Had bin Laden been in our prayers for the last five years, who knows what would have happened, but we've not prayed for him. Just because a person is Muslim, crazy or a terrorist does not mean he or she cannot be arrested by the power of God." 

      Christian fundamentalists are hard pressed to accuse Osama bin Laden of atheism.  The letters and instruction manual of the terrorists are filled with religious rhetoric.  The terrorists were obedient beyond reason.    Abouhalima, one of the militants convicted in the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, sounded a lot like Robertson, Falwell and other members of the religious right when he explained to an interviewer that the "holy war" is not against God-fearing Americans, but against secularism in the United States, Egypt, and around the world.  Although he is a fundamentalist Moslem, Abouhalima said that if America adopted a "Christian government" it would "at least have morals."

      All this makes one really wonder who the real enemy is!  Is it terrorists motivated by religious fervor, or God -- be He angry or negligent?

Note 1 See http://www.pfaw.org/ issues/ liberty/robertson_falwell.shtml

      This question was addressed in an article by Warren Ross, President of the Houston Objectivism Society and a scientist in the petroleum industry, that appears in October's Capitalism Magazine.

      Ross points to four elements found in most religions that could lead to terrorism.

     Otherworldliness. "The focus on an afterlife, and on the importance of another world over this one, denigrates this life, and life itself. On this view, this material world, the earth we live on, is viewed as a) temporary, b) unimportant, c) a passageway to another, better world, and d) even evil (due to its inferiority compared with the other world). On the premise of otherworldliness, it is of no importance to avoid killing - oneself or others. If there were any last compunction about being a terrorist or a suicide bomber, say at the point just before the horrible act is to be committed, the belief in this view would undercut that compunction."

      The terrorist's suicide manual  recently published by the F.B.I.  lists many examples. "Purify your soul from all unclean things. Completely forget something called 'this world' [or 'this life']. The time for play is over and the serious time is upon us." 

     Determinism, or fatalism.   This is "the focus on the complete lack of choice of the individual actor. This goes hand-in-hand with the omnipotent power of God. God is viewed as having a complete plan for the world, and He has the power to implement this plan. Therefore, the individual has no power to alter the course of things. His sole purpose is to identify and carry out God's plan. Some religions emphasize complete passivity and resignation to God's plan. Others emphasize getting in sync with God's plan and trying to take actions consistent with it. Whichever emphasis a particular religion has (and all religions have an ambiguous emphasis, switching back and forth between resignation and synchronous action), the belief in this tenet would completely thwart any last line of moral squeamishness on the part of a terrorist." 

      Obedience to God's plan leads to paradise.  The terrorists' manual states, "God decrees what will work and what won't and the rest is left to God, the best One to depend on."

     Faith.  This "...denotes acceptance of ideas blindly, with no proof, logic or reason. The acceptance of these ideas can be based on feeling or the word of others. It is distinguished from ‘reason,' which is a process of grasping and identifying evidence, forming concepts, and formulating ideas based on those concepts, using logic. The view that all knowledge comes from blind acceptance, whether it is acceptance of feelings or the dictates of religious spokesman, is the only way a terrorist could be induced to commit such horrible acts and kill himself. One thing is very clear: suicide bombers are not scholarly logicians who think for themselves. They take their orders from those who interpret God's word, whether they are listening to the Imams in the Arab world or the preacher in the local Baptist Church. Thoroughly steeped in the idea that truth has already been interpreted for him, that he has been told by the ‘authorities' what God's plan is, the terrorist doesn't question his orders or the authority's interpretation of God's plan. He just does what he is told to do."

     "Number 4 in the instruction manual begins: ‘Remind your soul to listen and obey [all divine orders].' This section goes on to say ‘God said: ‘Obey God and His Messenger, and do not fight amongst yourselves or else you will fail. And be patient, for God is with the patient.'"

     Sacrifice.  "The focus on giving up, on self-denial, on living ascetically, would bolster a terrorist in his determination to carry out his deed. He is giving up his life, which to most is a precious value. But if he has spent his life believing that he should deny himself his highest value, and that it is important to give it up for God's plan and to have everlasting joy in heaven, he won't hesitate at the last moment. Nor will he hesitate to sacrifice others - if sacrifice is good, it is good universally, not just for him. Also, his devotion to sacrifice and asceticism will cause him to despise anyone who loves this life and lives for happiness, enjoyment and the material pleasures in this world."

      Ross then addresses six traits that distinguish Islam from Christianity and Judaism: (1) a thorough religiousness involving a ritual of prayer five times a day and a month of fasting each year; (2) an ambiguity between personal striving and war, as reflected in the various meanings of the term "jihad"; (3) an emphasis on force, particularly the Islamic tradition and  mythology thoroughly imbued with the idea of war as the means of spreading Islam; (4)  an emphasis on martyrdom, "Do not suppose that those who are killed for the sake of God are dead -- they are alive..."; (5) no distinction between personal views and political organization and no separation of mosque and state -- Islam draws no distinction between the religious and the temporal spheres of life;  and  (6) a thorough hatred of the West. 

      Ross writes, "Hatred of the West... is not an isolated premise unrelated to the four primary premises. Hatred of the West is a consequence of the fact that the secular West thoroughly rejects..." the integration of religion into all personal and social contexts.

     Attorney General Ashcroft referred to the terror instruction manual as "disturbing."  One very clear reason why is that the manual is so thoroughly religious and has far more emphasis on devotion to God and being good than it has on the pragmatic details of carrying out the terror.  Ross concludes, "the views expressed in the manual are very common among all religions, and by implication terrorism is not caused by a perverted subcult but ultimately by religion itself, if taken as seriously as most Muslims do."

      Hail to the brave souls on the Madison School Board for deciding that religious Pledge of Allegiance has no business in public schools.

      Nothing about state-ordered parroting of the Pledge of Allegiance is going to help children grow to love this country.  Instead, needing to pass a religious test every morning in Wisconsin's classrooms will do the opposite.

      What we have here is the naked exploitation of the horror of September 11 to breathe new life into the extreme agenda of the Republican Party.  That agenda is to so smudge the line between religion and government that it disappears entirely.

      All wrapped up in the flag and patriotism, it's easy to understand how people can lose sight of that for which true Americans stand and die.  By surrendering even one of our precious civil liberties, we are handing victory to those who attacked us.

 - Dennis Coyier

Here are the basic facts:

      (A) The State Legislature included language in the recent budget bill requiring Wisconsin school districts to force students to either recite the Pledge of Allegiance and/or sing the National Anthem on a daily basis.

      (B) The Madison Metro- politan School Board voted October 8th, 2001, to play the music but not the words to the National Anthem over school loudspeakers, and to bar teachers from leading students in either the pledge or the anthem.  Thus the Madison schools comply currently with the letter of the law yet also protect students from coerced religious and/or militaristic speech.

      (C) Rush Limbaugh and other reactionary activists across the country launched a political attack  against the Madison School Board, which is now reeling under heavy criticism.  Three of the seven School Board members are affiliated with independent progressive political parties, and three more are liberals.  Many flag-waving "patriots" are expected to descend on Madison this Monday to attack the Madison School Board for its actions. 

      This situation offers both danger and opportunity for progressives opposed to the growing war hysteria and who support a democratic and legal response to the terrorist attacks of September 11th.  If the Madison School Board is cowed by the criticism they have received, not only will thousands of Madison youth be subject to an increased climate of control and nickel-patriotism, but the overall climate for dissent nationally may be seriously impacted.  On the other hand, if the School Board receives a strong show of support and passes a policy that protects the rights of Madison students, there will be more hope for turning the tide in the current crisis.

TAKE  ACTION!

     1. Attend the Madison Metropolitan School Board meeting this Monday, October 15th, 5:00 p.m., Doyle Administration Building,  545 W. Dayton St., and testify in favor of free speech, local autonomy, and against war hysteria.

     2.  Write to the Madison area daily newspapers and to the members of the Madison Metropolitan School Board.

      The United States Supreme Court announced that it will hear arguments in a case challenging the constitutionality of a religious school voucher program in Cleveland.  The justices have agreed to hear Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, which deals with a controversial program created six years ago that provides tax dollars to finance tuition at religious and other private schools.

     Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which is co-sponsoring the lawsuit with other organizations, said this case will settle the question over the legality of vouchers once and for all.  "This is probably the most important church-state case in the last half-century," said Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State. "It will be a historic showdown over government funding of religion.

     "Voucher programs force taxpayers to put money in the collection plate of churches," added Lynn. "The court should never permit this to happen. The justices should uphold church-state separation and slam the door on this reckless scheme."

     The Cleveland voucher program, passed by the Ohio legislature in 1995, finances vouchers of up to $2,500 for Cleveland public school students to attend religious and other private schools (Suburban public schools were included in the program, but none chose to participate.)  Currently, 56 private schools participate in the Ohio voucher program. Forty-six of them are religious in nature. During the 1999-2000 school year, 3,761 students were enrolled in the program, and 96% of them were attending religious schools. The program was funded at $11.2 million in 2000.

     The Cleveland voucher scheme has already been rejected by two federal courts. In December 2000, the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals concluded that taxpayer funding of religious schools violates the separation of church and state.

     "To approve this program," observed the court, "would approve the actual diversion of government aid to religious institutions in endorsement of religious education, something 'in tension' with the precedents of the Supreme Court." (The program has continued to run while the final appeal to the Supreme Court was pursued.)

     "I come from the Throne – bearing a message from Almighty God!" The words smote the house with a shock; if the stranger perceived it he gave no attention. "He has heard the prayer of His servant your shepherd, and will grant it if such be your desire after I, His messenger, shall have explained to you its import – that is to say, its full import. For it is like unto many of the prayers of men, in that it asks for more than he who utters it is aware of – except he pause and think. 

      "God's servant and yours has prayed his prayer. Has he paused and taken thought? Is it one prayer? No, it is two – one uttered, the other not. Both have reached the ear of Him Who heareth all supplications, the spoken and the unspoken. Ponder this – keep it in mind. If you would beseech a blessing upon yourself, beware! lest without intent you invoke a curse upon a neighbor at the same time. If you pray for the blessing of rain upon your crop which needs it, by that act you are possibly praying for a curse upon some neighbor's crop which may not need rain and can be injured by it. 

      "You have heard your servant's prayer – the uttered part of it. I am commissioned of God to put into words the other part of it – that part which the pastor – and also you in your hearts – fervently prayed silently. And ignorantly and unthinkingly? God grant that it was so! You heard these words: 'Grant us victory, O Lord our God!' That is sufficient. The whole of the uttered prayer is compact into those pregnant words. Elaborations were not necessary. When you have prayed for victory you have prayed for many unmentioned results which follow victory – must follow it, cannot help but follow it. Upon the listening spirit of God the Father fell also the unspoken part of the prayer. He commandeth me to put it into words. Listen! 

      "O Lord our Father, our young patriots, idols of our hearts, go forth to  battle – be Thou near  them! With them – in  spirit – we also go  forth from the sweet  peace of our beloved  firesides to smite the  foe. O Lord our God,  help us to tear their  soldiers to bloody  shreds with our shells;  help us to cover their  smiling fields with the  pale forms of their  patriot dead; help us  to drown the thunder  of the guns with  shrieks of their  wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with hurricanes of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with their little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, sports of the sun flames of summer and the icy winds of winter, broken in spirit, worn with travail, imploring Thee for the refuge of the grave and denied it – for our sakes who adore Thee, Lord, blast their hopes, blight their lives, protract their bitter pilgrimage, make heavy their steps, water their way with tears, stain the white snow with the blood of their wounded feet! We ask it, in the spirit of love, of Him Who is the Source of Love, and Who is the ever-faithful refuge and friend of all that are sore beset and seek His aid with humble and contrite hearts. 

     Amen."