In recent days we have seen ample evidence that the constitutionally guaranteed freedoms we cherish often exact a high price. The case of fallen U. S. Army Sgt. Michael Strachota is our most poignant, costly and heroic example. Relatedly, our begrudged tolerance of the Westboro Baptist Church and their blindly hateful dogma registers another toll. We whole-cloth rebuke vast expanses of both their method and message. Even so, we recognize that the Constitution guarantees them the right to have their hurtful say. Of course, there’s nothing in the Constitution that guarantees them a particular venue or access. In short, we may have to take it, but we don’t have to make it easy for them.
In a recent session, the Arkansas State Board of Education provided a well-reasoned reminder with regard to another key First Amendment right. As reported by the Arkansas News Bureau, the board gave final approval to a rule prohibiting preschools that receive funding from the Arkansas Better Chance early childhood education program from using that money for religious activities during the “ABC day,” which is defined as seven hours beginning with the first ABC activity of the day.
State education officials drafted the rule after receiving a complaint that Growing God’s Kingdom preschool in West Fork, an ABC-funded school owned by state Rep. Justin Harris, R-West Fork, was using state funds to promote religion in violation of the First Amendment.
We were heartened to see the state board act on this protracted issue. As we stated in a February 2012 editorial, Harris repeatedly tried to paint the rule as a case of undue external influence: “Let’s say we’re not going to have an outside group (Americans United for Separation of Church and State, a complainant to the state board) tell us what to do,” Harris told reporters at a recent press conference.
As we reminded readers in February, the only “outside” force compelling this rule is the U. S. Constitution. As such, when legislators like Harris and Sen. Johnny Key, R-Mountain Home — who owns two Christian-themed schools that also receive ABC money (just under $300,000 for the current school year) — balk, it becomes very difficult to accept their opposition as a matter of religious principle.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
In both the case of this ruling and with the Westboro Baptist Church, we see people cloak dubious motives in the veil of religious freedom. To be absolutely clear, we fully support the right of Harris, Key and their ilk to teach religious doctrine in their preschools. What we do not support is taxpayers footing the bill for them to do it.
Similarly, we (with noted regret) also support the right of the Westboro crowd to spew their hate. Again, with a caveat — just not everywhere at anytime. With the American tradition of great political oratory, it may seem awfully trite to take inspiration from a movie about politics, but in this case there’s a soliloquy in the 1995 film, The American President, worth recalling. In this scene, Michael Douglas portrays U. S. President Andrew Shepard. He admonishes us on the moral and ethical complexity of the Constitution: “America isn’t easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, ‘cause it’s gonna put up a fight. It’s gonna say ‘You want free speech? Let’s see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who’s standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.’”
Amen to that. This thing called America isn’t easy. Maybe that’s why it’s worth so much.