Two Florida school officials won't go to jail for praying

[kandrathe]

Robert Mapplethorpe and the Sex Pistols don't work for the government. Nobody is telling the pious folk of Pace, Florida, that they can't have their god, or even that they can't completely dominate the local culture (which, one gets the impression, they do.)

It seems to me that in this community religious expression is normal.

All the ACLU is saying, and I think all that Pete is saying, is that they can't constitutionally promote their religion while under the aegis of a public school.

And, I would agree that some of what the officials at Pace High School are doing is over the line. One objection I have is the one size fits all community standard which tries to force the same ethic that is applied in the Bronx NY to that in East Podunk, Florida. This is why laws should be local.

I don't understand what you mean by Pace not being a state. They're not *a* state. But their public schools are an extension of *the* state - and are therefore bound by constitutional rules. If this was a private school, nobody would care - this would be as normal and as legal as a stroll down the street. But this is not a private school.

The government unfortunately dominates the education arena, and when it comes to schools, we mostly only have public options. If Pace High School had the option of going private and being able to survive, I'd bet they jump at the chance to be free from the kind of outside interference they've attracted.

The rule of law is far more than crude majoritarianism. If there are to be rights, then they are *rights*, not suggestions. Martyrs be damned, the individual is protected. Surely this is an argument that a libertarian couldn't help but agree with?

I do agree. However, who needs to be protected and from what? Dangerous thoughts? Fear of those who venerate a peace loving guy who was killed by his own people with Roman assistance? Who gets to choose which thoughts are dangerous thoughts? In the libertarian world, we believe in the protection of property, and life, and the right to be left the heck alone if we so choose (liberty). I don't think the Constitution ever guaranteed you would be free from having to hear what other people think. I believe we are guaranteed the freedom to say what we want, even (and especially) if that is religious expression.

I think it is arbitrary to even say that a President, or a governor, or a Senator, or a teacher, or school administrator, or dog catcher cannot at any time express themselves religiously. I agree that requiring course work, or classes, or compulsory prayer is crossing the line. Having to witness someone else doing it is not crossing the line, no matter how annoying it is, it is a part of allowing people to be free.