Imagine if public school students were required to learn Christian prayers, fast during Lent, adopt saints' names, and generally pretend to be devout Christians for a day. Do you think the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State might, shall we say, put in an appearance?
But require those same students to learn Muslim prayers, fast according to Muslim practice, adopt Muslim names, paint Muslim slogans on banners, and generally pretend to be devout Muslims for three weeks, and hey, no problem. This, according to Judge Phyllis Hamilton of the incomprehensible Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Ms. Hamilton was, inter alia, among the first to declare the Partial Birth Abortion Ban unconstitutional, just a few hours after it was signed into law.
In 1867, Matthew Arnold wrote "Dover Beach", a haunting poem evoking the "melancholy, long, withdrawing roar" of the Sea of Faith. As a boomer who finished Catholic elementary school in 1964 and then watched my Church falter, I've found the roar all too audible. So here I wait, listening for the whispers of that Sea's invincible return.
