First Amendment protection can't be selective

What caught my attention was when the article quoted a school superintendent as saying that students offering prayers before games would be punished "as if they had cursed," and the columnist's reaction that "that is shameful in itself."

Just for a moment, let me ask seriously: What is the difference? If I want my freedom of speech upheld, I should have the right to swear while speaking at commencement. After all, it is my freedom of speech, isn't it?

"Well, that's different." What is different about it? It is what I want to say, maybe I think it is the clearest way of expressing myself. "But it is offensive!" Praying can also offend some people. Somehow, religious people never seem to take seriously the idea that prayers can really, honestly offend someone. I, on the other hand, find it hard to believe that in the end of the '90s, there are still people out there who get in an uproar just because they hear the f-word.

"But swearing is inappropriate at these functions!" So is prayer, according to separation of church and state. This is exactly the issue: if your prayer suddenly becomes appropriate, in the name of freedom of speech, then can't swearing be also be seen as appropriate, in the name of the same cause?

Finally: "But prayer is about deeply held beliefs, swearing is not!" Well, this is exactly the point. In order to be taken seriously, advocates of school prayer need to admit that there is something more to their cause than simple "freedom of speech." The "freedom of speech" ploy is used as a fall-back, because if they start talking about the fact that they want the right to use governmentally sponsored events to tell the world about their personal sacred beliefs, it starts to sound like EXACTLY what separation of church and state was designed to guard against. And maybe it is.

But if those in favor of prayer at school functions want to make any progress, they have to identify exactly what it is that makes it different from people who want the right to swear at school functions - and why that difference deserves to be protected.

- This viewpoint was written by

Rackham student Greg Stevens.

09-16-99