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The wall is the central metaphor defining the meaning and work of the
Establishment Clause for many commentators including on this list. When
the government "gets away" with some emblematic behavior tinged with religious
connotations, the hue and cry of breach is predictable.
We are all watching with horror as the situation on the gulf coast goes
from terrible to unimaginable. And in the midst of it, suddenly, the
breach of the levee walls made the unimaginable simply a stop on the road to the
unthinkable.
But this list is for thinking.
As I have heard the cable news bulldogs talking about lack of sufficient
preparation on the part of the federal government, I wondered, "Is that really
the case? Have all federal government officials really fallen down on the
job?"
It took me a few minutes of thought to recall that at least one federal
official, a judge, had looked ahead to this day. Like the proverbial ant
laboring through the summer's sunshine, he prepared for this eventually.
And, unlike so many "talkers," he actually did something.
You may be wondering about the identity of the judge in question. I
am wondering how you could forget a judge who would have the prescience, the
forethought, to see the inevitability of a future disaster of, well, biblical
proportions, and take action.
I am, of course, referring to Judge Ira DeMent.
After he concluded that the Alabama Prayer Statute was unconstitutional, he
issued a permanent injunction that was, if I correctly recall, much debated and
with heat on this list. One key feature of his order, the one which
demonstrates today his prescience then was his judicial ban on _expression_ of
religious or devotional sentiments over school public address systems even in
times of war, natural disaster, or serious community distress.
This week, as Katrina has worn away at the levee walls in New Orleans, we
have the news that another assault on the wall of separation took place
yesterday, when Louisiana's Governor declared a Day of Prayer. Governor
Blanco urged Louisianans to pray to God and even told them how to
pray and what things for which to pray. You can read
her declaration here. Or point your browser to http://www.gov.state.la.us/Press_Release_detail.asp?id=988.
I wonder whether anyone will be found to stand in this
breach? Will any forward thinking, DeMent-minded person or group will
step forward to close it again, to push back the might rushing waters of
government-encouraged, government-endorsed religious invocations of divine
aid? Will People For, or Americans United, or the ACLU, ride in
to the rescue?
Jim Henderson
Senior Counsel
ACLJ
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