Meese’s Attack on Supreme Court

I find the public position taken by Meese at the American Bar Assn. in denouncing the Supreme Court rulings, which support the constitutional separation of church and state, “somewhat bizarre.” Meese, of all people, should be aware of the basis of what our Founding Fathers believed fundamental--freedom of religion and freedom from religion. To take the position that the framers of the Constitution intended only to prevent government from favoring one religion over another is ludicrous and transparently politically motivated.

It is times such as the 1980s wherein the true spirit and timelessness of the Constitution are most on trial and most importantly tested. History has repeatedly told us that more people were murdered, maimed, maligned, tortured and segregated in the name of religion than for any other cause. To take the position that the court must allow this very basic right to be free from any kind of religious impositions, no matter how apparently slight, to be chipped away in the secular forum is tantamount to playing God.

While the federal government may have its place of importance in American society today, it is not God, and it has no business forcing the issue in the classroom, or anywhere. I highly commend the Supreme Court for upholding the Constitution’s most basic premise of separation of church and state and the necessity of strict neutrality of government on any religious issues. And I wish to take the opportunity to remind Meese that it is the Constitution that separates us from being ruled by those who will commit any acts of terrorism, tyranny or otherwise in the name of his or her God.

What better examples are there today than the factions of Islam murdering each other as well as others, all claiming to be holier than thou in their thirst for power in the name of the Koran? While this may be an extreme example, the message is the same; religion and government must never, ever commingle.

VALERIE ANN NEMETH

Bel-Air