Self-proclaimed Witch Cynthia Simpson is suing the Chesterfield
County, Virginia board of supervisors with the help of the American
Civil Liberties Union, which carries on a ceaseless campaign to
drive any sign of reverence for God from public view.
It seems that for as long as anyone can remember, the
Chesterfield County board has, before opening its regular business
meetings, heard a few words of inspiration from a minister, priest
or rabbi. The clerics are volunteers. When Ms. Simpson, a Wiccan
priestess, volunteered to join them, she was politely turned down.
The ACLU swung into action, crying “religious discrimination.” The
ACLU is big in the threat department, and it said the board has two
choices: Let Ms. Simpson give a Wiccan prayer before a meeting, or
banish all the other clerics. (Judging from past performances, the
ACLU may actually prefer the latter.)
Last year at this time the big issue was “separation of church
and state” when someone professed to being “offended” that a town
in Maryland was going to allow Santa Claus to ride on a town
firetruck in the holiday parade. The town council got cold feet and
banned Santa. In response, 29 Santas showed up for the parade on
private vehicles. Figuratively speaking, Santa gave the ACLU a lump
of coal.
In poll after poll, something on the order of 90 percent of
Americans tell the pollsters they believe in God — not gods,
plural; not Gaia, the Earth Mother; not Zeus, Apollo or Athena, but
one God. Despite their other differences, Christians, Jews and
Muslims have that in common.
Why then the endless quest by the ACLU (and its leftish ally
Americans United for Separation of Church and State) to find
plaintiffs with which to threaten towns and counties with lawsuits?
It stems from a persistent misunderstanding of the Constitution’s
First Amendment, which begins, “Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free
exercise thereof…”
When the founders wrote that amendment they had in mind such
state religions as the Church of England, from whose strictures
many of our early pioneers fled across the sea to the New World.
The second clause of the amendment reflected the founders’
insistence on the freedom of Americans to follow whichever religion
they wished; however, they made it clear in what they said and
wrote that they believed that all of our rights emanated from God.
While they insisted on freedom of religion the ACLU insists on
freedom from religion or, in Ms. Simpson’s case, the recognition of
a fad as a religion.
Like Rodney Dangerfield, Ms. Simpson thinks she hasn’t been
getting “no respect.” At least she got no satisfaction from the
Chesterfield county attorney who described Wicca as “neo-pagan.”
She countered, according to one report, that she wanted to offer
the prayer at a meeting so she could “dispel images of wicked
witches on broomsticks.” Ms. Simpson says “reverence for the cycles
of nature are key” to understanding Wicca. That’s nice. One
dictionary definition of religion is “An awareness or conviction of
the existence of a supreme being.” Cycles of nature don’t count as
a supreme being.
Nevertheless, going after the Chesterfield County board of
supervisors is peanuts. If the ACLU and its friends were really
serious they would be demanding that the federal government rename
the Christmas holiday “Winter Solstice” or something similar that
would please Druids and Wiccans. And, since radio and television
stations operate under federal license, the litigants should demand
that broadcasters no longer be allowed to play C——-mas carols, as
these extol the virtues of someone associated with a particular
religion (we dare not say which one, for this website is owned by a
foundation which has been granted tax-exempt status by the federal
government and we don’t want to violate the separation of church
and state). Also, since C——-mas bonuses are subject to income
tax, the ACLU should insist they be renamed, say, Reverence for
Nature bonuses.
Hmmm. Do you suppose on C——-mas Eve, Ms. Simpson will be
riding alongside Santa’s sleigh on a broomstick?
