Today in a meek, if not mollified, manner
The Christians of Cranston removed the old banner
By simply defying the law of the land
They wasted a hundred and seventy grand
The banner is gone, and the page has been turned…
The question remains: has the lesson been learned?
story, after the jump:
The Cranston Patch reports, as does NewsMax, that the banner has been removed from the wall at Cranston West. An expensive civics lesson, but we can at least hope that the lesson will at least have been learned. For now, the district has asked for an extension in time to file their response to the request for attorney’s fees. I can’t help but almost hope that they’ll try something more. It’s been so much fun to watch. (Mind you, I doubt it was fun for Jessica.)
I wonder how expensive it would be to re-create the banner without all the prayery, godly stuff? Is anything like that in the works? Kind of like an olive branch from our side, I would support that. The sentiments expressed were good and positive for students in a school setting. Something to replace the removed banner and show that it still has the same positive meaning without the religious trappings. Thoughts?
It’s an interesting question, Ray–the mood of the crowd leads me to think they would not want such a banner; it would be seen as a slap, not an olive branch. I could be wrong, of course.
I hadn’t considered that the locals would see it as a “slap”. I guess it isn’t such a smart idea. Oh well.
Besides, they didn’t act as if they’d learned anything from the banner in the last 40 years.
The next circus is at Bain Middle School, where for sixty years they’ve been inviting a Catholic priest to speak at a memorial service for former students of the school who served in the armed force. That’s coming up fast.
The banner could highlight so much that is winning
But without reference to God, folks will just go on sinning
Wise tenets to live happy and prosperous by
Need a regular plug of the man in the sky
Though a poster that has evolution down pat
Never has to point out that Charles Darwin said that.
The good taxpayers of Cranston deserved a nice, long appeal with its attendant loss and enormous legal fees. Anal orifices feel it in their wallets, eventually.
The town has apparently settled with the ACLU for $150,000, down a bit from the already-reduced $173,000 the good guys originally asked for. Of course, when the check will be cut may still be up in the air.
Frankly not interested in extending any such olive branches. The blank wall is a huge improvement.
Markita Lynda@4, *sigh* You’re right, of course. Maybe they will learn though, “hope springs eternal” and all that.
Brian Wood@7, Trouble is, it’s the school system and the students who would suffer the most. No matter how silly their parents and community leaders are, the kids deserve a good education so more can turn out like Jessica.
Randomfactor@9, I can understand your disinterest given how the community reacted to the obvious unconstitutionality of the banner. I just feel that without the prayer formatting it has a nice positive message that was worth salvaging from the religious dross. Of course it’s just my opinion and YMMV
Ray@1: Didn’t the school board consider and reject the option of removing the goddy bits from the banner before this even got to court? I doubt they’d appreciate the offer.
I still think that some sort of music scholarship in Jessica’s name would be worth trying to raise money for, though.
David Hart@11, I don’t remember hearing about the school board discussing changing the banner, but that must have been before the court upheld the constitution. On the one hand I wonder if they would reconsider now? On the other hand, I think they probably wouldn’t, but on the gripping hand…
There is a scholarship fund for Jessica herself, but I’d bet one in her name would be anathema to the locals. Anyone who applied for or got it would be pariah.
(I loves me some fancy words! Hee-Yuk!)