Cynthia Tucker: Campaign for religious state is no blessing

[Thom Little]

The White House hopes that Iraqi voters will choose a government dedicated to a democratic, secular state. Such a government — with Islam held at arm's length and protections for minorities built in — would be more likely to cultivate friendly relations with the West. It might also have a better chance of staving off civil war in a country riven by sectarian conflict.

It is curious that President Bush values the principles of secular democracy so highly in Iraq but gives them so little support here at home. That's a shame, because those principles, embedded in the Bill of Rights and meant to protect minorities from the tyranny of the majority, desperately need a boost in the United States. From the trumped-up "war on Christmas" to controversies over the teaching of evolution, the demagogues of the religious right — claiming that they have a mandate to reclaim a lost history as a "Christian nation" — are poised to dynamite the wall separating church and state.

It is no accident that Bush's latest Supreme Court nominee, Judge Samuel Alito, has a record of supporting government-sponsored religious ceremonies and displays in public places. The nomination of Harriet Miers ran aground amid harsh protests from conservatives; the religious right made it clear that they believed the president owed them a nominee who would sit in their pew.

Among other things, Alito has told senators that he believes the courts have gone too far in limiting public religious activities. As just one example, the federal appeals court on which Alito sits decided in a 1996 case that a New Jersey school board should not allow prayer at high school graduations. The court's ruling was 11-4, with Alito among the four dissenters. If he ascends to the nation's highest court, he is likely to further erode the protections that have kept the majority from imposing their religious views on the minority.


http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/opinion/tucker/2005/121805.html

[greiner3]

1. When I am free of obligations;

I had thought of moving to Australia. However, the recent rash of blatant bigotry is enough to deter me of this. Does anyone know of a country where I could get a fresh dose of humanity, flavored with personal freedons? Mine has just run out of both!

[depakid]

2. Try Canada

Australia may just go the way of the US. Labor has proven to be just as inept over the past decade or so at winning elections as the Dems.