UPDATE: According to commenter VSG, the cross has been taken down. I figured once it was pointed out it would not take long, considering the consternation the SFSB had over having to put up a ‘In God we Trust’ sign in the lunchroom. Which is kind of ironic, because it is Federal taxpayers that are feeding almost 50% of our kids in the school district, not God. Maybe a more appropriate sign would be ‘Teach a man to fish . . .’
A South DaCola foot soldier sent me this picture tonight. Was this Christian cross hanging in the window of a private Christian business owner or a private Christian school?
Nope.
It was hanging in the window of the IPC Center for the Sioux Falls School District.
Now I’m not a Grinch. This employee who hung this up should not be fired, or even reprimanded for having religious symbolism in the window of a facility supported by taxpayers. But it should be removed immediately and they should have to write a 10 page essay about the importance of the Establishment Clause. Then if the employee refuses, they can certainly grab a box and pack up the rest of their belongings because they should be out of a job. Then they can apply to work at one of our fine Liturgical schools in town.
I have often argued that your faith is between you and the God of your choice (or not). Separation of Church and State is important. Why? Because it protects the faithful from the government telling them how to worship. Why is it so hard for these people to understand this? It PROTECTS YOU! Now, if on your own time you want to convert people with your idols and symbolism, go for it. The School District has NO right to tell you what to do or who to worship on your own time. But when you are on the taxpayer’s dime, you must refrain from your cutesy cross crafts.
I can hear the comments already about how I am anti-Christian, anti-God, etc. I am not. I believe in God. What I don’t believe in is using my tax dollars to promote God. God promotes itself everyday when the sun rises in the morning, when the rain comes, when the birds sing us beautiful songs. I don’t need to see a cross in a publicly funded facility to convince me God exists and is all powerful.
I’m sure Jesus has a few words to say about this? Oh he does;
1 John 5:21;
Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
I say this as a Christian, that cross should be removed. I respect one’s religious rights, but that does not mean you should be able to proactively promote your religion on public grounds with the obvious intent to make a public statement in favor of religion and a particular religion at that.
There is a difference between protecting the religious rights of a public employee versus suggesting there is a constitutional right to promote your religious beliefs as a public employee at the expense of a public entities duty to be neutral on the question of religion and its promotion.
If the pubic employee who placed that cross on that window had placed it instead within the confines of their desk carrel, or had a Bible on their desk, that would be totally different, but when you put that religious symbol into the eye of the public domain, where it’s attached to a public building, then you are actively violating the separation of church and state doctrine and promoting religion with the suggestion that it is endorsed by such public building and its overseeing governmental body.
The school district only has the janitors’ snowblowers, no plows, thus it must rely upon publicly owned windows.
It’s gone!
( and Woodstock adds: “Great!”…. “Now, if only we could get rid of that ‘Workforce Development’ bullshit, which has permeated our educational system”…. “Hell, if they would just raise wages around here people would naturally seek a vocational career after K-12 without the need to channel some of our students into a non well rounded education after the 7th grade”….. )
There are what? Ten to fifteen school district officials between the administration and the board, who attend a school board meeting, right? And at the last board meeting I attended, only two of them were wearing masks. What gives here? They appear to me to all be a bunch of articulate and well educated local leaders in education, who promote science and the teaching of science as either educators themselves, or the positive facilitators in the teaching of science. Yet, during a pandemic, a vast percentage of the officials at our local school board meetings do not wear masks? I even overheard one of the officials telling a Sioux Falls business leader, who was in attendance, that he would shake his hand, but he doesn’t want to be crucified right now. What?
It is sad that this culture war, that developed over the question of wearing a mask, has seized the common sense of most of our local educational leaders, who claim to be for science, who fund science, and help to maintain its teachings.
Apparently, these educational leaders are either afraid to do what is right, or they are allowing their emotional intelligence to override their scholastic intelligence; which an educated people should better know, then to allow to happen.
VSG
“Say, since people aren’t wearing masks, does that mean people can start frequenting restaurants after the pandemic without shoes and shirts, too?”…. #Cool #WellIHadAnAppetite