By Frank Muller Santa Monica
In regards to John W. Whitehead’s “Losing our religion, or at least our opinion of it” (SMDP, Aug. 9, page 4): Because the characteristic of freedom of speech is relatively fixed to strengthen the system of separation of church and state outlined in our Constitution, I suggest that sensation-seeking plaintiffs and their collaborating attorneys that bring cases like: “No prayers in school,”“no mention of ‘liberty under God,’”and other socially accepted inspirations of togetherness are without doubt the cause of this loss of religious freedom of speech.
What compels judges who are also lawyers to even consider these cases, while whimsically by summary judgment dismissing cases brought about by citizens who have been wronged by entities like insurance companies, corporations and our government, all of which have the greater bargaining power, is an anathema to me.
For crying out loud, what does a child understand about separation of church and state? A wronged adult surely makes a conscious effort to right a wrong and he is often denied due civil process, and if he or she is lucky to get a day in court, the all-mighty corporation and state-owned appeals court will probably overturn any remedy coming to the plaintiff, albeit the lawyers get to keep their fees.
Mr. Whitehead, you are preaching to the choir when it comes to people’s lack of assertiveness in rewriting our Constitution. An English friend of mine who is accustomed to hearing soap-box deliberations in Hyde Park in Australia on any weekend once laughed at our Constitution by saying that if this document was so important, then why does America have so many lawyers and so many bills that are constantly voted into new laws?
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 17, 2006. Read the original PDF.