The Voice of Heard/Remembering the Existence of Civil Liberties

I have been wanting to write down this blog for some time. But I kept getting sidetracked by routine habits I have at home (i.e., playing video games, walking around, self-talk, surfing the Internet, etc.). Well, here it is and I'm sorry for the delay.

If you have ever taken a class on U.S. History and our government, then you should know the First Amendment of the Constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

In other words, the government cannot establish an official religion and require U.S. citizens to abide by it. The First Amendment also allows everyone to practice their own faith, as long as it is not used by any state--including a state university, college, or school districts--to make converstions and denigrate other faiths. That is the point that Matthew LaClair has been making while he was still a high school student in Kearny, N.J.

It wasn't easy for him, as most of his home town turned against him as soon as it was revealed that he had secretly recorded his history teacher, David Paszkiewicz (pronounced pass-KEV-ich), promoting his personal religious and creationist beliefs during class.

For more information on this latest event in the history of the church/state seperation debate, check out the links below:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/18/nyregion/18kearny.html

This article was one of the first of many that made the controversy in Keany, NJ public. This link also features the recordings made by LaClair during Paszkiewicz's class, which prove that the U.S. history teacher has been proselytizing during class. (Note: It may be hard for you to hear them due to some background noise.)

http://www.telegram.com/article/20080713/NEWS/807130407/1116

In this article, Worcester humanists hear of LaClair's experience with trying to get the local school board to take action against Paszkiewicz and how his hometown ended up supporting Paszkiewicz due to his popularity.

http://www.aclu-nj.org/news/aclusupportsstudentchallen.htm#

This link shows that the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) supports LaClair's challenge to the preaching teacher.

http://www.aclu.org/students/34399res20080314.html

This is a scholarship essay for the ACLU written by LaClair which discusses his experience in defending civil liberties during his high school years.

LaClair also made headlines earlier this year by pointing out flaws in a textbook on the U.S. Government. For more information, be sure to read the blog I have written on the topic, which is titled How to Spot Errors and Bias in a Textbook by a High School Student.

Since this country has civil liberties, how many people actually care about them? Is it because they are backing away from situations where they can stand up for those liberties? How strong is our concern for the very liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution? Is it our fate to forget that they even exist?

If we want to keep our civil liberties, I say we follow Matthew LaClair's example. As an American, I am proud to have those rights. In order to stand up for our civil liberties, we must not let fear hold us back. If we continue to be afraid to defend those very rights, we might end up losing them. That is the price we could all end up paying for not showing more concern for the liberties that have been guaranteed by our country for more than two centuries.