Be a Hero: Defy the Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights is really the only legal obstacle in the path of America becoming a Christian theocracy governed by the laws of God and Jesus Christ as set forth verbatim in the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible. Many Christians would love that. They have little respect for constitutional rights except, that is, for their own rights.

In fact, had the founders not wisely and promptly amended the Constitution with that Bill of Rights, this country would have devolved into a dictatorial Christian theocracy long ago. There would be no protections for free speech; for religions or philosophies other than Christianity; no right to bear arms; no prohibitions against unreasonable searches; no right to due process; and on and on; no constitutionally guaranteed individual rights at all.

The United States of America would not be much different than Islamic Republics today such as Iran and Saudi Arabia, except the religion would be Christianity. 

Intelligent people should understand this and be grateful for the fact that, theoretically at least, our fundamental individual human rights require respect and enforcement under the law. We must not tolerate any violations whether considered large or small.

If that is not so then the rights of all of us are in jeopardy.

Unfortunately, not all intelligent people feel that way about the constitutional rights of others. When it comes to the rights of others they have no qualms about disrespect, even outright defiance. And many would call such people heroes.

Those who don’t recognize and respect the constitutional rights of others cannot rightfully complain then when the government tramples upon the Bill of Rights in situations like what is happening today, for example, with the Obama administration using the IRS to target political opponents, the DOJ victimizing the press, and the NSA eavesdropping on the private activities of all Americans.

One such Bill of Rights scofflaw is a smart assed little Bible thumping punk from Pickens South Carolina, who decided to use his class valedictorian speaking opportunity at his high school graduation ceremony to deliberately defy the United States Constitution as well as school administrators by proselytizing his Christian religion to the captive audience, the majority of whom naturally was Christian.

Roy Costner got this bright idea when he learned that he had been selected as the top academic student in the graduating class. He was summoned to the principal’s office. “She informed us that we could not have anything about religion or talk about God or Allah or whoever we choose to worship,” he admitted. “And they had to approve the speech prior to me going onto stage.”

Never-mind that, he thought to himself. He decided to make a big theatre production that day by dramatically ripping up his preapproved speech in front of his audience and then launching into a recitation of the Lord’s Prayer, all the while knowing full well that he was disrespecting the rights of minority students and parents by shoving his religion in their faces at their public school graduation ceremony, a once in a lifetime occasion which, for good reasons, is supposed to remain secular.

“I think most of you will understand when I say, ‘Our Father, who art in heaven,” he prayed as the crowd began to cheer. He concluded by pointing to the sky and saying, “For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.”

Fuck you, and every one of you non-believers out there! That’s what this little wise guy was telling the non-Christians in his captive public school audience.

Of course, the Christian crowd loved it. They cheered him on as a hero. After all, they are sick and tired of that meddlesome Bill of Rights provision known as the First Amendment Establishment Clause which is supposed to protect the rights of everyone. They’re still angry about the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court has held that public school prayers, including prayers at graduation ceremonies, are unconstitutional. They have no problem with defying the Supreme Court and the Bill of Rights when it comes to non-believers.

After his little stunt, Costner went on national television with the Fox News channel to be praised once more as a courageous young hero by commentator/lawyer Megyn Kelly for his deliberate defiance of the law. She loved it too.

This is the same Megyn Kelly who rails against the Obama administrations on a daily basis for its trampling on the Bill of Rights, especially in the case of her own Fox News Channel reporter James Rosen who was targeted as a criminal by the DOJ in a false affidavit to a federal judge for the purpose of eavesdropping on his private email and telephone records. 

A school district spokesperson said the valedictorian will not be penalized for what he did and Costner told Fox News that he has absolutely no regrets. “I’m happy with what I did,” he said. “I want this to glorify God. I want to use this as a witnessing tool and I hope others will stand up for God in our nation.”

“Our community is very passionate about prayer in our schools,” he declared. “I began writing the speech and I knew from the start that I was going to include prayer… I was always taught to stand for what I believe in... That’s what I believe in. I was thanking my God before everyone. I wanted to give him a shout-out…We are not in a country where we have freedom from religion…  We have freedom of religion.”

He’ll be attending Clemson University in the fall to study computer science.

Obviously, he doesn’t believe in the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights, except insofar as it protects his rights. He has no respect for the First Amendment Establishment Clause or for the rights of others. He actually beleives he has the right to force feed his Christian religion to everyone in public schools whether they like it or not. They should not be free from his religion in their own public school.

If this kid had been an atheist student who ripped up his speech and then launched into a defiant spontaneous diatribe about how glad he was to know that gods are imaginary and religion is a hoax, the uproar of righteous indignation among that crowd of Christians would have been deafening. Little old ladies would have fainted in the aisles. He might have been dragged from the podium by the angry mob and thrashed to death for violating their constitutional rights and ruining their graduation ceremony.

But Atheists are usually fairly reasonable, responsible, logical people who respect the rights of others and expect only the same in return. So I’d be mighty surprised if an atheist kid ever pulled off a stunt like that, much less have gotten away with it. If he did he shouldn’t be allowed to graduate with his class and his freshman year at Clemson should rightfully be delayed at least one semester.

Instead of any punishment at all, however, this little smart assed punk is deemed a first class American hero for defying the Bill of Rights.