
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 20, 1993                   TAG: 9306220354
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: D-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

SECOND-GUESSING THE FIRST AMENDMENT

CODY Lowe's June 13 column ("School prayer is one very misunderstood issue") contributes to continued misunderstanding of the issue. His version of the applicable clause of the First Amendment is: " . . . government - incarnated as the public schools, in this case - may not `establish' a state religion."

It actually says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . . " How could simple and straightforward words be so perversely interpreted as these have been during the past 30 years?

Did those who fought for the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution have the opportunity to see their work in action? If so, how strange they would see fit to allow prayers in public schools and in the halls of the U.S. Congress. Why did they sit idly by while their first president offered public prayers for the new country? How could succeeding generations allow those dreaded words of trust to appear on our money?

Apparently, our founders could not properly interpret the document they had written. Oddly, it took almost two centuries for us to connect the toe bone to the shoulder bone and decide that public schools are an extension of Congress.

Issues such as school prayer illustrate a change in the basic beliefs of America. Our forefathers had faith that, given the freedom to do so, Americans would overwhelmingly serve that "Creator" spoken of in the Declaration of Independence. It appears that the freedom given us was a long rope, and we are steadily using it to hang ourselves. CLONNIE H. YEAROUT ROANOKE

by CNB