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

DATE: SATURDAY, July 8, 1995                   TAG: 9507100142
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: DANIEL R. MITCHELL
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

LET SYMBOLS OF LOVE, HOPE ALSO GO PUBLIC WITH IMPUNITY

ONCE AGAIN, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that it's legal to burn crosses in the public square. As reprehensible as ``hate speech'' is in a public forum, it must not be disallowed at the expense of the First Amendment. I agree. If the First Amendment doesn't grant the right to dissent, however controversial, it grants nothing of value to freedom or to celebrate on a Fourth of July. Of course, this doesn't grant the right to illegally trespass or to destroy private or public property. But there are already appropriate laws to contain such criminal behavior.

Now, if the First Amendment grants the right to use the language and symbols of hate in a public place, is it not equally legitimate to employ the language and symbols of love? During the cold winter solstice, the manger scene delivers mute testimony to the virtues of love, hope and peace. That the creche is also a religious symbol is quite beside the point. So is the cross! In fact, it's the nature of all language, as symbol to be of service to a society to communicate all ideas known to it.

It's irrelevant that concepts such as love, justice and mercy (or for that matter damnation, hell and dung) are in the Bible. I have an acquaintance who resorts to what he calls ``church words'' whenever he gets frustrated. I have even heard a few civil libertarians employ such ``religious symbols'' - and on public property at that!

I lived for many years in New England, which is famous for its quaint picturesque villages and towns. Americans celebrate its rustic beauty on calendars and in paintings that decorate their homes. If you look closely at these pictures, adjacent to the building with the steeple on it, you will see an open grassy area. This is called the ``common.''

In colonial times, the common was an open pasture available for use by any citizen who needed it. Most lived on small plots in outlying areas with little or no space for grazing. The common was especially useful for craftsmen and tradesmen, as opposed to wealthy landowners and farmers. It was for anybody's cow. It was for public use.

In time, the common became a convenient place for community activities. In fact, it became the spawning ground for the American Revolution. It was here where people gathered to hear the voice of dissent. It was here also where they congregated to hear itinerant preachers, as variegated as John Wesley, George Whitfield and, later, Elias Smith, Lorenzo Dow, Joseph Smith and William Miller. It didn't matter that the opinions expressed were political, social, religious, sectarian or conventional. This was America. Here, even the common folk had a right and place to be heard.

I believe the Supreme Court is correct on this issue. On the common, anyone's cow can graze - from egghead to skinhead, from politician to preacher, from rich to poor, from majority to minority. This is America. My right to be heard doesn't depend on how I wear my hair or my collar. In the public square, every opinion is sacred, no matter how obnoxious or idiotic.

I often browse in flea markets. I have seen carloads of junk, and have even bought some of it. In America, we buy some items with guarantees; others with warnings. Sometimes you can't tell the difference. But it isn't the business of government to interfere unless the trade is illegal and/or dangerous.

The creche is a symbol embraced and treasured by Christians. That it became commonplace in the town squares of America indicates the ideas expressed in this symbol weren't the sole property of Christians. I submit that they aren't even necessarily religious. They are common property of humanity. As a Christian, I can view the manger with reverence for the savior who entered history to deliver mankind from sin and slavery. But were I a Hindu, Hebrew, Buddhist or agnostic, I could still appreciate the creche as a symbol that calls to mind that a man from Nazareth (however understood) brought hope and light to the world. The symbols and aspirations of justice and peace, love and compassion, joy and hope belong to us all.

I say it's time to tear down this fallacious ``wall of separation'' from the public square, and grant to all Americans (including religious ones) equal access to the First Amendment. Christian ideals aren't like some toxic experimental chemical, nor are they dangerous contraband from which unsuspecting consumers need to be protected. They are more like milk and honey. They are the values that invite us to take a deep breath and inhale the fragrance of life.

If it's granted that bigotry and hate may light the midnight sky with burning crosses, I say it's time to grant a corner on the public square to peace and good will, symbolized in the creche. It's time to reignite a flame of love, hope, and joy to the world.

Daniel R. Mitchell is pastor of Grace Baptist Temple in Roanoke.

by CNB