Posted on 06/22/2006 10:46:58 AM PDT by UnklGene
High School Valedictorian Refuses to Bow Down; Has Speech Censored
June 21, 2006
Brittany McComb was the valedictorian at Foothill High School recently. She graduated with a 4.7 GPA. She earned the right to address the other graduates at Foothill, located in Henderson, Nevada.
She gave a copy of her graduating speech to the school administrators. It contained some Biblical references and even mentioned (one time) the name “Christ.” The school administrators censored some of the Biblical references. They also censored the single reference to Christ.
Then the school officials handed the speech over to the ACLU for approval and/or more censoring. After getting the OK from the ACLU, Brittany’s speech (minus the censored references to the Bible and Christ) was approved. Brittany was warned that if she deviated from the ACLU approved language, her mike would be cut off.
Then came the moment for the big decision. She would not bow down, she decided. She would go with her original version. She stepped to the mike and began her speech. But just before she could utter the name “Christ,” her mike went dead. School officials silenced her. The crowd of 400 jeered for several minutes, angry at the action of the school officials. The ACLU was happy. They had silenced another Christian.
“I went through four years of school at Foothill and they taught me logic and they taught me freedom of speech. God’s the biggest part of my life. Just like other valedictorians thank their parents, I wanted to thank my lord and savior,” Brittany said.
Because she refused to bow down to the ACLU’s idol of gold, she did not get her wish. She was censored.
This young heroine deserves praise and a thank you from those who believe in free speech.
Sounds like USSR. Nobody brought a bull horn as a backup?
Just how in the Hell do a bunch of loonie jerks like the ACLU gain so much power?
WHAT THE F--K?
This is a tough one for me. While I don't want to see any particular religion promoted, I don't want to see first amendment rights violated either.
At this point, any American parent who sends their kids to government schools is coooooooooooooooRAZY.
She was interviewed on one of the Fox shows or Hannity and did complete it, but is soft-spoken so only those who sat in the front several rows in the large assembly hall heard it. Of course, she was also drowned out by the jeers and shouting for the microphone to be turned back on.
"Just how in the Hell do a bunch of loonie jerks like the ACLU gain so much power?"
Asked and answered. The master of hell.
Congress can't, but the ACLU can.
> The ACLU was happy. They had silenced another Christian.
Really? So... this girl will never speak again?
> "Just how in the Hell do a bunch of loonie jerks like the ACLU gain so much power?"
> Asked and answered. The master of hell.
Now, now... Algore can be blamed for many things, but in this case I don't think he was involved.
Exactly what do you think the words "free exercise thereof" meants?
Why is it a tough one for you? What do you not understand about free speech? Note the key word: "free." That means we're free to speak. In a public high school. Note that word, too: "public."
You try to quash my freedom to speak freely about my "particular religion," and see what happens.
So in the end, we have to keep the very slight minority happy... great democracy
In this case, it was an individual making the statements, not the official policy of the school.
Those are two different issues. Obviously, you do not want the government to run a church based school. But you also should not censor individual student's (and teachers I might add) statements of their personal beliefs.
Separation of church and state as a concept was NEVER intended to keep an individual from being exposed to other peoples ideas. In fact, at it's root is a philosophy intended to make sure YOU ARE exposed to other peoples ideas.
I am solidly behind this brave young lady.
When we said "Free Speech" we didn't mean for you. :P
-Leftist Mantra
The gov't is NOT establishing a church; an individual who earned the right to speak, was silenced. This is a public event, and a citizen was denied the right to address a crowd; not because of attempts to incite a riot, not because of slander, not because of an intent to promote an atmosphere of hate, but to thank publically God for their accomplishments.
If the topic had been "My American Jihad", the speech would likely be manditory attendance.
Jfk said it well:
We are not afraid to entrust the American people with unpleasant facts, foreign ideas, alien philosophies, and competitive values. For a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people. ~John F. Kennedy
I find this girl to be an obnoxious pest. If she is so principled, why didn't she decline the invitation to speak when her speech was edited by the school (which isn't unusual, even if I disagree with their edits)?
No, this principled wondergirl agreed to the changes and then reneged on her promise.
Obnoxious.
She should have known she was going to be censored and she should have edited her copy for review. The school officials then would have been unprepared to cut off her mike.
Is it true that his autobiography is titled "An Incontinent Goof"? ;-P
The ACLU wants the religion of secular humanism, as defined by the blackrobed ACLU-loving judges, to be worshipped by every organism on the planet. Christian beliefs compete with ACLU power and financial incentives.
Let see:
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.
I don't see anything in there that says speaking of one's faith is a form of the government "promoting any particular religion".
You might want to study up on the other 9 amendments in the Bill of Rights .. they're breathtaking.
"Standing in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the traffic from both sides." --Margaret Thatcher
She DID know. The school administrators reviewed her speech well before the commencement and told her that her comments were inappropriate and had to be changed. Instead she chose to lie to the adminstrators and continue on with a speech she had already been told she couldn't give. In another thread on this topic I said she should have raised a stink about it before the commencement, but she chose not to, likely because, as sinkspur said, she wouldn't have gotten any attention for doing that.
If the valedictorian were Muslim at my child's school, I sure as hell wouldn't want to be hearing "praise Allah" during his speech. I doubt any of you would either.
The point isn't whether I want to hear it or not ... the point is that the First Amendment (prior to the pc police taking control) guarantees the right to say it.
"This is a tough one for me."
Not for me, real easy. Why, in this country, would you not be able to say this. You have got to be kidding me. I guess if she reference Allah, that would be alright.
I see your point. At first I was thinking that the school was sponsoring it, but that is not the case. Whether she was referencing Allah or Jesus or Vishnu, it shouldn't matter because it is her speech and her opinion. It's not being forced or mandated.
If the valedictorian were Muslim at my child's school, I sure as hell wouldn't want to be hearing "praise Allah" during his speech. I doubt any of you would either.
Where in the article did it say she "agreed" to anything? She stood and proclaimed her love for her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and credited Him for her success. May God Bless and keep the courageous young woman.
By censoring her, they violated her free speech rights, and her free excercise rights. The ACLU should be DEFENDING her!
She will never speak as Valedictorian in front of her class and their relatives again.
Exactly.
Big whoop. Nobody much remembers that kind of stuff two weeks later, let alone two years or twenty years. It's the kind of things mom's love, and underachievers in life bring up when they sit at bars alone in the early evening giving the questions on Jeopardy on tv.
If you talk to them, invariably they will tell you how all their friends say they should try out for Jeopardy, but when pressed for some names of some of these friends, they get confused.
The correct solution - which will never happen - is simply to abolish public screwels.
"She DID know. The school administrators reviewed her speech well before the commencement and told her that her comments were inappropriate and had to be changed."
That being the case, she should have edited her speech for review and then given her original speech. Officials would have been ill-prepared to turn off her mike.
What you "want to hear" is irrelevant in a constitutional republic.
How about people just having the intelligence to realize that a Valedictorian speech should be about 5 minutes - start out with a joke, mention a quote by JFK or MLK, try hard to apply the quote to high school, some mishmash about one chapter ending and another beginning, thank the teachers and parents, congratulate your peers, and just keep the show moving on a hot June day so people can get on with the post-ceremony fun.
As bad and as cliched as that rough outline is, it's far preferable to am obnoxious pest who got the idea that her tippy top grades somehow make the Valedictorian speech all about her.
Do you have a reputable source confirming that she agreed to the changes? If so, please enlighten us.
***> The ACLU was happy. They had silenced another Christian.***
<<<Really? So... this girl will never speak again?<<<
It's truly a shame that you were unable to understand the implication of the sentence to which you replied. Perhaps we should all type slower to accommodate your comprehension level.
Or perhaps you intended your question as humor. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, but trust you will apologize for your mistake.
with a lot of help from groups like the communist Party USA,
Democratic Party, Ku Klux Klan, And certain churches that
have traded the truth of God for a Lie.Balwin was a smart con.He taught his soldiers to wrap themselves in the flag and pretend they shared the PAtriotic interests of most Americans.
Sheesh- judgemental much? You "reason" like a liberal....big on opinion, but low on logic.
Yeah. Freedom sheemdom.
They ought to just stop allowing students to be represented at their own graduation.
In fact they ought to just abolish commencement altogether. Who remembers it, anyways? Unless any event is guaranteed to etched equally and equitably in the minds of every attendee, involved high achievers and losers alike, it should just be done away with.
The schools can just mail out the diplomas to an ACLU-approved list of graduates, since that's all that matters about graduation.
***Stuff like this shows that people well along the way to spiritual salvation can, indeed, be obnoxious pests.***
Christ was considered an obnoxious pest by the pharisees.
4.7 GPA?????????
The names of these school officials need to be published and information about them released. Incredible that they would run to the ACLU for approval. My guess - they are members of ACLU and/or NAMBLA or similar organizations.
There was nothing obscene, improper, or hate-filled in her comments. The school had no excuse to censure her. Whatever ACLU stands for, freedom of speech is not one goal (except for those who hate religion).
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