God Bless America has been getting beat up pretty good the past couple of weeks.
First it was the Flyers, cutting ties with their "good-luck charm," songstress Kate Smith and her powerful rendition of the patriotic song, over some controversial, racist song lyrics she performed a couple of generations ago.
They ticked off their fan base by banning Kate - and the song. And then threw some salt in the wound by first covering her statue that had sat in the South Philly sports complex for decades in a black shroud, then removing it altogether.
Now it's Springfield School District's turn in the spotlight.
The Delco district drew some national attention last week when they announced they would no longer have the principal at Sabold Elementary School lead children in reciting the words "God Bless America" after the daily Pledge of Allegiance.
The pledge remains; God Bless America is out.
You can imagine the reaction.
The district received a complaint from a parent, who contacted the Freedom From Religion Foundation, who in turn asked the school to stop the practice.
The key to this seems to be the notion of school Principal Peter Briggs leading them in reciting the phrase. To some, that conveyed the notion of sponsoring religion.
So the school is ending the practice.
Kids can still say God Bless America on their own if they so desire, they just won't be led by a school official.
Us? We remain forever thankful for the First Amendment. It's what protects what we do here every day. And not just us, but every other American citizen as well.
We don't think for a moment that the school district's decision is going to mollify at all those who see it as a cave-in to the latest wave of political correctness to grip the nation.
But we think it was the right compromise.
You can read our editorial here.
Comments