It happened to me, on a local level, with my school board.

I really hate repeating this over and over, but when it happens to you, attempted abridgement of First Amendment rights is scary.

Up to that point, I had gone out of my way to make sure that the Christian majority received all due respect in my household, and that I did my best to honor their requests professionally not only without rancor, but with enthusiasm. That was before the school board wars.

I still try to behave the same way as before, knowing that many Christians are trying to act like Christians, and that I need to behave like a defender of their First Amendment rights no less than anyone else's. To a large extent, remembering these things helps me to succeed. But my heart was radicalized the year a bunch of fundamentalists made it OK for non-Christians to be threatened physically in the high school by fundamentalist use of anti-non-Christian (I won't insult Christianity by calling it "Pro-Christian") rhetoric at public meetings in which they held positions of authority. When they were elected to run the schools for all the children and decided that all the children should be educated in conformity with their religious beliefs, I became alarmed.

When John Ashcroft speaks, he sounds like these people. The difference is, they were penny-ante local school board directors, and he is the chief law enforcement official in the land. I wonder whether he will interpret his duty the way they did. He gives me a very bad feeling. I've learned not to ignore feelings like these.

Regards--
Mary Anne