{"id":164,"date":"2009-04-29T11:25:32","date_gmt":"2009-04-29T11:25:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/04\/no-jay-the-toe-tapping-will-ha.html"},"modified":"2009-04-29T11:25:32","modified_gmt":"2009-04-29T11:25:32","slug":"no-jay-the-toe-tapping-will-ha","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/lynnvsekulow\/2009\/04\/no-jay-the-toe-tapping-will-ha.html","title":{"rendered":"No, Jay, the Toe Tapping Will Have To Go"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, Jay, we didn’t agree about holding graduations in churches.  It looks like we won’t agree on what students can say or do at graduation, either.<\/p>\n

Songs which mention God are usually called “hymns.”  Hymns are prayers set to music.  Prayers should not be a part of a public junior high graduation ceremony.  Although the facts you relate in your post about the California case are pretty sparse, it seems completely appropriate for the school to veto inclusion of a “song [that] mentions God” at the event.  (Frankly, I’d prefer never to see tap dancing on general principle, but the First Amendment wouldn’t allow a government body to bar such performances all together.)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Now, let’s look at a few other possibilities.  Should a toe-tapper be allowed to perfom a song by my pal Roy Zimmerman<\/a>, which pokes fun at religion?  No, because schools are supposed to be strictly neutral on this topic. Should a student speaker be able to turn his or her graduation address into a sermon <\/a>warning that any audience members who don’t convert to Christianity that night will burn in hell for eternity?  No, if such a speech is known to be coming, school officials have every right and responsibility to instruct the student that this is inappropriate.  Now, should that student be able to thank Uncle Ralph, his mother, and Jesus for helping him through high school?  There, I’d say “no big deal.”  That really is a personal observation only.<\/p>\n

So, let’s see the lyrics of your California tap dancer’s tune.  If it is the modern hymn it sounds like, it has to go.  If “God” is some fleeting reference (a spiritiual equivalent to John Lennon’s line in “Imagine” that notes “imagine no religion”) maybe the student should be cut some slack.  Only upon seeing all the facts will we know if this is censorship or a commonsense action by a school that understands the First Amendment.<\/p>\n

To subscribe to “Lynn v. Sekulow” click <\/font>here<\/font><\/a>.<\/span><\/span> <\/span><\/font><\/font><\/font> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, Jay, we didn’t agree about holding graduations in churches.  It looks like we won’t agree on what students can say or do at graduation, either. Songs which mention God are usually called “hymns.”  Hymns are prayers set to music.  Prayers should not be a part of a public junior high graduation ceremony.  Although the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":164,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,11],"tags":[111,395,132,138,51,67,131,137],"class_list":["post-164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-censorship","category-public-schools","tag-censorship-2","tag-first-amendment","tag-graduation","tag-hymns","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-public-schools-2","tag-tap-dancing"],"yoast_head":"\nNo, Jay, the Toe Tapping Will Have To Go - Lynn v. 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An accomplished speaker and lecturer, Lynn has appeared frequently on television and radio broadcasts to offer analysis of First Amendment issues. News programs on which Lynn has appeared include PBS's \"NewsHour,\" NBC's \"Today Show,\" Fox News Channel's \"O'Reilly Factor,\" ABC's \"Nightline,\" CNN's \"Crossfire,\" CBS's \"60 Minutes,\" MSNBC's \"Countdown with Keith Olbermann,\" Fox News Channel's \"Hannity & Colmes,\" ABC's \"Good Morning America,\" CNN's \"Larry King Live\" and the national nightly news on NBC, ABC and CBS. On the radio, Lynn serves as host of \"Culture Shocks,\" a daily look at various issues affecting society and the culture. In the 1990s he served for two years as regular co-host of \"Pat Buchanan and Company\" and after that did a weekly syndicated radio program, \"Review of the News,\" with Col. Oliver North. Lynn is a regular guest on nationally broadcast radio programs, including National Public Radio's \"All Things Considered,\" \"Morning Edition\" and \"Talk of the Nation,\" as well as having appeared on national networks such as CBS Radio, CNN Radio, ABC Radio and AP Radio. Lynn began his professional career working at the national office of the United Church of Christ, including a two-year stint as legislative counsel for the Church's Office of Church in Society in Washington, D.C. From 1984 to 1991 he was legislative counsel for the Washington office of the American Civil Liberties Union. In 2006, Lynn authored Piety & Politics: The Right-Wing Assault On Religious Freedom (Harmony Books). In 2008 he coauthored (with C. Welton Gaddy) First Freedom First: A Citizen's Guide to Protecting Religious Liberty and the Separation of Church and State (Beacon Press). Lynn writes frequently on religious liberty issues, and has had essays published in outlets such as USA Today, The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Nation. Lynn also has op-eds published frequently by the McClatchy and Scripps-Howard newspaper chains. A member of the Washington, D.C. and U.S. Supreme Court bar, Lynn earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in 1978. In addition, he received his theology degree from Boston University School of Theology in 1973. 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