Letters to the Editors

Schools shouldn't promote one faith over others

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 7, 2000

Re: Bible battle brewing in schools, July 30.

Bible study in public school? Let's not and say we thought about it! Call me a rabble-rouser, but Hazel Eakins' proposal to introduce Bible studies into Pinellas County schools is simply a bad idea -- as bad as proposing to teach the Rig Vedas, the principles of Dianetics or the ideas of Robert G. Ingersoll (a 19th century atheist) in our public schools.

The training ground for tomorrow's leaders should not be transformed into a sounding board for any faith above all of the others. Rather, it should be transformed into a sounding board for an often-forgotten American value, that of religious tolerance.

With all due respect for Eakins' faith and her sincere good intentions, what she is proposing is not so much "an opportunity for kids to study the Bible" as it is an opportunity for her to introduce Christian indoctrination into public schools.

High school students in Pinellas are already introduced to religious texts as part of their world history courses. A separate study course on just the Christian Bible is not needed, especially one that is apparently designed to assist children in developing their powers of belief over logic and critical thinking. Teaching children to give up logic and critical thinking where religion is concerned is very harmful and unfair to them.

I believe that sanctioned after-hours Bible study classes or clubs could have a place on school property, and I am a supporter of school prayer, so long as we do not limit ourselves to the Judeo-Christian belief system.

Religion is a part of American society, and there is no reason to pretend that it does not exist. But there are many belief systems and picking only one out of the pile to say, in effect, "we uphold and support this belief over all the others" is simply narrow-minded and unfair -- two principles I do not wish to impart on our young leaders of tomorrow.
-- G. Allen Pettingill, St. Petersburg

Look who's backing Bible class

We appreciate the article in the July 30 St. Petersburg Times alerting the public to the fact that a Bible battle is brewing in schools. But "all because of Hazel Eakins"? Hardly!

Hazel Eakins is simply a local person being used as a front for the National Council on Bible Curriculum in Public Schools, a right-wing organization based in Greensboro, N.C., which boasts an advisory board that includes Dr. D. James Kennedy, clergyman leader of Coral Ridge Ministries, and Bill Bright, founder and head of Campus Crusade for Christ.

Eakins appeared briefly at a School Board meeting on May 9 and then gave over her entire 10 minutes of speaking time to a minister who presented the argument for the NCBCPS Bible curriculum.

Three members of the board of directors of our Tampa Bay chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State (including Jeanne Pugh, former religion editor of the Times) spoke on May 9 in opposition to the NCBCPS proposal, and we have since submitted additional material to Superintendent Howard Hinesley and the Pinellas County School Board.

The quote from Hazel Eakins in the July 30 piece reveals the true objective of those who propose a course on the Bible in our public schools. "They teach them evolution, so why can't they teach them creation... ?" she said. Because, Ms. Eakins, evolution is acknowledged to be science. Creation is acknowledged to be a matter of faith, properly taught in church Sunday schools.

We hope and trust the Times will keep the public informed if and when this subject comes before the School Board for decision.
-- Sidney M. Goetz, president, Tampa Bay Chapter, Americans United for Separation of Church and State, Gulfport

Teach all creation stories

Re: Bible battle is brewing in schools, July 30.

I read with great interest the article of yet one more attempt by a "born again, spirit-filled" individual to force her chosen rhetoric into the public school system.

Hazel Eakins claims that for our children to have a "complete" education, they must not only be taught evolution but creation as well. In typical "born again, spirit-filled" fashion there appears to be only one alternative to evolution, and this would be the Christian Bible version of creation.

I find no fault with the Bible being used as a historical document, any more than any other document that has come down through history, through many hands and many rewrites and edits to suit the "powers that be" and their needs and desires at the time. And it cannot be denied that this has happened with the Bible as it has happened with many other "historical" documents of mankind over the ages.

But there are many alternatives to the Christian creation theory, and if you are truly concerned with our children having a real choice and a complete education then offer them a well-rounded humanities course that touches on many different cultural viewpoints, not just one.

Every belief system has its own creation story. And in all fairness to objective choicemaking and the ever shrinking global community in which we live, if you are going to teach one then teach them all.

Freedom of religion means all religions.
-- Diana Fernandes, Pinellas Park

Not all students are Christian

Re: Bible battle is brewing in schools.

For all her good intentions, Hazel Eakins is terribly misguided. Apparently, she believes erroneously that all children in public school are Christian. In fact, the demographics are quite diverse.

I am not stating that the Bible does not belong in public schools. Conversely, I do believe it belongs in a comparative religious perspective course or as a part of a total humanities curriculum. However, it has no place as a history or science course.

It would seem that we have enough problems teaching our youth fundamental core classes in many cases without dragging religion into the mix. Those who agree with Eakins do have a choice, and that choice is private religious schooling. It is certainly fundamentally unconstitutional to teach one religious perspective over another.
-- Pat Horton, St. Petersburg

Criticism of Marquis unfounded

Re: Replacing Marquis, Aug. 1.

Your editorial on Pinellas County Administrator Fred Marquis is an embarrassment to the Times and its readers. I am speaking as a senior manager in Pinellas County government, but also from the experience of a career in county government in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. I have worked for a number of county administrators and, as a Hillsborough County commissioner, had several county administrators work for me.

Yes, as government leaders, we all see where we could have done better, and we are aware of and work to address the concerns of our citizens. However, you fault Fred Marquis with criticism that is without foundation.

You criticize Marquis because he did not challenge Commissioner Chuck Rainey on the water wars that caused "wasted tax dollars" on legal fees. The legal fees amounted to $10-million; the alternative Rainey opposed will cost more than $1-billion. The alternative is to move away from renewable, high-quality fresh groundwater resources to the high-energy-consuming, manufactured, potable water from non-potable sources. Rainey's position was to have the state provide for distribution of Florida's abundant freshwater resources from where they exist to where they are needed. This has been society's solution to the allocation of resources since civilization began and has also been the mechanism for water supply in the world, the nation and other parts of Florida. Rainey's view will ultimately prevail.

Fred Marquis did present Rainey and others with views and positions that were his own even when they conflicted with the commission's views. These were spirited when they needed to be and took place in regular commission briefings in their offices.

Your criticism of Marquis on traffic and growth fails to make a case. The comprehensive planning and Penny for Pinellas projects in this county far exceed what other growth counties in our state have achieved. Could some of the current road construction have been completed earlier and some of the congestion avoided? Certainly. To some extent, that would have required then-current residents to tax themselves to build roads for future residents. The point is that all of these plans were publicly debated and adopted after many sessions by our elected representatives.

I have known Fred and watched his service from here and other places since 1971. The many accolades being said of him and the enormous benefit to county citizens for his efficient and professional leadership are truly deserved. Some have difficulty in recognizing greatness among us.
-- Pick Talley, director, Pinellas County Utilities, Clearwater

Taking a stand against tobacco ads

Re: Teens push county to regulate tobacco ads, July 13.

I would like to commend the Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) and the Hillsborough County commissioners for their actions to change tobacco advertisements in stores. These students and their parents should be proud of their actions. The students presented hard evidence regarding tobacco advertisement at 400 stores in Hillsborough County.

As a nurse of 20 years, I have taken care of many patients with severe lung diseases caused by tobacco use. When talking with these patients, I find that many of them started smoking at an early age, from 10 to 15. They became addicted to the nicotine and started the disease processes in their lungs without being aware of the lasting effects of smoking. So many of these patients wish they'd only known what the lasting effects of smoking were prior to starting. They tell me that if they had it to do over again, they never would have started. It is horrible to think that these patients made one bad choice at an early age that changed their lives forever.

I have a teenager involved in the SWAT program in Pinellas County, and we have discussed the group's following in the footsteps of the Hillsborough group. If the change in advertisement saves one child from not smoking, the efforts will be worth it!
-- Donna Butler, Gulfport

Moving words

Re: The boot camp poets, July 26.

As the saying goes, some things can make a grown man cry. I was really shaken by the poems in this article. Technically, most of them only faintly resembled poems, but they did what poems are supposed to do. They got hold of me where it hurts and shook me until I could take no more. It has been a long time since any "professional" poems have touched me so deeply. Those poems were a terrible, pitiful cry for help.
-- Alton Hickok, St. Petersburg

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