Note:  I take accuracy very seriously.  The blog below, due to misreporting at WND, actually has two parallel stories reported in it, not one story.  I will make corrections inline, and apologize for the confusion.  Thanks to reader Mila Newton who kindly pointed out the mistake which lead me to research and discover the discrepancy.  LSU

At a school in Louisville Kentucky last week, the ACLU and a Muslim an unidentified student successfully blocked the graduation prayer at a local High School. Note- The gender and religiuous affiliation of this student is yet unreported, though a local source claims it was a male student who is not Muslim. LSU

The story is at Stop The ACLU:

ACLU Successfully Censors Religious Expression at Russell County Graduation

Courier-Journal

A federal judge on Friday blocked the inclusion of prayer as part of Russell County High School’s graduation ceremonies.

U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley granted a temporary restraining order sought by a student who doesn’t want prayer to be part of the graduation exercises on Friday.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on behalf of the unidentified student on Tuesday. ACLU attorney Lili Lutgens said any clergy-led prayer would be unconstitutional because it would endorse a specific religion and religious views.

The story continues.

Muslim Student, ACLU Fight Graduation Prayer

We reported on this earlier about an “unidentified student” that was offended by the idea of a prayer at the Russel County Graduation, WND has more details.

Note:  This is a seperate, yet similar story in the same area as the story above.  This story was misreported (below) as being at Russell County High, but was in reality at Shelby County High.  The source, WND, has since corrected their article on the web, and I will correct it likewise.  This section should have been used to show a similar case in the area, it was not directly related. LSU

A federal judge in Louisville, Kentucky, granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting a prayer from being said during graduation ceremonies at an area high school after a Muslim student on the planning committee objected and garnered the help of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Arshiya Saiyed, a senior at Russell Shelby County High School, said she was working on plans for the ceremony, scheduled for last night, with the senior panel when the issue came up, according to WHAS-TV in Louisville.

“Terms like Jesus Christ, heavenly father, I talked about the fact I was Muslim and the prayers in the past were offensive to me,” the 17-year-old said.

Saiyed claimed that almost immediately after objecting to the prayer, she was harassed by a group of students. One student told her he wanted her out of the country, she related to WHAS.

(Note:  I fully condemn the harsassment and bigotry she faced for expressing her beliefs.  -  LSU)

Well the final chapter has been written at Russell County High.  The students have taken action in a liberally approved method:  Disobedience.

Students Make A Stand For Their Rights, Defy ACLU And Judge’s Order To Censor

One thing is for sure, the liberals can’t say this was government endorsed. I applaud these young men and women for standing up for their rights, and setting the example for others. The ACLU filed suit on behalf of one student who felt offended that a prayer would be included in their graduation ceremony. U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley granted a temporary restraining order sought by a student. Here is how the students responded to the attempts to censor them.

The senior class at a southern Kentucky high school gave their response Friday night to a federal judge’s order banning prayer at commencement.

About 200 seniors stood during the principal’s opening remarks and began reciting the Lord’s Prayer, prompting a standing ovation from a standing-room only crowd at the Russell County High School gymnasium.

The thunderous applause drowned out the last part of the prayer.

The revival like atmosphere continued when senior Megan Chapman said in her opening remarks that God had guided her since childhood. Chapman was interrupted repeatedly by the cheering crowd as she urged her classmates to trust in God as they go through life.

The challenge made the graduation even better because it unified the senior class, Chapman said.

“It made the whole senior class come together as one and I think that’s the best way to go out,” said Chapman, who plans to attend the University of the Cumberlands with her twin sister Megan.

The graduation took place about 12 hours after a federal judge blocked the inclusion of prayer as part of Russell County High School’s graduation ceremonies.

Note:  Nothing in the following paragraphs is substantially incorrect.  The fact that this was happening at two different schools in the same area is simply an indication that the problem is as widespread as I contend it is.  My assessment stands, that there is a constant struggle in the name of diversity and respect that is in and of itself direspectful and intolerant.  I have inserted a few additional comments for clarification only.  LSU

Well, there ya go.  Nothing liberals like more the free speech, and a little civil disobedience.  A pity they had to be compelled to do so in this case when there were so many better alternatives.  In the case of Shelby High, was she offered the opportunity to make a Muslim prayer as well?    Wouldn’t that have settled the issue in truly diverse fashion, rather then in exclusion and and sanitization?

You see, I am trying to see all sides of this.  I fully understand why people of other then Christian faiths might not feel comfortable with a typical Christian prayer. In this case it was a Muslim.  In other cases and places, it could be a Jew, a Hindu, a Budhist, a Wiccan or any of the many other faiths in America. 

The mistake our culture makes is trying to limit exposure to the dominant religion to avoid offense to the minorities.  The better solution is to build mutual respect by allowing inclusion of others and make the matter truly diverse.

The popular definition in far too many cases is to celebrate diversity be removing Christianity.    Exclusion instead of inclusion.  That is once again intolerance for the sake of tolerance.

With the immigration issue still at the center of so many discussions, it once again must be repeated that when our politicians court diversity with images of a melting pot and such, that should mean inclusion of all, not exclusion.

So next time, maybe let the students of all faiths work together to offer a multi faith benediction.  Seems to me I have seen that done before, to great success.

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