Beautiful lakes, incredible scenery and unforgettable wildlife. The breathtaking Flathead Valley has a lot of aesthetic value to offer. But, like a brilliant cactus, the Valley has its prickles, as well. Within these mountain confines, problems are deeper than a few needles. At first glance, the Flathead seems an ideal place to live, but a closer look reveals the conservative religious attitudes that operate our small community. The most obvious of this is shown right here at FHS. “March For Jesus” posters adorn the halls and a bulletin board has been established to glorify students who have chosen to abstain in the name of Christ. These relatively harmless examples are just the tip of the iceberg at FHS. Religious conformity seeps from the fluorescent lights that illuminate these classrooms. There is no bulletin board for students abstaining for Buddha or for students who can’t get a date. These pushes for conformity are reflections of the religious intolerance that are part of life here. Without ever vocalizing it, our community emulates an attitude that the Christian God is the only God. Somehow, this romantic view of God gives the community justification to violate the constitutional rights of students. The separation of church and state is no longer a black and white line, it’s now a hazy, gray attempt at a line. Last spring, a powerful editorial was written in “The Arrow” regarding this obvious violation, yet the school did not address any of the issues that the author presented. Not only is this action a violation of the seperation of church and state, but it is also a religious violation because non-Christians are not given equal time. Instilling a sense of spirituality is not part of any public school employee’s job. Churches were established for finding God, and public schools for receiving an education. There should not be an overlap of these two concepts. Teaching religious intolerance by converting a public school into a Christian church makes the beautiful lakes and incredible scenery less inviting. The green cactus of our Valley is no longer brilliant. Now, it is dull and hidden by the ever-growing needles. |
