CNN's Glenn Beck - Liberty in Peril: What You Need to Know
On October 24, 2007, CNN's Glenn Beck focused on the growing effort among some to remove any vestige of our religious heritage from the public square. In his show entitled, "Liberty in Peril: What You Need to Know." Beck interviewed Colby May, the Director of the ACLJ's Washington office. Here is a transcript of that interview.
GLENN BECK: I don't know about you, but I as an American, I'm tired a lot of the time. Our country is being ripped apart, and it seems at times as though it's being ripped apart in every direction.
If you're a Christian, you've been hearing people for a long time: "Shut up, take baby Jesus out of the public square."
It seems ironic that God plays such a divisive role in our country when our Pledge of Allegiance says we're "one nation under God", our currency says "in God we trust". In court you have to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God.
Why is there a growing movement to divide us, to drive a wedge between God and our country?
Don't get me wrong. I am a member of a once-persecuted religion in this country. I definitely want to keep the state out of my church. However, you can't deny that our Founding Fathers firmly believed that our liberty was endowed upon us by our creator, and they're not talking about George Washington.
Colby May is the director of the Washington office of the American Center for Law and Justice.
Colby, I just want -- I want to take three quick stories. First of all, California court reporter and a group of them barred from reading -- having a Bible study at lunch. How is this possibly not a violation of our individual rights?
COLBY MAY, DIRECTOR, WASHINGTON OFFICE, AMERICAN CENTER FOR LAW AND JUSTICE: Well, it is. And in fact, what's really troubling about it is that this is a voluntary -- you come and participate if you want to during a lunch break at the courthouse in San Diego.
And the idea that others can gather, as is the policy there, and do what they like during their lunch-hour break, but somehow we can't permit this activity to take place, really is troubling.
BECK: OK. So let me just -- let me just hit this next one. Utah local government fighting to maintain display of monument showing the Ten Commandments. Same kind of thing.
MAY: Same kind of thing. You've got Pleasant Valley, Utah, which has had a monument of the Ten Commandments up for more than 50 years, given to it by the Fraternal Order of Eagles in the 1950s, and now they're being challenged being able to keep that monument up.
BECK: OK. Here's what I don't understand. How is it that we can say baby Jesus has got to get out of this town square, Ten Commandments have to be out of the town square, you can't meet for a voluntary Bible study in a public building, while Thomas Jefferson in his letters wrote praises that people were using the courthouse because they couldn't afford churches. Like four different congregations were using the courthouse in his hometown. And that was cool.
And at the same time they're driving Christians and Jews out, we're building foot baths for Muslims in airports and in universities, and nobody seems to care. And I don't have a problem with the foot bath thing, but for the love of Pete, why is it this way for other religions and Christianity you're toast?
COLBY: Well, there has been a really concerted effort, I think, since the end of the Second World War by some left-leaning groups like the American Civil Liberties Union, who basically believe that any vestige of the American history which reflects that we were a country founded by religious refugees...
BECK: Oh, jeez.
COLBY: ... and therefore they rely upon things beyond us for their very survival, that that has to be sought out. It has to be rooted out of any sort of public demonstration or public display of it. But we obviously oppose that vigorously.
BECK: Colby, I have to say, the ACLJ does great work. And please, if you've never heard of it, look into it.