Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Federal Judiciary Blogs -> Supreme Dicta

Federal Judiciary

: Supreme Dicta

God Save the Commonwealth of Kentucky! (because the government doesn't intend to)

Here's the most outrageous headline of last week: "Atheists sue to take God out of state's terrorism law" (from the December 2 Lexington Herald-Leader). WTF, you might ask? Here the details:

An atheists-rights group is suing the Kentucky Office of Homeland Security because state law requires the agency to stress "dependence on Almighty God as being vital to the security of the Commonwealth."

Edwin Kagin, a Boone County lawyer and the national legal director of American Atheists, said he was appalled to read in the Herald-Leader last week that state law establishes praising God ? and installing a plaque in God's honor ? as the first duty of the Homeland Security Office.

The requirement to credit God for Kentucky's protection was tucked into 2006 homeland security legislation by state Rep. Tom Riner, D-Louisville, a Southern Baptist minister.

The plaintiffs ask for the homeland security law to be stripped of its references to God. They also ask for monetary damages, claiming to have suffered sleeping disorders and "mental pain and anguish."

On one level, this lawsuit is pretty pointless. You're losing sleep over this? What drama queens. Besides, there are numerous entanglements of religion and government (from "In God We Trust" to the Pledge of Allegiance) that the Supreme Court sustains on grounds they are de minimumus, i.e. they are so insignificant that no one should give a s&^#. Even the Declaration of Independence ends with the phrase: "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

What disturbs me isn't the First Amendment problems, it's the homeland security problems. The Commonwealth of Kentucky has engaged in celestial outsourcing for its homeland security needs. It reminds of a satirical Salon article from 2001, entitled "Bush Unveils Faith-Based Missile Defense." The parody quotes President Bush as saying: "Faith-based missile defense will be constitutional and fully consistent with the way the Founding Fathers expected this great nation to handle ICBM threats." There is one small difference, of course. In Kentucky, this isn't a witty satire, it's actual government policy!!

From a pragmatic perspective, this is retarded, but I think theologically this strategy is also incredibly stupid. First of all, if the Religious Right is correct, God might actually want to cause terrorism, not prevent it, because it would cause the apocalypse needed to bring the second coming of Christ.

But from a more reasonable theological position, I don't believe that God keeps his people safe by swooping in on some magical horse just before an attack. Rather, God keeps his people safe by endowing us with intelligence necessary to formulate a terrorism prevention plan and bless us with the resources necessary to fund it...unless you live in Kentucky. Here's a clip from the West Wing that better explains this argument (skip to the 3:15 mark, unless you are bored at work):

Congratulations, Kentucky! Thanks to Governor Blagojevich, the American people are too focused on Illinois to realize how badly things are fu$#@& up in the Bluegrass State.

Full post as published by Supreme Dicta on December 11, 2008 (boomark / email).