Bong Hits 4 Jesus v. Scholastic Authority
That’s what the teenager’s sign read as the Olympic Torch passed through Juneau, Alaska and the cameras rolled: "Bong Hits 4 Jesus". Joseph Frederick, as part of a school group allowed to leave Juneau-Douglas High School grounds to watch the quasi-historic event, unfurled his banner at the opportune moment. For that he got ten days suspension.
He is suing the school’s principal for violation of his freedom of speech. That was in 2002. Last summer, former White House special counsel Kenneth Starr petitioned the Supreme Court on behalf of the school district to adjudicate the case. As the Wall Street Journal aptly shouted: "Starr Goes From Cigars to Bongs."
As the case is heard, Religious E-zines have followed the story, some with wry bemusement, some with fire and brimstone. Some in the latter community believe the nature of the case is religious, not civil, and fear the association of their beliefs with illegal drug use. Thankfully, some Christian groups are keeping their heads clear on the matter:
"It’s disrespectful to God and disrespectful to believers," said Kevin Theriot, an attorney for Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal network based in Arizona.
Nonetheless, a number of Christian heavy-hitters, including ADF, the American Center for Law and Justice and the Christian Legal Society, have filed briefs defending the student.
"I’ve been doing religious (legal) work for almost two decades, and in my opinion this is probably one of the most dangerous cases to religious freedom in the last decade — because you don’t think it’s about religion," said Kelly Shackelford, chief counsel for Liberty Legal Institute. The Plano, Texas-based institute has filed a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of the student.
The Education community is also anxiously awaiting the verdict. To them, this case represents a blurring of jurisdiction between the school’s view that , because the teenager and his friends were at a school outing, and because Mr. Frederick refused to drop the banner when asked by the school’s principal, Deborah Morse, the suspension was warranted.
The crux of the case is as follows:
“The phrase ‘Bong Hits 4 Jesus’—to me, it’s absurdly funny,” said Joseph Frederick … “Of course,” he added in a conference call with reporters this month, “I knew there was a possibility that some people would not take it well.”
[…]
“We didn’t view the sign as serious speech on a political topic,” said Peggy Cowan, the Juneau superintendent, who was an assistant superintendent at the time.
Absurd it is. Morse V. Frederick is a classic example of the occasional absurdity inherent in what passes for Civilization in this century. It also exposes the fragility of the more paranoid sectors of the Christian community who gleefully torch anything remotely ill-associated with their Jesus - no matter how petty and, yes, absurd.
Yesterday the Supreme Court heard the arguments; the third court to review this case. Its decision, no doubt, will heavily influence the continued rise or disastrous fall of Civilization itself. Your tax dollars at work.