The News-Messenger from Fremont, Ohio • 4

3 VIEWPOINT THE FIRST AMENDMENT Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Tuesday, July 25, 1995 A4 Editorial Page Editor Joyce Huntley, 332-5511 ext. 150 The News-Messenger, Fremont, Ohio Constitution: No national religion Traffic safety near Ohio 53 must be priority Commentary Linda i i Plans to develop the newly annexed area north of Fre cnavez Editorial Other views on President Clinton's religion speech: "There's good news in that the president made a strong case against changes in the First Amendment. But there's also an attempt to push the envelope on what is permitted. I've been getting calls from worried Jewish parents asking: 'Does this mean my child is going to have to listen to Christian Laura Murphy, ACLU director "I'm for prayer in the schools, but the president is trying to outmaneuver conservatives.

As Southern Baptists, we feel there should be a strong separation of church and state." The Rev. Daniel Sotelo, El Enclno Community Church, Fresno, Calif. the majority of the Congress that actually passed the amendment or the state legislatures that ratified it. Today, we are too religiously diverse to even imagine any state declaring an established religion. But it is nonetheless hard to understand how we got from a First Amendment that permitted that practice to an interpretation that the same amendment banned all religion from the public schools.

Certainly not from the plain language of the amendment or its legislative history and it took more than 150 years to get there. Nonetheless, by the 1940s, the Supreme Court began to pay great deference to Madison's and Jefferson's view that a wall of separation should exist between church and state. And in 1962, the Supreme Court declared that wall should keep state-sponsored prayer out of public schools. The court's decision never has been popular with the American people. Most polls show about 60 percent to 70 percent of the public supports prayer in public schools.

President Clinton knows he has little to lose by easing up on the restrictions against religious expression in school especially if he does so in a way that gives something to both sides on the school prayer issue. Those who favor school prayer get a presidential directive to all school districts that students have the right to pray individually or in groups so long as school officials aren't involved BETHESDA, Md. President Clinton must have shocked many young Americans last week when he declared that "nothing in the First Amendment converts our public schools into religion-free zones or requires all religious expression to be left behind at the schoolhouse door." For good reason. They've been indoctrinated for years to believe that religion in the public schools is positively un-American. Ask most young people what the First Amendment says about religion, and you're likely to hear a lot about the "separation of church and state." At least, that's been my experience when talking to high school or college students.

The brightest usually will mention the "wall of separation between church and state" as if these words constituted the amendment itself. They are often surprised to learn what the amendment actually says: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." And they're downright stunned when told that the intent was to prevent only the establishment of a 1 national religion. The first Congress, which passed the amendment in 1789, did not intend to prohibit individual states from sanctioning "official" churches or enforcing the right of established churches to collect mandatory tithes from member and non-member alike. Nine of the 13 colonies had established churches, mostly Anglican, on the eve of the American Revolution. But by the end of the Revolutionary War, most states had disestablished their Anglican churches owing to popular resentment of the church's links with the British Crown during the war, as the late Russell Kirk pointed out in his book "The Roots of American Order." Still, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Connecticut maintained established churches (Congregation-alist in all three states) for 50 years after the Revolution.

Of course, James Madison, the principal author of the religious liberty clause in the First Amendment, opposed all established churches in the states, as did Thomas Jefferson. In fact, Jefferson is the source of the "wall of separation" dictum, a phrase he used in a letter he wrote in 1802 to an assembly of Baptists. But neither man's view was supported by and they don't try to coerce other students. Those who oppose prayer get to slow the momentum for a school prayer constitutional amendment. It's not a bad compromise.

Who wouldn't rather see students voluntarily praying with their peers during the school day than being pressed to do so by adults? It's also one less amendment required to fix a court misreading of the Constitution. Write Linda Chavez at Gannett News Service, 1000 Wilson Arlington, 22229-0001. mont should include efforts to keep traffic in that area flowing smoothly and safely. City officials are marketing 40 acres east of Ohio 53 for industrial development. Wal-Mart already is building a new store there and Lowe's plans to have a store in the area by spring.

According to Mike Jay, the city economic development coordinator, the area up to the Ohio Turnpike could have a commercial area complete with specialty stores, hotels and professional buildings. These plans, if they become reality, will be good for the area's economy. But city officials need to be prepared for all the contingencies such a development could bring to the area. It is not enough to think in terms of the economic development only. It is important that city officials be aware of the safety impact as well as the social impact more people and traffic could mean to the community.

Our area is one of the busy tourist throughways around. It is important that safety for both tourists, workers and customers be a priority. Plans to keep it that way must be built into plans for the commercial or industrial developments. City officials must plan ahead for increased fire and police officers and equipment as well as for roads, intersections and traffic signals to ensure traffic flows smoothly and that no bottlenecks result. It is evident from the increased traffic in the area now that it could become a problem if more businesses locate in the area.

It is not too early to begin planning now to meet problems in the future. OUT TO Write On U.S. House Paul Gillmor, R-Port Clinton, 5th District. Washington address: 1203 Longworth House Office Building, Washington D.C. 20515.

Phone: 202-225-6405 or 1-800-541-6446. Local: 120 Jefferson St. 2nd Floor, Port Clinton, Ohio 43452. Phone: 734-1999. U.S.

Senate John Glenn, 503 Hart Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510. Phone: 202-224-3353. Michael DeWine, 140 Russell Senate Building, Washington, D.C. 20510.

Phone: 202-224-2315. Ohio Senate Karen Gillmor, R-Old Fort. State address: Statehouse, Columbus, Ohio 43266-0604; phone: 614466-8049; fax: 614-466-7662. Local: P.O. Box 150, Old Fort, Ohio 44861.

Phone: 992-4783. Ohio House Rex Damschroder, R-Fremont, 89th District. State address: Ohio House of Representatives, 77 S. High Columbus, Ohio 43266-0603. Phone: 614466-1374.

Local address: 1014 Bir-chard Fremont; phone: 355-1022. voice of the People Donations for theater sought The future of the Stranahan Theater and Great Hall at the Masonic Complex in Toledo is somewhat questionable. Many people in our area have used this beautiful facility in viewing a variety of entertainment over the last 25 years. Most people thought this building was strictly maintained and financially supported by the Public has no right to watch a man die Commentary Tony Snow Masonic fraternity. This is partially true in that the west portion of the building is owned and maintained by the Toledo Scottish Rite.

Seven Masonic Blue Lodges, six chapters of the Order of Eastern Star, three Bodies of York Rite Masons and several other Masonic groups rent portions of the fraternal side of the building. The east end of the Complex, consisting of the Great Hall and the Stranahan Theater, is a separate corporation and operates as such. Since its inception 25 years ago, the Stranahan Foundation has been the single largest contributor. This support may not always be there so the Stranahan Theater and Great Hall Company should be self-supporting. Over the years an endowment has been started which can only use the interest earned for self support.

The Lounge seats in the auditorium (reserved seating in balcony wing) have been "sold" to large corporations, and there is an "Adopt-A-Seat" program for the refurbishing of the seats at $300 each. All of these programs have helped to make the Theater and Hall stronger, but we still have a long way to go! The Stranahan Theater and Great Hall at the Masonic complex is truly a valuable asset to northwest Ohio. I am confident that many northwest Ohioans share this belief and, therefore, as a board member of the Masonic Toledo Trust, the private corporation that owns the Stranahan Theater and the Great Hall, I have taken on the project of seeking financial support from the southeast Michigan and northwest Ohio area. We need to expand our financial base of support, and invite you to be a contributor to this excellent facility. If you care to donate or have questions answered, write to me at 8050 East County Road 62, Green Springs, Ohio, 44836, or call me at any time at 419-639-2800.

Claude E. Young Board Member Masonic Toledo Trust Green Springs Nobody asks to see delivery-room pictures (almost nobody takes them, thank God). So why should the public get to gawk at someone else's moment of death, especially if the person has not fallen prey to injustice, war or some other addressable evil? Imagine: A South Carolina jury will not see pictures of Susan Smith's boys strapped to the seats of their death car. The public won't get a chance to view Nicole Brown Simpson's nearly severed head or hear Christa McAuliffe's last cry. But Matthew Tassio and Fabio Casartelli have become macabre exhibits, like stiffened animals by the roadside.

Most of us will remember their pictures long after we have forgotten their names. Our natural curiosity robs them of dignity. But worse, the public display steals their families' right to private grief. Some things don't belong on front pages. Editors could have performed a noble service by filing the compelling images away for a long, long time until the pictures could emerge as pieces of art rather than mincing reminders that somebody's boy just died.

Write Tony Snow, Creators Syndicate, 5777 West Century Suite 700, Los Angeles, Calif. 90045. the hearts of family members who cannot stop their boy from dying? Then, there's Fabio Casartelli. Casartelli was speeding down a mountain pass last Tuesday during a stage of the Tour de France. His bike failed to negotiate a curve, bumped a block of concrete at nearly 60 miles per hour and tossed him into the air.

He landed on his face and rolled into a fetal ball. In a photo distributed globally, he looks like a sleeping child eyes closed, features relaxed. But something is amiss. Bright.ribbons of blood rush down the pavement, like tributaries of a distant stream, and a man kneels in obvious alarm. Casartelli died soon after.

Today, his wife mourns while their 4-month-old child cries for food. No doubt the mother has pored over the picture her husband, a bicycle, some concrete barriers framed by purple mountain ridges. She sees her Fabio alive but doomed. Despite the illusion that one can suspend time, she knows better. The two photographs dramatize the power of an unblinking camera.

But they also illustrate the potential for abuse. Death is every bit as personal as birth. Both involve moments of blazing intimacy, suitable for loved ones only. WASHINGTON My mother died in a cool hospital room as my father whispered and stroked her hand. Dad called out to our minister, who slipped through the door as she drew her final breath.

My brother and I heard the gasp from the hallway. And that was it. We kissed her goodbye and filed out into an unknowing world. None of us have discussed that day since, but it occupies a special place in our hves. The experience belongs to us alone.

We protect the memory as if it were an heirloom, which it is. It defines us and binds us. Every family deals with death in its own way, but friends usually play a key role usually by respecting survivors' need for some solitude. Unfortunately, not everyone understands. Consider two pictures that have appeared all over the world during the last fortnight.

One features 22-year-old Matthew Tassio being tossed in the air by a bull in Pamplona, Spain the site of the famous running of the bulls. Every detail of the photo mocks the victim. There he is, looking like a college kid angular, loose-limbed, black hair waving. He is clad in baggy shorts, a T-shirt, athletic socks and running shoes. One can imagine the scene: Keepers release the bulls.

Matthew jumps into the street, then stumbles. The herd rumbles closer. He glances up, facing a choice: Lie still, or make a run for it. The picture records his decision to scramble: He is looking at a point just beyond his feet, a patch of cobblestone that promises safe haven. At that very instant, a bull is driving a sharpened horn through his ribs.

The photo thus captures the nanosecond that separates life from death the joy of the chase from the awful realization: I'm gone. It is no more possible to ignore this image than it was for citizens of the Wild West to pass up a Sunday hanging. It summarizes life his and ours. Nobody likes to watch young life ebb away. Everything in our natures impels us to shout, to reach out, to do something when we see the image.

But if the sight unleashes pangs of frustration on our part, what rage do you suppose wells up in YOUR OPINIONS We want to hear from you. To send your comments: EDITORIAL BOARD All editorials are opinions of The News-Messenger editorial board, which includes: Jim Daubel, publisher and editor Joyce Huntley, editorial page editor John Dye, executive editor Tom Lelte, circulation director Roy Wllhelm, associate editor Jeanne Dleterlch, community member ROb BOUklSSen, news editor Joanne McDowell, community member LETTERS POLICY We welcome your letters of 300 words or less, a maximum of one per month, please. All contributions are subject to editing for length and grammar, and must include name, address and phone number for verification. CALL: To arrange a guest column, call Editorial Page Editor Joyce Huntley 332-5511, Ext. 150.

WRITE: Voice of the People, Ea FAX: Our 24-hour The News-Messenger, number is, Box 1230, 332-9750. Fremont, OH 43420.