The decree had been signed and proclaimed throughout the realm that on a certain
day hundreds of thousands of men, women and children would be cruelly, and
without mercy, put to death. Issued by Xerxes I, king of the Persian empire from
485 to 465 B.C., the decree came at the request of an evil adviser who sought to
rid the kingdom of the Jewish people. A young Jewish woman named Esther, who had
become queen, risked her own life and saved the lives of her people.
Esther – like Joan of Arc, Martin Luther and George Washington – altered the
course of history by taking a lonely stand in the face of strong opposition and
at great cost. Inspiring his |
— Judge Roy Moore — |
fellow countrymen to a patriotic zeal for their country despite
the hardships they faced, revolutionary pamphleteer Thomas Paine
once wrote, “I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can
gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection.
‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart
is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue
his principles unto death.” At a time in our country when
principle has given way to power in the political process and
liberty is sacrificed to political correctness and the passions
of corrupt politicians, we need men and women of courage to
stand for truth and justice. Fortunately, we still find such
individuals among us.
Naval Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt served our country for 15
years until he was given an order that he could not follow: Do
not pray in the name of Jesus at public military functions.
Risking his military career, Lt. Klingenschmitt publicly
objected to the new policy of the secretary of the Navy and
continued praying in the name of Jesus at public functions. The
Navy then proceeded to court-martial the chaplain and quietly
discharged him from the Navy, depriving him of retirement
benefits despite his stellar service record. Though his personal
sacrifice was great, it yielded results. Because of the
attention Chaplain Klingenschmitt had brought to Navy and Air
Force policies restricting chaplain prayer, Congress ordered
those policies revoked, giving back to chaplains the freedom to
pray as their consciences dictate.
In another recent incident, at New Jersey’s Bayonne High School,
valedictorian Jeremy Jerschina took his own brave and lonely
stand, one that denied him the opportunity to address his fellow
graduates at the school’s commencement ceremony. When Jeremy was
first given the opportunity to speak as a reward for finishing
first in his class, he was excited and expressed his desire to
pray during his speech. In Jeremy’s words, “God and Christ are
the reason I did how I did in high school, and are what I stand
for most.” School officials wrongfully told him that prayer
would violate the constitutional separation of church and state,
and gave him an ultimatum: Remove the mention of God from his
address or do not speak at all. On graduation day, Jeremy
informed Principal Richard Baccarella that he could not deny his
belief in God and therefore would not give the commencement
address.
A callous disregard for Jeremy Jerschina’s religious beliefs and
freedom of expression deprived him of the opportunity to give
his high school commencement address as the valedictorian of his
class. But Jeremy’s willingness to sacrifice and stand up for
his faith has no doubt inspired countless others to do the same.
More recently, a resident of Fargo, N.D., by the name of Martin
Wishnatsky decided to take his own stand for God. Wishnatsky
contested the decision of the Fargo City Commission to remove a
Ten Commandments monument, which had remained undisturbed on
city property for almost 50 years. He organized a petition drive
to have the question of the disposition of the monument put
before the voters in an election. Needing 2,850 valid signatures
to have the issue placed on the ballot, Wishnatsky collected
over 5,000 signatures, which he presented to the commission on
July 2. Faced with overwhelming evidence of the people’s will,
one commissioner changed his vote on the matter and the
commission decided 3 to 2 to reverse their earlier decision. The
Ten Commandments monument will remain as a public acknowledgment
of the sovereign law of God because of the dedicated and
courageous leadership of one man.
One need not be a national leader or an important figure in the
eyes of the world to make a difference for faith and freedom.
All we need, as Paine noted, is a stout heart and a conscience
directed by God to stand up for what is right. Just like Lt.
Klingenschmitt, Jeremy Jerschina and Martin Wishnatsky, you
never know when your opportunity will come, but when it does, do
not shrink from the service appointed to you. Draw strength from
God and “pursue [H]is principles,” even unto death.
Judge Roy Moore is the chairman of the Foundation for Moral Law
in Montgomery, Ala., and the author of “So Help Me God.” He is
the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court who was
removed from office in 2003 for refusing to remove a Ten
Commandments monument he had placed in the Alabama Judicial
Building to acknowledge God. He can be reached at
www.morallaw.org
