Friday, September 14 was designated by President Bush as a National Day of Prayer. He came to New York that day to view firsthand the remains of the World Trade Center and to spend time with rescuers and the surviving family members of those who died.
We applaud the president for his decision to call for a National Day of Prayer. We couldn’t help but notice, though, that the usual suspects who oppose any public expression of religion went mute. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the American Civil Liberties Union and People for the American Way always go ballistic whenever an event like this takes place. But this time they decided to shut up.
We’re glad they did. But we won’t give them any relief the next time we confront their spokesmen in debate.
Unlike them, we don’t have to deviate from our policy positions because of external events. If it is wrong to have a National Day of Prayer when we are at peace, then it should be wrong to have one when we are at war. But the fact that the separation of church and state fanatics shied away from blasting Bush for his September 14 decision shows that even they don’t have the stomach for their own medicine. Too bad they don’t learn something from this and just pack it in.
