A message of support for Matthew LaClair

[Guest Guest]

Mr. LaClair--

Good work. I hope you never lose your ability to judge things for yourself.

[Guest Craig Pennington]

Matthew,

Full support from Virginia, home of James Madison, author of _A Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessment_ ; a document the contents of which your history teacher seems woefully ignorant.

[Guest Chris]

Matthew,

Congratulations on standing up for what you believe in. Don't worry about those who accuse you and your family of conspiring against this terrible teacher in order to make money - thinking people know that you stand to see no financial gain from your whistleblowing.

Other kids should be so lucky to have parents taking an active role in what happens at their children's schools!

Chris

Portland, OR

[Guest Will Von Wizzlepig]

Good work, Matthew.

You did two things many people don't bother with-

you educated yourself as to your rights,

and you stood up for them in the face of certain conflict and controversy.

Beyond that, I personally commend your secret recording of your teacher and subsequent burning of him in front of the principal- I wish you had recorded that, too, I'd love to hear it all.

If people like you were more common, there'd be a lot more fairness in the world.

To any person angry at Matthew:

The ignorant masses have had their moment in the sun, and that era is over. GROW UP.

[Guest Titus]

When I read about this thing, I couldn't believe it happened in New Jersey. And not just anywhere in New Jersey, but not far from where I live. But I was happy to read about how you dealt with it, sorry you have to deal with the negative fallout. Keep up the good work, you've got plenty of support.

[Guest GoMatthew]

Thank you for standing up, Matthew.

[Guest Janet from Michigan]

I guess nobody bothers to teach that the Founding Fathers, who deemed the separation of church and state to be an important premise, were Christians themselves.

In their own words: "But it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg."

-Thomas Jefferson, Notes on Virginia, 1782

After reading about this teacher's unconscionable behavior in a taxpayer-funded classroom, a sensible person can see our Founding Fathers were on to something. Condemning high school students to hell is not part of his job description, at least I hope not.

Matthew, stick by your guns.

[Guest Kait]

You did the right thing, Matt. If you were my son, I would be bursting with pride.

Ignore your critics - one day they may understand our Constitution; right now, they are simply ignorant.

[Guest Dogscratcher]

Matthew,

Thank you for making the public sacrifice to expose this teacher. And well done, covering your butt with the recording: it is often the most vocal "moralists" that are first to lie to try to save their own bacon. The foresight to record this putz was inspired.

It is too bad that the NY Times didn't see fit to mention his bald-faced denial. They want to be "balanced," but though there are always two sides to a story, at least sometimes, one side is clearly wrong. In this case, his.

Know that you have support in this country, even though it seems like you don't locally.

Good luck, DS

[Guest Trish]

Hey Matthew,

Just wanted to add my voice to the many supporters you obviously already have here. It really stinks that some of your "friends" deserted you over this. From their responses, though, it seems like you're better off without them. I can't believe the ridiculousness of some of the people at your school. It made me so angry to hear the recordings and read some of the posts here. I can't imagine so many people saying such idiotic things. I respect you so much for having the courage to come forward in that kind of environment. Keep fighting, and remember, for every glaring person at your school, there are a hundred others who read your story and support you. Good luck.

-Patricia

[AbrashTX]

Matthew, thank you for your bravery. You struck a blow for the separation of churce and state.

[Guest R C Jenings]

Matt:

Thanks for your efforts, you're a tribute to this thing we call Democracy, that needs to be reborn in every generation, in sweat and toil.

Thanks and welcome to the club.

[Guest Louis]

Matthew, thanks for understanding our great Constitution better than that so called teacher and his supporters do. They would like to see us like Afghans and do not deserve our freedom of and from religion. You are the true American and should be proud.

[Guest BoldAtheist]

Matthew, you did us all favor by standing up to just one teacher. That's how we have to deal with this, one person at a time.

Chicago, IL is behind you!

[Guest zoe]

Matt,

Something similar happened in my high school over twenty years ago and I let it pass. I have regretted it ever since. Regardless of the outcome, I predict that you will never regret standing up for what you believe to be right.

Viva la revolucion!

[Guest Mike Haubrich]

Europe is a good place for all you "like-minded people". Please stay there.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I suppose Europe is a great place for the "like-minded people." Perhaps that pesky James Madison should have stayed there as well. He was the one that warned us that if a religion became entwined in the government then we might as well set a beacon to those who seek true freedom that they are coming to the wrong shores.

Google "Madison remonstrance" and read. This is as important to illustrating the 1st amendment and the thoughts behind it as is Jefferson's letter to the danbury baptists.

Keep at it, Matthew. Only with eternal vigilance can we maintain our freedoms.

Mike

[Guest bdub]

One's religious beliefs have no place in public school if coming from an authority figure. Plain and simple. Those of you who support this, so called, teacher need to wake up.

[Guest grimmstail]

Matt,

I'm not sure I would have had the courage when I was in high school to do what you did. Good for you.

[Guest Matthew Rettenmund]

It's embarrassing that in America any teacher would feel it is his or her place to proselytize in the classroom. Can you imagine the outrage if a Muslim teacher had tried that? Or a Jewish teacher? Or an atheist? It's completely, completely unacceptable and any Christian who feels it's free speech needs to realize that there are curbs to free speech in a classroom setting. What I don't understand is why the Muslim girl he told would go to hell is not also upset or filing a complaint? Christians, enjoy your afterlife. But there is never any excuse for an adult to tell someone else's child in a public school, "You are going to hell."

All support to this brave kid who spoke out.

[Guest SmellyTerror]

Onya man! Took guts, you should be damn proud.

I mean, take a look at the quality of the folk who are criticising you. Idiots all. That's got to tell you you're on the right side.

That little herd of sheep that owns high-school social life? They become seen - rightly - as pathetic after you graduate. The social order pretty-much reverses, and folk with moral courage like you are the guys who rise to the top. Getting hammered by some of your peers is hard, but hang in there. You are right and they are idiots.

[Guest dustin locke]

Matthew,

Word.

-Dustin

[AlanB]

Socrates. Jesus of Nazareth. Galileo. The Jews. Matthew. For what it's worth, as the Northern Sun T-shirt goes, Matthew at least seems to be a heretic in decent company. A shame, though, that, instead of adults teaching a high schooler how to uphold this country's foundational values, we need a high schooler to teach the adults. The founding fathers would gratefully approve, Matthew. Thank you.

[Guest Kseniya]

A lot of people support your position, Matthew, and just about all of them are smarter and better-educated than the teacher you exposed. Hang in there.

"Religious liberty is a crucial aspect of a free society. People must be free either to accept or to reject religion or particular expressions of religion. Otherwise, they have no freedom of choice to determine their beliefs and the institutions that embody their beliefs about the universe, human nature, peace, justice, and comparable matters. Given the fact of strong religious conviction and competing religious groups, religious liberty can be guaranteed only in a secular state. A secular state is not hostile to religion. It can be defined as a state that is uncommitted to any religious institution or institutions or to religious beliefs and practices. Its basis for state authority is in civil and natural law, not in religious doctrine or in divine revelation." (John M. Swomley, Religious Liberty and the Secular State: The Constitutional Context, Buffalo, NY: Prometheus Books, 1987, p. 7.)

[Guest sally]

Matthew,

Keep it up! America needs more kids like you.

[Guest Dust]

As an American citizen worried about the way our country has been going, I just want to say Thank You, Matthew, for your bravery. Your actions are helping all of us, though I'm sure it has been rough on you and your family. It's easy for me to sit here and type this, but I want you to know how much your actions mean to the rest of us. We especially need people like you, now, to take this country forward again, instead of in the backward direction it has been heading in for way too long. I'm very proud of you, your parents, and your friends who have stuck by your side, knowing you have done something significant and good. Bravo!