An open question to student council

As I opened the Daily Herald Sept. 20, I saw the headline "Atheist's daughter gets 'God Bless America' off the homecoming list."

The article goes on to say that the student council at Buffalo Grove High School, made up of 45 members, voted and agreed to remove the song.

My heart sank with the thought that we as parents have failed our young. So I openly ask council members to reply: Were you being callous or indifferent, or weren't you raised with the backbone to stand up for your own beliefs?

I ask because Encyclopedia Wikipedia statistics state that close to 90 percent of Americans consider themselves to be Christian, so I must ask the council why they voted with the noisy few who call themselves atheists.

This young girl has chosen to follow in her father's footsteps, which is a pity, for they have succeeded using legal and bullying tactics to coerce our community to conform to their secular beliefs, and these actions have resulted in removal of any religious reference by our towns, village governments and even an attempt to alter the Boy Scouts' pledge.

The article concludes with this girl saying she is going to keep her eyes open for any other policies she may disagree with!

Well, my hope is that this is a wake-up call, and I implore students at Buffalo Grove High School who are Christians to rise for all of those individuals who feel they should honor the tradition of "God Bless America."

This great country allows every individual the right to voice his or her opinion, and that freedom is extended to an atheist, but when he or she takes action that negatively affect others for their own personal interests, then we as a society must in turn stand up for our beliefs.

So to the handful of atheists, we respect your right to please leave the room and respect our right as we honor the flag during the playing of "God Bless America" and upon its completion, we will welcome you back.

Joe Littwin

Palatine