Life Is Wasted Without Intelligence

William Swinimer showed up for school on Monday wearing his tee-shirt. The grade 12 student had just finished a controversial suspension from Forest Height’s Public High School in Chester Basin, Nova Scotia, for insisting on wearing his ‘Life Is Wasted Without Jesus’ tee shirt.

When I first heard last week about William being expelled from school for wearing the message, I felt, and expressed, my indignation over the obvious denial of his basic human right to free speech. My feelings about that part of this story have not changed. However, almost everything I’ve heard and seen in the media circus since has left me saddened, not with the denial of William’s rights and freedoms, but with the misguided behaviour and unfortunate attitudes of the other adults in his life, including his father and the pastor of his church.

Is it just me or does every Christian that makes the news these days just happen to resemble one of the Three Stooges?  

I saw William himself interviewed on Canada AM last week and, although he never really answered the continuous objection to the message on his shirt, he did speak well enough, and was clear that he has no hatred for anyone of any faith. That’s good.

For their part, the school officials, after making the really dumb decision to suspend William in the first place, followed it up with a few less than intelligent comments. But then they reversed the decision on the tee shirt and planned for a day of dialogue on Monday in order to discuss the issues with the students upon William’s return to school. Superintendent of Schools, Nancy Pynch-Worthylake described the plan for the day as a series of gatherings with students to talk about what’s appropriate when expressing your convictions, what isn’t, and how to deal with things when there’s a conflict. Included in the plan was an evening session open for other family members.  

Now, I know that the day likely consisted mainly of propaganda from school officials, along with some nonsense from some of the students, because that is what we’ve been seeing on the news, and what we are used to. But I can’t help but think of how it would also have been a golden opportunity for a defense of the truth.

What is the truth?

The South Shore Regional School Board had posted their position online stating that students would be allowed to wear clothing expressing their beliefs but that, “It is expected that students will not wear clothing with messages that may offend other’s beliefs, race, religion, culture or lifestyle”.

And the truth is that this is absurd. Keep in mind, we’re NOT talking hate speech here. We’re talking about anything that someone might say that someone else might find offensive. The idea that someone cannot be allowed to say anything that might offend someone else's beliefs is not only unreasonable but completely untenable. It’s the same old ‘tolerance’ message ad nauseam, the not so subtle way contemporary culture attempts to shut up anyone that would disagree with their ‘lifestyle choices’ and shut down debate on ultimate values and beliefs.

And it also causes me to wonder… Do any of these officials ever listen to the lyrics of the most popular music of our day! Or do they ever watch what we are all, young and old, being exposed to coming out of the television and movie industry?!!! Being offensive IS a lifestyle!!! Being offensive IS our culture!!! Being offensive IS what we believe!!! We love it. We embrace it. We can’t get enough of it!!!... Anyway, I digress.

So, Monday comes and the next thing we know, here is William’s father big as life on the news. He allows his son to go to school and then shows up at the school himself, for no other obvious reason than to make a public spectacle one has to assume, waving a Bible in his hand, and yanks William out of school like he’s a toddler. He admitted to the camera that he was acting out of anger but it didn’t seem like much of a confession. According to the Chronicle Herald, when he was asked what was wrong with having his son take part in the debate, John Swinimer said, “It is time that we rise up. I am not taking questions right now. I am making statements.”

The ‘rising up’ language seems a little bit scary to me. I hope it isn’t as anarchistic as it sounds. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, hoping he means we need to ‘stand up’ for human rights. Either way, what a missed opportunity! Throughout this whole fiasco, what an incredible opportunity it could be for a real dialogue over ideas and beliefs. What a tremendous forum this could have all been for real learning to take place on such crucial issues as personal rights, freedoms and faith in the context of respect for others.

You see, the truth is that my respect for you does not depend on me agreeing with you, or you agreeing with me. It depends upon me valuing you and caring about you, whether we agree or not. In fact, the Bible teaches that we are to love even those who mistreat us. How’s that for ‘tolerance’!!!

The Swinimer family attends a small, independent Pentecostal church in Bridgewater and the pastor of the church, Varrick Day has apparently been encouraging both William and his father along the way and has himself been both visible (He accompanied John to the School Monday morning) and vocal. Here is just one thing he has said publicly:

“They have taken the Ten Commandments out of schools, they have removed the Bibles from the schools, they have taken God, Jesus, out of the schools and right now the school is in a mess and we need morals, we need principles.”

Sigh.

Just for the record, I personally believe that, should you choose (and you have that God given right) to live your life without Christ, when you come to the end of your days on this earth, your life will have been wasted. I take no pleasure in it. I grieve for you, if that is your decision. But it is your decision.  

AND furthermore, I believe you have the right to either agree with what I am saying or to disagree with it. That is also your right.

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”  Martin Luther King Jr.

This is what I believe, and I am a person of faith - a Christian. I would just like to see faith AND intelligence on the news for once.