All, certainly true, but a couple of caveats. First, the idea of a "Christianity Amendment" began, to my knowledge, in the 19th century. It was "finally" defeated in the 1890s, only to be raised on and off in the 20th, and now the 21st century. The fundamentalist and evangelical Protestant movement has often (or always) maintained that the foundation of the United States was Christian. The omission of recognition of this "fact" in the Constitution was and is an embarrassing oversight. (Think about the efforts to sanitize the biographies of the Founders, as a secular version of Christian hagiography, and you may determine that what we are talking about now resonates with something we discussed very recently.) Second, the real assault on public financing of cultural matters took place in the 1980s, and while we took some defeats, we also won some significant victories. The NARA and LC are still in operation and expanding. And when you turn on your TV (if you do) PBS is still there. So, while specific agencies are threatened with cutbacks, let us not cry wolf until the wolf is at the door. Date sent: Thu, 26 Apr 2001 17:33:59 -0400 From: Ned Heite <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: NHPRC Budget Cuts To: [log in to unmask] Send reply to: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history <[log in to unmask]> > At 10:58 AM -0400 4/26/01, Frank E. Grizzard, Jr. wrote: > >Mr. Forsythe's remarks are *absolutely* true, and > >*very* eloquently stated. Thanks for making > >them! > > The problem, of course, is that people like Rep. Istook have made > ignorance a way of life and a badge of honor. > > He keeps introducing a proposed Constitutional Amendment to destroy > the first-amendment freedom of religion. He calls it the "religious > freedom" amendment, and it would have the exact opposite effect. > > It's not just the NHPRC that is being savaged. Look at the Advisory > Council on Historic Preservation, the National Park Service, and > other quality-of-life programs that are being savaged by the Bush > budget. > -- > Ned Heite ([log in to unmask]) > ************************************************* > * Today's compost wisdom: * > * Think about your fertilizer bill before * > * you throw out that biodegradable garbage! * > ************************************************* > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions > at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html Harold S. Forsythe Assistant Professor History Director: Black Studies Fairfield University Fairfield, CT 06430-5195 (203) 254-4000 x2379 To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html