God's Not Dead 2 Page #5

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that they would always have the right

to believe as they wished,

free of government interference.

But lately, that phrase has

been taken out of context

and twisted and contorted

to mean the exact opposite.

And one morning early this year,

my client, Ms. Wesley,

she woke up as usual, she drove

to work at her job as a teacher

at Martin Luther King High School,

a place where she was Teacher of the Year.

Her lesson plan

for second period A.P. history

that morning, it didn't include

any mention of God or Jesus.

She didn't have a Bible sitting

on her desk in plain view.

She didn't start her class

with a blessing.

She didn't lead her students in prayer.

No, all she did was answer a question,

because that is what she gets paid to do.

Now, Mr. Kane will insist loudly and often

that faith isn't on trial here,

but that is exactly what is on trial,

the most basic human right

of all, the right to believe.

Mr. Kane's afraid.

He's afraid that you, the jury,

the touchstone of common sense,

might not agree with

his tortured interpretation

of the Constitution,

that you might understand

that my client has rights,

rights that trump his agenda,

and that in realizing that

you will hold as I do

that my client is guilty of no wrongdoing

and innocent of any

and all claims against her.

Thank you very much.

And now it's become this huge deal,

and all she did was answer my question.

Why do you think your

parents are doing this?

Because my mom thinks

it'll help me get into Stanford

or one of the Ivys, and my dad

thinks it'll help pay for it.

And nobody's asked you what you think?

No.

So, are you gonna help her?

I don't know.

I would at least like to talk to her.

Maybe I could help get

her story out there.

Great, because everyone's

telling me to stay out of it.

Do you always do what you're told?

What is your heart telling you to do?

Mr. Thawley, how did

you feel when you found out

that your daughter had been exposed

to faith-based teachings in class?

Well, it felt like we had been violated.

I mean, this was supposed to be

a history class, not Sunday school.

My wife and I are free thinkers.

We're rationalists.

We believe in a non-theistic world view,

and that's how we were trying

to raise our daughter.

And did you discuss this

incident with your daughter?

Well, I tried, but it's hard discussing

anything with kids that age.

She's 16.

Some of you know what that's like.

It's hard enough trying to

maintain credibility as a parent

without a teacher jumping in

and arguing against your position.

Now, we trust the school

not to overstep its bounds

in terms of what is

and what isn't appropriate.

Is that too much to ask?

No. Thank you, Mr. Thawley.

That's all, Your Honor.

Your witness, Mr. Endler.

No questions, Your Honor.

Next witness, Mr. Kane.

Mrs. Rizzo, did Ms. Wesley

talk about faith issues

on the school campus?

All the time.

Everybody knows she's a Christian.

I don't think she'd chew a stick

of gum without praying first.

It makes everyone feel awkward.

Thank you.

No further questions, Your Honor.

Your witness, Mr. Endler.

Mrs. Rizzo, you stated that Ms. Wesley

talks about her faith all the time.

I'm curious, can you

give me a specific instance?

Well, not off the top of my head.

Well, has she, as far as you're aware,

ever started her class with a prayer?

No.

Has she ever asked anyone

in the teacher's lounge to pray with her?

No.

Has she ever asked you

personally to pray with her?

Objection, Your Honor.

- No.

- Cumulative.

The question has effectively

been asked and answered.

Your Honor, Mrs. Rizzo's

sworn testimony states

that Ms. Wesley talked

about her faith all the time,

yet she's failed to cite

a single instance.

I'm merely trying to discover

some basis for her opinion.

Sustained.

Mr. Endler, we're done with

this line of questioning.

Mrs. Rizzo,

in the school's initial inquiry

into this matter, you were

Ms. Wesley's representative

on behalf of the teacher's

union, were you not?

Yes.

And did you ever consider

that your disapproval

of her faith might taint your ability

to represent her properly?

Objection, speculative.

Sustained.

God bless you.

Careful, or you might end up on trial.

Mr. Endler!

No further questions, Your Honor.

So, when are these religious zealots

going to realize it's not only disrespectful

of them to push their beliefs on others,

in this case, it's actually illegal?

This woman, this fundamentalist,

used her position of influence

as a teacher to fill the minds

of our children with nonsense.

If you ask me, the religious extremists

we need to worry about

are the hard-core Christians.

How about we show up in force

and show Ms. Wesley just exactly

what we think of her proselytizing?

Principal Kinney, what was

the school district's final determination?

Well, Grace has been suspended without pay

pending the result of this trial.

Isn't it rather unusual,

leaving it up to a third party

to determine whether Ms. Wesley is fired?

We've decided to accept

the court's interpretation

of wrongdoing either way.

No questions, Your Honor.

Your witness, Mr. Endler.

Ms. Kinney, can you tell me

the full name of the high school

over which you preside?

Doctor Martin Luther King Junior

Memorial High School.

I noticed that the name fails to mention

Dr. King's title as Reverend Doctor.

It's his work in the field of civil rights

that we prefer to highlight.

But that's the whole point.

You consider his faith and politics

to be separate things,

but I don't,

and he certainly wouldn't have.

Objection, Your Honor.

Counsel is testifying.

Sustained.

Jury's instructed to ignore

Mr. Endler's preceding remarks.

Ms. Kinney, are you familiar with

Dr. King's letter from the Birmingham Jail?

Yes, it's a seminal

piece of civil rights history.

In that letter Dr. King makes numerous

faith-based references, does he not?

Offhand, I don't recall.

Allow me to refresh your memory.

He cites the example of the three youths

from the book of Daniel who were

tossed into the fiery furnace

by King Nebuchadnezzar because

they refused to worship him.

Elsewhere, he urges action with Jesus,

and here I quote, "Extremist love."

And in his speech,

"I've Been to the Mountaintop,"

he stated that he just wanted

to do God's will.

Is this coming back to you now?

Yes.

In your opinion, would Ms. Wesley,

had she chosen to do so,

have been allowed to present

the examples that I just

mentioned in her class?

Objection, speculative.

I'm going to allow it.

Overruled.

Witness may answer.

No.

If it were up to me, she would

not have been allowed.

Why not?

Because those examples

are too closely associated with faith.

In other words, they're facts,

but they're just facts that are

too dangerous for discussion?

The word I would use would be

"controversial."

But aren't facts just facts?

I mean, there's nothing controversial

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