Hanging Ourselves with Fred Phelps’ Rope

A lot of folks celebrated when Fred Phelps was found to have civil liability for invading the privacy of a grieving family with their protests. I haven’t commented on this. I can think of few people who deserved it more. However, in the back of my mind is a nagging concern about what this means for our first Amendment rights.

However, this latest story demands a response:

Security was tight today as Westboro Baptist Church member Shirley Phelps-Roper appeared in Sarpy County Court to answer charges that she mutilated a flag and put her child in danger while protesting at the funeral of a Bellevue, Neb., soldier.

Although the Sarpy County Sheriff’s Office prepared for a possible protest by members of Topeka-based Westboro Baptist Church, none materialized. A few family members and her attorney accompanied Phelps-Roper, 50.

According to Bellevue police, Phelps-Roper had her 10-year-old son stomp on an American flag. Church members had obtained a city of Bellevue permit to protest.

The church, founded by her father, Fred Phelps, has protested across the country at the funerals of numerous soldiers, alleging that their deaths were God’s retribution for America’s toleration of homosexuality.

The pretrial hearing centered on a defense motion requesting that the prosecution describe in detail the specific facts that support the charges, which include disturbing the peace, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and negligent child abuse.

Her attorney, Bassel El-Kasaby, argued that without specifics on what actions broke the law in each case and who was victimized he can’t prepare his case.

“I don’t think you can disturb the peace of a police officer or firefighter,” he said.

He said it was “unorthodox” and potential “overreaching” by prosecutors to charge Phelps-Roper with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and negligent child abuse.

“I’d like to know who the victim is and what harm they suffered,” he said.

He said if the flag mutilation charge is found unconstitutional, the other charges likewise may be dismissed, but he needs to know the relationship between the charges.

Deputy Sarpy County Attorney Marc Delman resisted El-Kasaby’s request, saying he didn’t want to limit the basis for the charges.

Our friends at Stop the ACLU are celebrating. For once, I must dissent. What we’ve got here, regardless of the Unchristian nature of the Phelps’, is a Country Attorney that won’t even explain the exact reasons of the charge.

Plus, whether we like it or not, mutilating the flag (as repugnant as it is) is considered protected speech, so it’d be very tough to make that the basis of a prosecution for child abuse if that’s considered protected speech.

Stop the ACLU links a video that shows how the Phelps children have been abused: through brainwashing. As heartbreaking as the footage of the Phelps’ children is, more startling to me is the commentary that is provided in subtitles:

“Instead of being taught to think for herself and perceive the world in her own way and make her own decisions, she is being taught to think in a very particular way and learn a doctrine which she will never be asked her own opinion of. By the time she reaches her early teens, she will be incapable of logical thinking and making her own mind up about things.”

Then the film cuts to a film of a Jesus movie, where Jesus says, “Out of the mouth of babes, you have perfected praise.” And the author of the video translates, “In other words, don’t tell children what to think, say, or believe. They have their own minds which God gave them.”

That sentence taken to its logical conclusion would mean that children couldn’t be taught any beliefs: In God or in the doctrines of any church. They couldn’t be taught about any political or moral ideals. They couldn’t be told it was wrong to use the “n-word” (you can’t tell children what to say.)

At the end of the day, you’re left with a philosophy that itself tends to abuse, which utterly destroys freedom if left unchecked. The big question would be, “What religious or political beliefs can’t a parent teach their children?”

The Phelps clan doctrine would surely be banned and so would racists. What about the fundamental Christian belief that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father, except by him? Would Sunday Schools and Youth Groups that taught the Bible and encouraged evangelism be considered abusive brainwashing centers? Would parents who took their children to the Life Chain be considered on par with Shirley Phelps-Roper having her son burn the American flag?

On the other side, would taking your children to anti-war or gay rights rallies be considered unpermissable indoctrination or child abuse? What about parents who teach their kids that 9/11 was an inside job and that our President is an accessory to homicide? Are they fit parents?

These are the type of questions a free people doesn’t have to answer. At the end of the day, we allow parents to raise their children according to the dictates of their conscious provided they don’t physically or sexually abuse them. I fear that, should this Phelps case progress further, we’ll have taken a step towards a world where the children of political opponents becomes spoils of the culture war.