May 26, 2005
OUTRAGEOUS!!
I picked up my copy of the local newspaper to day (The Indianapolis Star)and there on the banner was:"Judge; Parents can't teach Pagan beliefs" :Father appeals order in divorce decree that prevents couple from exposing son to Wicca.
Seems that Cale J. Bradford, chief judge of the Marion Superior Court, took it upon himself to dictate what form of religeous instruction the child involved in this divorce could be exposed to.
This caused a RCOB moment for me to be sure. I am not a Wiccan, but I am familier with Wiccan precepts and main beliefs, and I can see nothing in those beliefs that could in any way harm this young man, in fact I believe that they can be a beautiful enhancement of mainstream religious beliefs...I know quite a few people that consider themselves as "_______/Wiccan". They participate in both creeds without any seeming dichotomy at all.
For a member of the Judiciary to place such an arbitrary order in a divorce decree ESPECIALLY as there had been no complaint from either party about religeous beliefs is nothing less than governing a private belief by judicial fiat.
I can only say I am ashamed that a member of the party I am nomially affiliated with could could attempt such an outrageous grab of power as a member of the judiciary. This is not the first time that Judge Bradford has tried to expand the scope of the judiciary.
I hope, (and believe) that this travesty will be overturned at the next appellate level, but the fact remains that it happened at all is a sign of something wrong in the state of Indiana. Hoosiers have always prided themselves on common sense and a certain tolerance of belief.
Yes, we have our share of the ultra-radicals on BOTH sides of the spectrum, but the majority usually discounts them as the idiots that they are. For an authority figure such as a judge, especially a Chief Judge of a division, to act in such a manner is a blot on the entire State, Christian majority, and the conservative movement. I find it intolerable that I will be colored by that same brush by virtue of believing in a conservative POV.
This action was NOT in line with conservatism, but it will be held up as a poster issue by those that look at conservatives as the bogeymen trying to restrict their beliefs. True Conservatives want everyone to have the freedom to practice their own beliefs without interference from any outside source; up till now we could cite the ACLU and some fringe groups such as the Atheists for a Free America as the main proponents against that freedom of practice, now, alas, we have one of the "mainstream" doing the same.
Citizens need to keep aware of what all their public officials are doing in their name, regardless of political affiliation, and protest at the first sign of over-reaching by those officials.
You may be assurred that I will remember Judge Bradford in his next standing for election, and will work to ensure that it isn't a successful one.