Most people associated with publicrncolleges and universities seem to interpretrnthe First Amendment as guaranteeingrnfreedom from, rather than freedomrnof, religion. Failing that, they concludernthat religion is something obscene, tornbe tolerated only as long as it is conductedrnbehind closed doors betweenrnconsenting adults.rnMany people seem to think that religionrnbelongs only in private colleges. Privaterncolleges are free to teach particularrnconfessions, but true freedom of religionrnexists only in the public sphere. That’srnbecause while a Catholic college isn’trnlegally bound to respect Islam, a publicrncollege is obligated to respect all religions.rnAnother beef against religion is that itrninvolves forcing one’s beliefs on students.rnOne of my students took this tornbe the basis for banning prayer fromrnschools. The ban on public schoolrnprayer, however, doesn’t touch on myrnright to teach religion in a public college.rnBesides, all kinds of beliefs are forced onrncollege students—socialism, multiculturalism,rnradical feminism, Afrocentrism,rnand the superiority of homosexualityrn—and woe to anyone who disagreesrnwith them. These dogmas have long agornleft the “ghetto” of special academicrndepartments (e.g., Women’s Studies),rnwhich are really political patronage programs.rnThe half-baked theories of suchrnpolitical cults are now forced on studentsrnin English courses that all must take.rnThus do students learn that therernis no such thing as sex, as opposed torngender, which is supposedly forced onrnchildren through a sexist, patriarchalrnconspiracy. Anyone who opposes homosexualityrnis mentally ill, and anyone whorndoes not support condom distribution inrnthe schools without parental choice—rnand the affirmation of teenage sex thatrngoes with it—is wishing VD and AIDSrnon young girls. (The fate of young boysrndoesn’t matter.) It is no coincidencernthat condom distribution and homosexualityrnare opposed primarily by religiousrnpeople, particularly Christians.rnSuch propaganda is virulent in remedialrncourses at community colleges,rnwhich are the biggest money-makers forrnsuch schools. The exit exams required tornadvance from remedial, noncredit coursesrnto credit courses routinely consist ofrnfeminist and antireligious propaganda,rnand students who challenge the leftwingrncatechisms thus risk their academicrncareer. Since no one may enjoy thernpatronage of gay, black, or women’s studiesrndepartments who refuse to kneel atrnthese idols, why can’t history departmentsrnrefuse to hire all but Catholics, orrneconomics departments refuse to let allrnbut free-market monetarists teach?rnLest socialist, er liberal, readers seek tornwrite me off as a member of the “Christianrnright,” I’m a liberal, Jewish agnosticrnwho has been accused of being a flamingrnatheist. Whatever my religious leanings,rnI’m a devout believer in education andrnthe First Amendment. The history ofrnWestern religion is the history of our civilization’srndeepest passions and mostrnsublime thoughts. No education can berncalled “liberal” that lacks its study.rn—Nicholas StixrnGUIDEPOSTS MAGAZINE devotedrnthe opening pages of its April issue tornreminiscences about its founder, Dr.rnNorman Vincent Peale, who died lastrnDecember, on Christmas Eve, at the agernof 95. Dr. Peale had been world-famousrnfor his relentless optimism, his “strongrnbelief in the power of prayer” and “strongrnbelief in Cod,” and, most of all, for hisrnbelief in “the power of positive thinking”rn—the phrase that served as the titlernof his most popular book, which broke allrnrecords by staying glued onto the NewrnYork ‘Times nonfiction best-seller list forrn186 weeks.rnA former editor of Guideposts,rnLeonard LeSourd, opens with an inspiringrnaccount of the way Dr. Peale dealtrnwith a great catastrophe. The year wasrn1947, Guideposts was still a tender youngrnthing, and one day its offices burned tornthe ground, destroying what is a publication’srnlifeblood, the entire subscriptionrnfile. Dr. Peale called a meeting withrnpublisher Raymond Thornburg, managingrndirector Fred Decker, and LeSourd torndiscuss whether they should try to go onrnwith the venture. As LeSourd tells it, Dr.rnPeale in his breezy way said, “You know,rnthis could be the best thing that everrnhappened to Guideposts. Perhaps ourrnneighbor Lowell Thomas [the famousrnauthor, traveler, and broadcaster, whornhad lent them the building that had justrnburned down] will tell his radio listenersrnabout the fire and ask for help. Let’srnlook at this fire as an opportunity, not arncalamity.”rnAnd just so, it came to pass. Withrnfaith in Cod, and positive thinking, andrnLowell Thomas’s mention on his radiornprogram, renewals and new subscriptionsrncame flooding in, and Guideposts survivedrnthe fire with more subscribers thanrnit had ever had before.rnTruly an inspiring story, isn’t it? Itrnwould be a pity to destroy its impact byrnmentioning the little detail that publisherrnThornburg just happened to bernmarried to Therbia, Lowell Thomas’srnsister. That sort of thing do help,rnbrethren!rn—William F. RickenbackerrnT H E ASSAULT O N D E N N Y ‘ Srnrestaurants, a chain beloved by middlernAmericans and serving a million customersrna day, helps us understand thernreal meaning of civil rights. Flagship,rnthe chain’s parent company, was forcedrnto settle a group of lawsuits—choreographedrnby the Justice Department,rnthe NAACP, and Saperstein, Mayeda &rnColdstein of Oakland, California—forrn$54 million. The firm will collect a totalrnof $8.7 million.rnDenny’s had to hire a “civil rightsrnmonitor,” introduce an internal espionagernsystem to expose naughty comments,rnsend its white employees to reeducationrncamps, endow blacks withrnfranchises, and put a hostile black womanrnon Flagship’s board of directors. Denny’srnalso had to promise the NAACPrnthat it would spend at least one millionrndollars hiring, training, and installingrnblack managers.rnBy the end, more than 4,300 peoplernhad signed up as plaintiffs againstrnDenny’s, and the New York Times triedrnto recruit even more by publishing arntoll-free number (1-80G-GET-LOOT?).rnThe operator answers: “Hello. Claimsrnfor the Denny’s settlement. May I helprnyou?” Yet there has been no admissionrnof guilt, no trial by jury, and no swornrnstatements in court.rnThe accusations against the companyrnboil down to minor service complaintsrnby customers who may have been setups,rnassertions by disgruntled exemployees,rnsmears by sworn enemies,rnand liberal media hype. For example, inrnMay 1993, six black Secret Servicernagents entered a Denny’s in Annapolis,rnMaryland. President Clinton was givingrna speech at the nearby Naval Academy.rnIn a recent New York Times version of thernevent, the agents were “refused a table.”rnA Times editorial repeated the charge:rn”The black Secret Service agents” werern”refused a table at a Denny’s” as “theirrnwhite colleagues were seated andrn6/CHRONICLESrnrnrn