The Burning Issue in Mount Vernon, Ohio

“Asking any citizen to remove from view any symbol or any book that has deep significance to his or her life borders on tyranny.”--- John Freshwater, April 2008

The whole John Freshwater controversy started with the demand made by his principal to remove his personal bible from his desk. That is the principle reason for the firing. The rest of the accusation were just drummed up to deflect from the real reason for wanting to get rid of Mr. Freshwater.

Let’s look at what is being portrayed all over the media as the main reason for the firing of John Freshwater, burning crosses on the arms of one or two students in Mr. Freshwater’s science class. Could those revealing photographs of the crosses burned into the arms the students, which were supposedly caused by their science teacher John Freshwater, be a fabrication? That possibility was never raised by the 15-page HR On-Call, Inc. report. HR On-Call was the investigating organization hired by the Mount Vernon School Board to review all the evidence and circumstances surrounding John Freshwater. Likewise, that question ever never raised by the disgraceful Columbus Dispatch newspaper. John Freshwater was accused, tried, convicted and sentenced in the press. His side of the story was not presented fairly, if at all.

On his 10:00 PM (Saturday, June 21, 2008) Fox News Channel’s Geraldo-at-large TV Show, Geraldo Rivera interviewed a friend of John Freshwater, Dave Daubenmire, who tried to defend Mr. Freshwater. The obnoxious Rivera went into the interview with the same preconceived notion of guilt as did the Columbus Dispatch earlier. Geraldo attacked Mr. Daubenmire, who could barely get a word in edgewise.

See the video for yourself.

The worst “offense” from the list that Rivera recited was Freshwater’s alleged burning of crosses on the arms of several students. Other secondary offenses noted by Rivera were: teaching intelligent design and teaching against evolution, brandishing of Bibles in the classroom and stating that homosexuality was sin.

The school board, its investigators, and the media, as I stated in previous articles posted on this blog, dug up things that had been settled in the past (teaching against evolution). Freshwater served as the monitor or facilitator the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), which met after school in his classroom. He had those extra Bibles in the classroom for that purpose. Apparently the statement about homosexuality came up in a discussion in class. Is not any American able to express his opinion? Does it not matter that speaking the truth is no longer something that is tolerated?

There is a pending civil rights lawsuit filed by one of the parents of one of the supposedly “abused” child. Hopefully the evidence of the photographs will be reviewed and determined to be admissible or not. That question is not settled as the school board, the Dispatch and Geraldo Rivera apparently contend.

This ‘burning at the stake” of Mr. Freshwater goes far beyond him. It is part of a jihad by those who hate God and Christianity and all it stands for. They want to see God, faith and morality completely purged from our schools, our culture and society. Only then can man be free to do as they please without constraints . . .