European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 21, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 it the stars and stripes june 1985 columns comments James Kilpatrick a moment of ruling screams of Absurdity the supreme court docs not often deliver itself of wholly ridiculous but in the matter of Alabama moment of silence the court last week lapsed into pure consider the Constitution it says that Congress and by judicial the states shall make no Law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise now consider the Alabama statute at the commencement of the first class of each Day in All grades and All Public the teacher in charge of the room in which such class is held May announce that a period of silence not to exceed one minute in duration shall be observed for meditation or voluntary prayer and Dur ing any such period no other activity shall be engaged now listen to this Windy passage from Justice John Paul Stevens opinion As Justice Jackson eloquently stated in Board of education if there is any fixed Star in our constitutional con it is that no High or can prescribe what shall be Ortho Dox in religion or other matters of opinion or Force citizens to confess by word or act their Faith the state of no less than the Congress of the United must respect that Basic Pargh the quotation from Justice Jackson is a Beautiful but what on Earth does it have to do with the Case at hand the Alabama statute places no James Reston mandatory Burden on the the teacher May announce a moment of during the moment of pupils May engage in which could be meditation on the morn Ings test in algebra As an alternative they May engage in voluntary which can be a prayer to pass the it is ludicrous to suppose that the Alabama teacher is thus prescribing what shall be orthodox in no child is being forced to confess his Faith by word or it is inconceivable that five ordinarily rational and intelligent men justices Bren Marshall and Blackmun could see in Alabama Neutral and harmless statute a potential establishment of Reli How loony can we get mind this Case is Lightyear re moved from the Engel Case of 1962 and the Schempp Case of in pupils in new York Public schools were required to join in reciting a prayer that had been composed by the state in Pennsylvania Law required a joint reciting of the lords prayer and a daily Reading from the the High court quite properly held both statutes in those cases the sup posed Wall of separation Between Church and state had been fatally in last weeks the majority condemned the Alabama statute because of the two words or this unspeakable Folly on the Legislatures part amounted to an endorsement of religion Alq Bra Fai our  As a favored Pray where does it appear that prayer is favored Over meditation the statute is it is in the pupils May meditate in or voluntarily they May Pray to no one is coerced to do no peer pressures Are applied in favor of the Only mandatory requirement is that during the everybody shut in a stinging chief Justice Burger did a Little quoting of his he recalled a statement of Justice Arthur the measure of constitutional adjudication is the ability and willingness to distinguish Between real threat and Mere said Burger the innocuous statute that the court strikes Down does not even Rise to the level of Mere and the chief Justice added the mountains have la bored and brought Forth a in practical application the majority opinion will have no effect either in Alabama or in 24 other states with statutes that provide either for a daily moment of meditation or prayer or for meditation children will do As they please they will think what Ever childish thoughts May pass through childish but if they invoke divine let them Pray for the High it needs All the help it can c Universal press Syndicate Reagan but his actions mask murky future on the two major issues be fore the government today the control of the budget and the control of nuclear weapons president Reagan has recently been trying to avoid a break with the Congress and the against the opposition of some of his supporters in the Cabinet and on the he compromised on the military budget and on social and he agreed to stay within the limits of what he called the fatally flawed Salt ii treaty in order to keep the arms talks this was typical of the theres a lot of go in but he usually pulls Back before he hits the what he does is buy but its not at All Clear that these tactical Maneu vers will match the two momentous issues on which his administration is Likely to be the economist of London asked the other Day what will Reagan leave be Hind what indeed something for the future Security of the nation or just any thing that gets a laugh or a vote for the Day Reagan has left no doubt about his which Are not he wants to reduce the authority of the fed eral government at Home and increase it he wants to decrease Domestic spending and increase military spending and he wants not Only to come to terms with the soviet Union on the reduction of nuclear weapons which they say there willing to but to Experiment with nuclear weapons in outer which the russians say they wont agree in Reagan deals with everything except the even when the president and Congress agree on the which  do after a lot of fussing and posturing in the coming  still be left with the most spectacular budget and Trade deficits in the history of the and even after buying time to keep the nuclear talks going in the presi Dent and Mikhail Gorbachev will have to decide whether they want to go on Damn ing one another about the things that Divide them or begin to think for a change about the things they have in Reagan says Hes presiding Over a Sec Ond american and this is what he wants to leave but Hes not really a revolutionary Hes a wobbly conservative who believes that More Progress can be made by stopping bad things and backing into the future than by risking new things for the new world when he gets million for the con tras in the nicaraguan and a com Promise on his military and More time to talk to the russians about the control of nuclear hell still be in a he compromises with everybody but convinces nobody who looks even occasionally at the military and economic and so for the time Reagan and Gorbachev Are fencing with one playing tactical if Gorbachev were to come for Ward with specific proposals for a 25 per cent or even 50 percent Cut in the Mili tary budgets of the two countries or of the two nuclear with guarantees of continuing its hard to be Lieve that Public opinion would pre Fer reagans theoretical Star wars de sense to practical cuts of that there has Long been solid scientific support for a comprehensive nuclear test ban almost achieved during the Ken Nedy administration but though Gorba Chev endorsed the idea again the other it was dismissed without the main argument is that theres nothing new about just the same old on eyed but when he is seen taking Strong measures at Home to control alcoholism and to face up to the facts of the soviet unions staggering there is some reason for think ing that just a new pragmatism is emerging at the top of the Moscow government that is at least Worth As Many officials this is All smoke and but the Magni tude of the economic and military prob lems requires More than dreamy talk about Star wars and a second Ameri can the president talks big but thinks he Waves his Bat like babe Ruth and Points to the Home run Brightfield bleach but then he if the budget deficit and the Trade Defi Cit and the arms race Are not tackled soon with much bolder its fairly Clear what Reagan will leave behind Only a wave and a but a More unbalanced and dangerous c new York times the opinions expressed in the columns and cartoons on his Page represent those of the author and Are in no was those of the stars and or the United states