Jesus Christ (Literally)

Could a schoolboard in West Virginia be doing anything more idiotic than fighting to keep a picture of Jesus hanging in a high school?

This is a state that historically ranks near the bottom in almost every category related to education. It's a state where we can't keep good teachers because we underpay them so badly. It's a state where far too many of our students are graduating high school unprepared to go on to college, let alone compete for scholarships and higher education opportunities.

Yet the Harrison County School is drawing cheers for vowing to go to court to fight to keep a portrait of Jesus hanging outside the principal's office at Bridgeport High School.

All the arguments for why the school board is destined to lose this court fight (at a possible cost of more than $100,000) have been made. I'm not going to rehash them here. I have just one, simple question for anyone who supports this idiocy.

What possible, non-religious reason could anyone have for being so determined to keep that picture from being removed from the high school?

I guarantee it's not based on its artistic merits. I guarantee it's not because it's such a fine educational tool. I guarantee it's not because of Jesus' reputation as a great teacher of any of the subjects taught at that high school. And I guarantee, despite what proponents claim, it's not because of any principal of religious freedom. After all, the schoolboard's not bound and determined to hang pictures of any other religious figures in the school and I guarantee at least some students at that school belong to religions other than Christianity.

So what is it? What's the reason?

You know what, there is none. Nothing anyone can come up with will qualify. Because this is about religion. It's about people wanting the school to validate their religious beliefs and damn anyone whose beliefs differ. Well that has nothing to do with education and it has nothing to do with American values either.