Letters
Differing opinion on First Amendment rights

I’ve considered Greg Bean’s columns as [Greater Media Newspapers’] finest feature: entertaining, sensible, thought-provoking. That said, I must disagree with his position regarding the Marcus Borden situation (“Borden’s Lawsuit Grounded in the First Amendment,” Tri-Town News, Dec. 1, 2005).

Mr. Bean is not an expert on constitutional law or history, yet he makes judgments in both areas. And while a newspaper column is only an expression of personal beliefs and opinions, its voice is authoritative, and, in a sense, parental to readers. Therefore, on behalf of those who do not share his values and points of view, I offer this rebuttal.

Any prayer supervised by an authority figure in a nonreligious setting reflects the beliefs and/or attitude of that person. So when said authority figure kneels to pray, that in itself is an act of Christian observance. Muslims do not bend one knee to pray; Jews do not kneel to pray, nor do Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, et al. For that matter, we should include agnostics and atheists, who are also being insulted in these circumstances.

Let’s not be naive. Any young person present in the locker room who resists or objects will be singled out as being different and, by implication, wrong by those sharing (East Brunswick High School football coach) Borden’s belief. (Whether the coach participates or stands to one side is insignificant; his presence says it all). Social pressure on any nonparticipant is considerable.

Mr. Borden, or anyone with similar authority, does not have a right, in a public school setting, to freely exercise “his own constitutionally protected right to pray and speak to his own god” in the company of others who may or may not share his beliefs or feelings about prayer.

This isn’t a house of worship, it’s a high school locker room, which is precisely what the courts intended when they ruled that a person cannot “initiate or even participate” in some activity that compels others to do the same. In brief, he is forcing his beliefs on them.

Finally, the founding fathers of this country, which was indeed Christian in the 18th century, could not have foreseen that the constituency of our nation would be quite different in the 21st century. For current figures, simply consult any almanac’s listing of religious groups in the United States.

And please, don’t cite as definitive, defensible or admir-able the “tradition of high school coaches across the nation.” Coaches shape their teams in terms of athletics, not religion.

Thus, it seems to me, Mr. Bean is the one who is narrowing the interpretation of the First Amendment. And, as he wrote, interpretations can be wrong.

Louis Sabin

East Brunswick

Writer supports Narozanick for board’s director

During the past year we heard much of how badly our elected officials have acted and the misdeeds they committed, but one name you did not hear anything bad about was Monmouth County Free-holder Ted Narozanick.

During his many years of service not once has there ever been anything bad said about him. He is like cream in a bottle, the best always rises to the top. Next year we will be losing him as he is planning to retire. It’s a shame because he is the example that we should follow, and what a mentor he could be to the newly elected freeholders.

I hope that whoever reads this will either call, fax or e-mail the other freeholders to appoint Ted as director for his last year of service to his community. He has never said no to anyone who has asked him to be there, whether it be for a groundbreaking ceremony, to give a speech for the veterans or at a political function. He supports all people in any way he can, and it’s time for him to be rewarded for a job well done.

Grace Abramov

Howell

Be wary of Verizon campaign about cable television service

Now that the election season is done, most of us are happy to not have our mailboxes filled with glossy fliers manipulating information to serve some hidden agenda. However, recently I started to receive these high production advertisements from Verizon and another group of unknown backing that try to encourage the reader to “Vote yes for cable choice, competition and lower prices.” I understand these same groups are also advertising in other media.

Before you go to these Web sites, or send in your ballot with all of your personal information (so they can send you more junk mail), it is helpful to understand the whole story.

Currently, cable television companies that operate in New Jersey must have a franchise agreement with the township they provide service in. These franchise agreements are non-exclusive, meaning that if (and that is a big if) a second cable provider would like to do business in any town, all they need to do is make a request to the township committee for a franchise agreement.

There are currently no legal restrictions that stop Verizon or any other cable television provider from competing anywhere in New Jersey. However, Verizon feels they will be better served if they are granted a state-wide franchise eliminating any ability for local towns to negotiate these deals.

Allowing each local town to negotiate their own franchise has some advantages; mostly, the ability to ask for grant money from the cable provider that can be used to fund pubic, educational and government (PEG) broadcast facilities.

The advertisements are misleading in that they imply the current law is the cause of the “30-year Cable Monopoly.” This is not true at all. The cause is that for some unknown reason the cable companies in New Jersey refuse to compete. Veri-zon is already rolling out their fiber services in a number on New Jersey towns under the current laws. They can continue to do so and compete for our business. We do not need to “take action now” for the benefit of Verizon’s profits.

I don’t need to let Trenton know, I am letting Verizon know that I “want a choice of cable TV providers” by changing my telephone company. When my town is good enough for Verizon to provide fiber service, I will be the first to sign up for FIOS as an alternative to the cable, telephone and Internet access.

Marc Levy

Manalapan