Jessica Ahlquist: A Class Act

Right now, the biggest buzz in atheist communities is the huge amount of threats that have been made against Jessica Ahlquist, a 16-year-old girl that spoke out against her high school's endorsement of a particular religion in Cranston, Rhode Island. Cranston High School sported a banner depicting a Christian prayer that began with "Our Heavenly Father" and ended with "Amen," removing any ambiguity over its intent.Originally, Ahlquist had asked the school board to take it down, because its endorsement of religion was illegal under the First Amendment of the Constitution. Tax payer dollars cannot go towards the endorsement of any religion. They refused. Jessica attempted again, and the board was obstinate in their refusal. She told the school they don't have the money to fight a court case about it, and that she didn't want to cost the school money this way, but what they were doing was illegal. Again, refusal to budge.

Ahlquist then filed a suit to have it taken down, and the obvious decision by the judge was that the banner must be removed. Despite the school insisting that the prayer was a secular holdover from the school's founding, pretty much everyone that spoke in favor of keeping the banner up made their case in an overtly Christian manner. It's almost facepalm worthy. Examples and a continuation of the story below the break:

" Jesus said, if you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before my Father. Not ashamed, please pass this on. I do believe this. People forget that we were born under God Almighty. If it wasn’t for God Almighty
we wouldn’t be here. It’s just like I keep saying to everybody else and everything there is, “You can have your fun here on earth but on Judgment Day you’re going to be standing before God Almighty and you’re going to say…you know he’s going to say…” I don’t know what he’s going to say but all I know is that you’re going to be happy to see Him face to face."

And then there's this gem:

“If you take the banner down, you are spitting in the face of Almighty God… As far as the atheists, you know what? You’re entitled to your opinion however wrong you are. But the fact of the matter is, God exists…If this banner is taken down, you are indeed establishing a bunch of people who are not going to believe in God, and on
Judgment Day, you will be judged because you stand before Almighty God."

 Is it any wonder that the judge ruled in Ahlquist's favor?

Once the decision made news, Jessica was harassed and threatened over Twitter by many "Moral Christians." If you want to see real examples of this, check out the compilation over at JesusFetusFajitaFishsticks.

Someone actually posted this girl's address on the Internet, assuring that she and her family will be targets of IRL harassment. The despicable nature of these people is appalling.

The most important thing to note, however, is how Ahlquist is taking these things with grace and wit, while the opposition resorts to threats of violence. Anyone reading this, I suggest you follow her on twitter @jessicaahlquist to support her. You can also donate to a scholarship fund started by the atheist community to help her pay for college.

Jessica Ahlquist is a real class act, someone to look up to. She decided that she was not going to be content with being the silent minority, to allow her school to prop up those with religious beliefs above those without any. And when the hate came flying her way, she did not shy away from it. She did not hide. She stood up, told them to leave her family out of it, and was responsible. She is truly an inspiration for us all.