Councilman striking while the religious iron is hot

Say nothing of my religion. It is known to my god and myself alone. -- Thomas Jefferson, in a letter to John Adams, Jan. 11, 1817

Last month, the Turlock City Council received a letter from a Wisconsin group called the Freedom From Religion Foundation, objecting to some of the prayers with which the council opens its meetings.

Prayer itself in this context (preceding public meetings) has been held to be constitutionally-protected -- as long as it's nondenominational and nonsectarian. Which means that Christian ministers and priests may ask God to guide these municipal bodies in their deliberations, but invoking the name of Jesus (or Christ) is a no-no. Turlock's men of God, or some of them anyway, were apparently ignoring this limitation on their exhortations.

This was a situation obviously ripe for political exploitation, and councilman Kurt Spycher wasted no time in staking his claim.

"I intend to defend our right to participate in the cherished and lawful American tradition of legislative prayer," he declared, conveniently overlooking the fact that nobody was objecting to prayer per se at the meetings.

And there the matter might have rested. The Modesto City Council had faced a similar situation in 2005, though the complaint was from a local attorney, not an out of state group, and all it took to resolve the complaint was an amicable meeting between then-City Attorney Mike Milich and the Greater Modesto Ministerial Association. Officials in Turlock had to be aware of these developments, but elected to preserve the status quo, under the radar, for as long as they could.

Now they've been called out, and it's safe to assume that Turlock will end up following Modesto's lead.

Councilman Spycher, however, is not done milking the issue. Apparently warming to his self-appointed role as defender of the faith (or however he intends to project himself), he now wants to have the words "In God We Trust" painted on the wall of the council chambers -- right behind the dais. Spycher says (no fool, he) that he's already secured private funding for the decorative statement, so there would be no public expenditures involved.

He also believes in striking while the iron is hot, having it placed on the agenda for the next council meeting. Anticipate an organized parade of citizens in support of this silliness, people whose fervor exceeds their ability to recognize when they're being manipulated.

If Spycher succeeds in this cynical endeavor, expect his campaign literature (he's up for re-election next year) to prominently feature photos of himself on the dais with the painted motto clearly visible on the wall behind him.

Samuel Johnson said that "Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel," but Mr. Johnson never met Councilman Spycher.

Neither did Mr. Jefferson.

Flint is a Modesto resident. Write him at columns@modbee.com.