Green v. Brooks: Nothing but the Facts - Part I

Jeremy Lane Green at SOS Meeting

Our recent blog on Jeremy Lane Green caused an onslaught of e-mail, mainly critical, from both "sides" of the Football Prayer Issue, as we will term it. Today we'll focus on Mr. Green, but rest assured we will discuss Brooks Lions Will Pray tomorrow.

I. When Mr. Green has a problem with his neighbor's stereo, or dog, or whatever, does he call the sheriff's department to request a SWAT team, or does he first cordially inform his neighbor of the problem in hopes it can be resolved peacefully? We hope he does the latter, but in the case of prayer before Brooks High football games he failed to act in a logical and reasonable manner.

A friend on Facebook suggested that if Mr. Green had first contacted Lauderdale County school superintendent William Valentine about the issue, and Valentine has changed school policy, both men would have been accused of good ol' boy conduct...yet that is exactly what happened in Arab. In that town to our east, a parent contacted school authorities, sans lawyer or out of state organization, and the school system agreed to replace public prayer with a moment of silence. Victory won without any shots being fired.

II. Why did Green single out Brooks High? Since apparently all Lauderdale County schools still engage in pre-game prayer, we do have to ask why this particular school in Killen was singled out. Needless to say, if a new policy is implemented, it will cover all Lauderdale County schools.

III. Why did Green, who has no children, decide to bring up this issue at this time? We know that Green is active in several atheist organizations in the Shoals and probably interacts with others of similar beliefs on a daily basis. Was he chosen to be a sacrificial lamb, so to speak?

Don't scoff at the above question; those who own businesses or work at conservative companies would be unlikely candidates to initiate a ban on such prayer. Perhaps he volunteered without asking, since he himself knows he won't lose income from such activities.

IV. That brings us to Green's job. Our comments on Mr. Green's degrees and employment seem to have been grossly misunderstood. Obviously Green has a keen intellect and the ability to stick with a project in order to obtain an MBA. We simply mean that such degrees are abundant in the Shoals where UNA hands them out in copious quantity. Therefore, job openings for MBAs in this geographic area are not plentiful.

But has Green been honest about his employment? No. Google does not hire outside Search Engine Evaluators. They do contract for them with smaller companies, and that is with whom Mr. Green is employed. The fact that he feels the need to overstate his employment does not speak well of him. Why should that matter? If Green is to represent the atheists of the Shoals, should he not present himself as someone who embraces morality without the influence of God to do so?

V. Has Green received death threats? Apparently he has claimed he has since his story was published in the TimesDaily two days ago. Make no mistake--no Christian would make death threats against anyone, but many thugs, yobs, or whatever you prefer to call them, would do so and claim they were made in Christ's name. If Mr. Green has received death threats, he should report them to the Lauderdale County District Attorney's office.

Does discussing Jeremy Lane Green's motives and actions in a political blog exacerbate such threats, if they exist? We can hardly see that the answer would be yes. Mr. Green entered into a public debate and offered a quote on the issue to the TimesDaily. He is now considered a public figure. We wish neither Mr. Green nor anyone else harm, but we do have the right, and even duty, to question his political motives.

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Tomorrow we'll discuss the group The Brooks Lions Will Pray and the legal problems they'll face in attempting to continue public prayer at Brooks and other Lauderdale County schools.




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