"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. These are heady words with which to begin a humor column. I suppose you think I am heading down a political road.
You are wrong. Still, I must say that Hillary Clinton should give up the pink suits, whether skirts or pants. I can t help but comment that our new Madam Speaker of the House needs a fashion consultant, but then I live in jeans and sweaters and should not even consider that issue.
I believe that all Supreme Court justices should appear in that hallowed hall in jeans and tasteful sweaters. It might make our citizens feel that they are actually of the people and for the people. I am not quoting the Preamble to our Constitution for any political reason and I wrote it just as our forefathers did, with some words capitalized.
They didn t have spell check in those days. I am not a Constitutional law scholar. I am no lawyer but I am married to one and one in the family is enough.
I flirted with being a theater major for two years in college but then realized I was too short to wait on tables until I became the next Helen Hayes or Linda Hunt. The Munchkins had been cast in the 30s. I missed that opportunity by over 30 years.
I became a history and political science major in Texas. Isn t Texas known for its politicians? Several even became president.
I do know something about our Constitution. I know a bit about the separation of church and state, although it is never even mentioned in the Constitution. I could get into folks objecting to children pledging their allegiance to the American flag and including the one nation under God part.
That started my school day and I was not offended. I m not sure why some folks are bothered when the Ten Commandments are displayed in courthouses. They are fairly good rules to live by even if we have broken a few now and again not the big ones.
While there is much controversy about separation of church and state, I never thought the NFL would get into the fray. I know that Super Bowl Sunday is considered a religious holiday for some fans, but I never figured that the league could control any of our religious establishments. I searched the Bible and our Constitution and there was no mention of the National Football League in either document.
Yet, the NFL warned churches across the nation about throwing Super Bowl parties. The powers that be who hire players for more money a year than we will ever earn in a lifetime, are annoyed that churches are infringing on their Super Bowl rights by hosting such parties. Is not free assembly granted to us by the Bill of Rights?
But it seems that freedom of televised football is only granted by the NFL. The organization, which has more players with shady reputations than the NBA or all of baseball, is questioning groups that use the words Super Bowl to advertise a get-together. There is more money bet on that game than will ever see light in a church collection plate, yet the NFL is laying down the law on church Super Bowl parties.
They say only one television set can broadcast the game in any one establishment and the TV can t be larger than 55 inches. A newspaper article reported that the NFL wants to discourage broadcasts of the game to mass gatherings other than bars and restaurants. We can stay at home and view two lousy teams playing in the rain or we can go to a bar or restaurant and suffer the same experience, but we can t go to a church for that purpose.
John Whitehall, a civil libertarian from the Rutherford Institute, commented that churches should receive the same exemption as bars and restaurants. That is somewhat of a novel idea, but if bars and restaurants don t have to play by the rules, neither should churches. A spokesman for the NFL was reported as saying the restrictions are necessary to honor contracts with networks which provide coverage of the game and to protect the Super Bowl trademark.
But the Super Bowl is not the Holy Grail. The NFL also claims that it wants to protect broadcasters who provide Super Bowl coverage for free. Have you looked at your cable bill recently?
Nothing is free. The players, coaches and commentators aren t involved in the Super Bowl as a public service. Apparently hotels, casinos, theaters, schools and museums have been informed of this new policy.
I love museums, but I doubt that s where Bear fans gathered this past Super Bowl Sunday. Churches have reported that their Super Bowl parties attract many youthful members. I can only assume that the NFL thinks that is a bad thing.
Now I will have to place the strict Super Bowl guidelines beside my copy of the Constitution and the Bible. Maybe I will keep the rules by my bedside. I wouldn t want the NFL to seek vengeance against me.
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