Jesus References Excluded From 4-H Livestock Show

The 4-H club was started as a youth program in 1902 by A.B. Graham. Located in Clark County, Ohio, it was originally known as “The Tomato Club,” or The “Corn Growing Club.” The symbol of the club is a four-leaf clover with each leaf brandishing a capital “H.”

The H’s stand for Head, Heart, Hand, and Health. The accompanying motto is stated while the pledge holds his right hand to his forehead. The motto is:

“I pledge my HEAD to clearer thinking, my HEART to greater loyalty, my HANDS to larger service, and my HEALTH to better living, for my club, my community, my country, and my world.”

The motto sounds like it’s based on strong principals. A clear rational mind, a loyal heart, hands busy serving others, and maintaining good health for strength to accomplish all that you can. Everything in the motto is positive, so the 4-H program run by Oregon State University’s Extension Service needs to explain why they disregarded their own motto to discriminate against Christian children.

The problem came about when the children were told that they could not wear clothing that promoted Christianity. Which is a contradiction, because there are 4-H organizations that also recite a “4-H Grace” that openly references God. Said to the tune of Auld Lang Syne, it goes like this:

We thank thee, Lord, for blessings great

on this, our own fair land.

Teach us to serve thee joyfully,

with head, heart, health, and hand.

The restrictions could not be pettier or more ridiculous. They are obviously nothing more than political harassment. One child who was involved in a livestock show was told that he needed to turn his shirt inside out because it had a picture of a cross on it. The child is a member of “Faithful Farmers.” Still others were told that they couldn’t wear shirts that displayed the phrase “JOE’s Place” because it was an acronym for “Jesus Over Everything.”

Jennifer Alexander, a spokesperson for OSU offered this feeble excuse, basing the objections on a technicality. “Personal religious expression, including wearing clothing or jewelry with religious symbols, is permitted. However, the Faithful Farmers club t-shirts were club shirts, purchased with 4-H funds.”

In an interview with local TV station KOBI, the 4-H club coordinator Lisa Parlette, spewed forth more political boiler plate:

“OSU has a religious neutrality clause. So, we as an organization can’t require youth to be affiliated with a certain religion and we can’t require them to wear religious affiliated items at a club level.”

The problem with Parlette’s statement is the children were not wearing the shirts because they were required to, or because they are required to be affiliated with a certain religion. So her statement actually has nothing at all to do with the triviality of the OSU complaints.

Former Republican State Senator, Herman Baetschiger, who is the current chair and a member of the Josephine County Board of Commissioners, had this to say:

“It just saddens me, you taking God out of 4-H. It still says “In God, we trust” on every single dollar bill. We say it in our Pledge of Allegiance. It’s just politics. It’s just flat politics.”

In a show of unity, Josephine County decided to fight back and demonstrate that they would not be pushed around. First, three hundred children left 4-H and started their own organization calling it “Youth and Ag of Josephine Conty.” Only forty-nine children stayed with 4-H.

Then in a move that will surely give the 4-H zealots something to ponder, Josephine county totally defunded the program, meaning that their narrow-minded decision to eliminate God, will cost them approximately $400,000.

Baertschiger explained the County’s position this way:

“When you have all these kids and families leave a program, it’s failing. Why would I want to fund something that’s failing?”

Good question, and a tremendous response to a strictly political punishment of young American children.

Of course, the county’s actions lured the “Wisconsin Windbags” also known as the Freedom From Religion Foundation, out of the woodwork.

In a letter to the county commissioners the windbags wrote:

“By defunding a local program for attempting to respect religious neutrality, based on your stated desire to advance religion, the Board violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, disregards the wall of separation between church and state, and disrespects the diversity of Josephine County’s citizens. 4-H started in the early 1900’s as “four-square education. The H’s stand for head, heart, hands, and health, but in Josephine County, one of the H’s stands for “heretics” or “heathens.”

Blah, Blah, Blah.

Nice try windbags, but children wearing shirts with a picture of a cross on them or with the words “JOE’s Place” doesn’t even come close to violating anything, especially the Establishment Clause of the First Amendments. I’m sure you are aware of that, but you just couldn’t stand to miss an opportunity to be in the news.

Hopefully, the county will appropriate at least part of the money to get the new “Youth and Ag of Josephine County” organization off the ground. Meanwhile, the pathetic 4-H chapter located there can share a Bud Light with the “Wisconsin Windbags.”