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Council protects residents' freedom
So many people have been affected by the Hillsdale Council’s recent decision to leave its fields open on religious holidays that the level of public interest, whether in the form of praise or criticism, shouldn’t be surprising.
One thing that is surprising, however, is that those who have criticized the council’s decision to rescind its long-standing policy have focussed solely on what should really be the least important part of fields that are open for public use – league play. While field use may be dominated by leagues today – the countless games and practices held year-round – there is much more to this issue. Simply said, closing fields for religious reasons infringes on people’s rights.
When leagues aren’t using the fields, those passing by can frequently see families using them – a father teaching his son or daughter the right way to slide into home plate; a teenager having a football catch with his younger brother; a group of friends playing a pick-up game. Fields are open for anyone and everyone, and the times that leagues aren’t using them are few and far between.
While most of the people who disagree with the council’s decision do so because they don’t want organized competition to conflict with religious obligations, they fail to realize that if the fields are closed to league play, they are closed to everyone. Police cannot be asked to discriminate between a father and son having a catch, a pick-up game of touch football or baseball, and league play. And in this particular case, the Hillsdale Police Department was being asked to enforce a policy without any authority to do so. The policy was never made law by passing an ordinance.
By closing the fields on religious holidays, the governing body isn’t just taking the decision of how people should worship out of the people’s hands, it is taking the decision of how to spend free time out of their hands. No one should be able to tell any of us if, when, how, or who we should pray to. It’s a freedom we all have as Americans and as human beings. And if someone chooses not to observe a religious holiday, he or she should be able to use the fields that they pay for.
Fields should be closed when it’s in the public’s best interest for them to be closed. One reason might be lightning, which the council recently introduced an ordinance for. Another might be rain, which could pose a risk to people using it or to the field itself. The only other reason to close a field is for the consideration of people living around it, who should be able to enjoy a certain amount of peace and quiet.
Those who don’t want leagues competing on religious holidays need to take that issue up with the leagues. Parents and families, regardless of religious beliefs, should support each other and make sure that the leagues yield to their wishes.
And if affected families don’t respect each other enough to band together over this issue and games are held, then maybe it will be a good lesson for some of the children – life is full of sacrifices and difficult decisions.
The Hillsdale Council made a difficult decision. In this case, they made the right one. Despite their knowledge that opening the fields would not be popular with some residents, council members yielded to the advice of the attorney and made the decision that they know was right. They acted to protect the best interest of the residents of Hillsdale as residents. They acted to protect their freedom.
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