A Prayer For. Alabama

Our eyes turned south this week when we
learned that Alabama's governor sought to
purposely violate U.S. law, and then found
one of the nation's ranking legislators to back
him.
Gov. Fob James threatened to defy a court or-
der requiring the removal of the Ten Com-
mandments from a
courtroom. The governor
has even said that he would
call out the National Guard
to enforce his position. Al-
abama, we recall, has a
lousy record in using the
guard in such a way. Just
ask veterans of the civil-
rights movement.
The present controversy
has made its impact felt in
our nation's capital. In
Washington, D.C., Rep. Dick
Armey (R-Texas) promised
to introduce a resolution in
the U.S. House in support of
the governor. A stay order is
now in place, meaning that
nothing will happen until
there is further study and
tempers cool.
Regardless, both Mr.
Armey and Mr. James have shown contempt for
U.S. law. Repeatedly, courts have been told they
cannot put the Ten Commandments on their
walls. This is not because the people in these

rooms do not believe in or sympathize with those
commandments. It is because the U.S. Consti-
tution, any way it is read, does not allow the bla-
tant promotion of religion in the public sphere.
We encourage jurists and jurors alike to be in-
fluenced in their personal lives by the Ten Com-
mandments. While generally not in conflict with
our nation's legal code, they
also are not verbatim the
law of the land.
As such, we offer this
prayer for Alabama, Mr.
Armey and the nation:
"May we use our God-giv-
en strength and wisdom to
recognize that religion is a
personal affair, that while it
may guide us in all actions,
it must not be imposed on
others. We seek to influence
others by good deeds that
emulate our faith, not by the
foolish breaking of a law that
protects all minorities.
"We recognize the need for
these statutes because we
know that today's majority
may one day be the minori-
ty, meaning that without
such a law, all groups could
be at risk in all places. And that would defeat our
cherished concept of freedom of religion."
Of course, we wouldn't say that prayer on the
taxpayer's time or money.

THE DETROIT JEWIS H NE WS

Keeping An Eye On
The Direction Of Cloning

10

Cloning.
The mere mention of the word conjures up sci-
ence fiction, like visions of a society gone mad
with the idea of a super race, a perfectly designed,
disease-free person or animal.
We're not saying that the recent scientific
breakthroughs in the area of cloning are such
negative events. If cloning can be used to further
the integrity of the world's existence, then its fur-
ther research should be encouraged.
However, our heritage teaches that it is God
who created man. Each person is created one af-
ter another. Each person has an individual phy'-
ical look and spiritual outlook and a soul. Th
individuality of purpose cannot be duplicated,
nor should it be.
It was within this century that so-called physi-
cians formulated charts designating the perfectly
colored eyeball to fit within the perfect cranial
dimensions of a member of the master race.
Hate was the science of 1930s and '40s Ger-

many. Ridding a civilization of its Jews was the
best-known method of "cloning."
For modern, responsible science, the idea of
genetically engineering future generations of an-
imals, eliminating disease and weakness and
promoting strength and long life is something
with which the imagination can run away.
To Judaism, a religion based on the laws of
God and tradition, the idea of or even the po-
tential of going down this avenue seems dan-
gerous and misguided.
While advancements in science and the im-
provement of health are of course the goals of
any worthwhile civilization, it is our hope that
these directions are achieved through respon-
sibility and the highest levels of medical ethics
offered by Judaism.
Were we to "clone" these ethics, not to men-
tion a code and handbook of life we call monothe-
ism and the Torah, our civilization would be as
healthy and as strong.

THE PROMISED LAND

THE CONTINUING STORY OF JEWISH LIFE IN THE DIASPORA

by Jordan B. Gortinkel

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Letters

Kosher Story
Misleading

ly important public service to
your readers to report on their
cleanliness?
By targeting only a small seg-
ment of metro Detroit's food in-
dustry and by ignoring any
reports on other vendors, you are
clearly unfair and hypocritical.
Either that, or you assume that
your nonkosher clientele has no
interest in a similar report.
Contrary to your editorial, the
laws of keeping kosher are sep-
arate and distinct from require-
ments of various state agencies.
Despite your statements, kosher
means conformity with Jewish
law and only Jewish law. There
is nothing in the laws of kashrut
which would make uncleanliness
any more or less likely in kosher
venues than in their nonkosher
counterparts. I hope your future
expose on nonkosher establish-
ments will make this perfectly
clear.

As a Jew who abides by the
laws of kashrut, I found your
cover story ("Cleanliness Next
To Godliness?" Feb. 21) ex-
tremely hypocritical and undu-
ly misleading.
According to your editorial,
"It's up to the kosher consumer
to demand nothing but the
cleanest." As journalists in this
community, you obviously feel it
is your role to report on the vio-
lations which you claim are so
blatant. However, could you pos-
sibly conclude that kosher con-
sumers are any more likely to
desire clean food than nonkosher
consumers?
By directly and unequivocal-
ly targeting kosher establish-
ments, you clearly imply that
kosher markets are more likely
to be dirty or contaminated.
Your paper has many adver-
Moshe Rose
tisements for many nonkosher
President, Congregation
establishments. Unless each of
Shomrey Emunah
these restaurants has a spotless
record, wouldn't it be an equal- LETTERS page 30