N.Y. Times condemns Atlanta Fire Chief for book on biblical morality

Apparently, The New York Times is in favor of faith in the public square — if the purpose is to mock it. Editors at the Times poured gasoline on the fire of Atlanta’s latest controversy with an editorial that should shock even their most liberal readers. …

Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran
Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran

In a stunning column yesterday, the newspaper … claims that Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran didn’t have permission to publish his book on biblical morality. Not only did Cochran have permission from the city’s ethics office to publish his book, but he only distributed it in his personal capacity at church — where a handful of his coworkers attend.

But the shoddy journalism didn’t end there. Editors insisted that Cochran’s book was full of “virulent anti-gay views” — when in fact, the 162 page book only mentioned homosexuality twice. And both times, the conversation merely echoed the Bible’s teachings on the subject. For that — privately espousing a faith that a majority of Americans share — Kelvin was fired.

“It should not matter,” The New York Times conveniently suggests, “that the investigation found no evidence that Mr. Cochran had mistreated gays or lesbians. His position as a high-level public servant makes his remarks especially problematic, and requires that he be held to a different standard.” And what is that “standard,” specifically? That he has no First Amendment rights? … “Nobody can tell Mr. Cochran what he can or cannot believe,” the editors say (somewhat ironically, since that’s what they seem to be doing).

This past weekend the world marched in Paris recognizing that free speech is the cornerstone of a truly free society. A realization is now sweeping Europe that political correctness has become lethal and it is an avowed enemy of true freedom. But whether a journalist in France satirically writes about religion or a fire chief in Atlanta, Georgia writes about the sacred teachings of his faith, the silencing of either is a threat to the freedoms of all.

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