Word: overtness
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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Central America, it sometimes seems, is caught in a looking-glass war. Covert operations become overt, rebels in one country get aid so that rebels in another get squeezed. Liberals look at El Salvador and see Viet Nam, while conservatives look at the map and see pawns in a game of Great Power chess. In the din of charge and countercharge, moral and practical issues sometimes become tangled and blurred. Here are answers to some basic questions...
...consider this a radical position, but recent reactions to the slogan have shown that many others do. In addition to the usual skepticism, responses have run the gamut from slight amusement to overt hostility...
...fight does come off as silly, but what is even sillier is the majority opinion which does not ever really deal with the overt religious symbolism of setting up a creche. It says that the scene is acceptable, because "We are unable to perceive the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Vicar of Rome, or other powerful religious leaders behind every public acknowledgement of the religious heritage long officially recognized by three constitutional branches of government. Any notion that these symbols pose a real danger of establishment of a state church is far-fetched indeed...
What the court seemingly ignores, however, is the distinction between neutrality and overt bias in favor of one religion. When the city gives free textbooks or transportation, it is part of a value-neutral effort on the part of the government to treat all religions equally. Jewish schools can receive the free textbooks as can non-denominational private schools. But when the city makes an a priori decision to put up a nativity scene, it is specifically singling out for approval one aspect of one religious celebration from a myriad of beliefs and practices...
...Apartheid is an overt statement that racism is alive and well in the world today," said Sandra Ruffin, president of the Black Law Students Association...