In fact, he just became my favorite conservative author (no offense, Ann Coulter). Limbaugh’s new book, Persecution: How Liberals are Waging War Against Christianity, may be the most important book written in this country in years. Nonetheless, I am certain that most liberal commentators will personally attack Limbaugh for writing it, without giving his arguments serious consideration.

The first part of Persecution, dealing with attacks on Christianity in the public schools, certainly got my attention. As I read each well-researched chapter, I tried to imagine myself as a student in the sixth grade taking my first course in social studies. That was in1976 for me, by the way. My teacher, Mr. Hebert, had a fondness for comparing life in America with life in other countries like the Soviet Union. That was back in the good old days when a teacher could tell his students that he loved his country without losing his job. A typical lecture in Mr. Hebert’s class could have sounded something like this:

“In Leningrad, a judge decreed that any student using the word ‘Jesus’ would be arrested and incarcerated for six months.

“In China, the courts appoint prayer monitors to ensure that no student is caught praying on school property.

“In East Germany, school officials are trained to be alert concerning any possibility of student discussion of religion and they immediately censor anything that remotely resembles religious discourse.

“In Cuba, a student organized a canned goods drive in April of last year. Determined to distribute the canned goods to the poorest citizens in Havana, he called it the ‘Easter Can Drive.’ Upon learning of the event, Fidel Castro forced the student to re-name the event the ‘Spring Can Drive.’

“In Moscow, students were allowed to assemble at the local elementary school to sing hymns, but only after government officials re-wrote all of the hymns to exclude references to ‘Jesus Christ.’

“In Czechoslovakia, an eight-year-old made valentines for her classmates, which read, ‘Jesus Loves You.’ Government officials confiscated them.

“In East Berlin, a sixth grader was sent home from school for carrying a Bible.

“In North Korea, students wearing ‘WWJD’ bracelets were ordered to remove them immediately.

“In Tehran, students were forced to pray in the name of Allah and to act out their own jihad.

“The Assistant Provost at the University of Prague has decreed that any student who believes in creationism should not attend any public university.

“A professor at a Romanian university was asked to resign her administrative position because she criticized Darwinian principles. It was feared that this criticism might cause some students to consider believing in God.

“A professor at the University of Havana had her salary cut 25% because she left copies of Christian magazines on a table in the back of her classroom after telling students they could peruse them if they so desired. Continued...