I just wanted to put a heartfelt thank you to former Franklin County Technical School Superintendent Rick Martin for having compassion, empathy, and heart. There has been a lot of back and forth on the separation of church and state in this case. First let me say that I’m a firm believer in the separation of the two. However, I do believe that certain situations call for voices to be heard. I believe most of us get so caught up in our beliefs that there is no wiggle room for any kind of change whatsoever. There was absolutely no harm in giving a little prayer for those who lost a loved one. I’m sure the family was very thankful for some words of encouragement at such a heartbreaking time. Sometimes in life we must put aside our ego for a moment and actually do the right thing.
Some will say that if you allow this to happen it will open the gates for it to occur all the time. I say they’re wrong; each case is different and I don’t believe that suddenly religion will be creeping into your life. I would make a safe bet to say that 99% of the people at the graduation were totally OK with Mr. Martin’s words of faith. These students lost a classmate but also a friend. I’m sure they were all OK with getting a little closure and weren’t offended by some beautiful words, love and kindness. No matter what your beliefs, this moment in time truly called for love, empathy, and togetherness.
Due to this whole blown-up situation, another tragedy took place. Because Mr. Martin probably felt pressured to retire early, he never got closure with the kids he loved so much. I’m sure the last couple of days of school would have been amazing between him and the students who looked up to him. Instead, because of a few people that couldn’t get over their beliefs, there will be no formal goodbyes.
This whole situation is just a tragedy for those involved. I hope in future situations like this people will allow themselves to be a litte more flexible in their thinking process. When someone is mourning due to a devastating loss, the least we can do is have compassion, heart, and openness to any encouraging words, religious or not.
So, to Richard Martin, keep being amazing. Keep showing your light wherever there is darkness. We thank you for having heart, empathy, and many words of love.
Jeremy Williams lives in Greenfield.