February 1, 2007
Mail Call: Religion and Schools
This poem was in my inbox this afternoon. I took a 10-minute break to check all my e-mails and when I read this, I was astonished at how accurate this is. I know not everyone is religious, but there are those of us, like myself, who are.
My faith is important to me. I live my life according to God’s word the best that I can. I’m not perfect. I’m a sinner, as we all are.
But it’s true. Our children in public schools have no freedom of speech or expression when it comes to God and that is so infuriating.
I hope you read this with an open mind and truly understand it’s meaning.
Now I sit me down in school,
Where praying is against the rule.
For this great nation under God,
Finds mention of Him very odd.
If Scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.
And anytime my head I bow,
Becomes a Federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That’s no offense; it’s a freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.
For praying in a public hall,
Might offend someone with no faith at all.
In silence alone we must meditate,
God’s name is prohibited by the state.
We ‘re allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.
They’ve outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.
We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the ‘unwed daddy,’ our Senior King.
It’s “inappropriate” to teach right from wrong,
We’re taught that such “judgments” do not belong.
We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.
But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.
It’s scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school’s a mess.
So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!
Amen!
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February 1st, 2007 at 4:58 pm, yoshi Says:
I never did understand what the big deal was about religion in schools. But you know, they just want to please everyone. Which we all know just can’t happen.
It’s amazing the things we can get away with, and yet religion in schools is wrong. Kudos to this poem. Amen!
February 4th, 2007 at 3:52 pm, Montchan Says:
Yours is a typical “Christian” point of view. If the lack of Christian prayers and the Bible in public schools bothers you that much, then please send your kids to a parochial school. Problem solved.
Because even though your faith might be important to you, it doesn’t mean it’s important to everybody else. Just like you yourself aptly pointed out.
February 4th, 2007 at 4:45 pm, Dana Says:
Montchan, you’ve basically represented the exact ignorance I’m upset about. We’re supposed to worry about offending those who aren’t religious, but you could care less if you offend me. So truthfully pointed out by your comment.
February 9th, 2007 at 11:05 am, Valbee Says:
Hi Dana. I was going to respond to this earlier and then changed my mind, and then changed it again.
I don’t care for the way Montchan stated here point, but there are parts of it I agree with.
Sadly, I don’t believe our society as a whole is ready to allow religion in public school, because we would have to let all religion into school and many people couldn’t deal with that.
I have a friend who is pagan. For a short time, he taught high school. He was “discouraged” from wearing a necklace with a pagan symbol on it, but noticed that there were plenty of teachers wearing necklaces with crosses.
His beliefs were no less important to him than his colleagues’ beliefs were to them, but he was the one singled out because he didn’t conform to the majority.
If we can find a way to get all religious beliefs (or lack thereof) accepted and respected in public schools, then I would be all for it.
In the meantime, I find it insulting to my parents every time I read one of these poem/prayers that assumes one raised without religion has no concept of right and wrong. I’ve seen plenty of examples where the two things are not necessarily related.
February 9th, 2007 at 1:12 pm, Dana Says:
Valbee, I respect your opinion and I do see your point. However, I don’t see how this poem is offensive to you or your parents.
This poem is saying that we can have all types of extreme displays of “creativity” and “expression” in school, but THE MINUTE someone prays in school, or says peace be with you in school, or says God Bless You in school, or even says the Pledge of Allegiance — SOMEONE starts to get upset and pissed off because they’re offended with the imposition on their right to NOT be religious. Where’s the tolerance that we’re preached about every day? Where’s the love and compassion?
I understand there are many, many different religions in this world. There is no reason to just allow one in a school setting. It’s the extremists who drag religion down and walk all over it and that really offends ME.
February 12th, 2007 at 4:54 pm, Valbee Says:
Exactly my point, Dana. They ruin it for the rest of us, whether we’re religious or not.
I have absolutely no problem with someone saying “God bless you” to me when I sneeze, but if that same person then gets pissed off because he or she overhears someone else say “Praise Allah,” that person has lost my respect.
I was berated by a woman who approached me at the library when I was studying one day, because she wanted to invite me to the Campus Crusade for Christ meetings and I told her I wasn’t Christian. I never told her what my religion is (or isn’t, as is really the case), but it didn’t matter. I was wrong, because I wasn’t her religion.
I work with a guy who says he’s a Satanist, which is his right. He caught all kinds of flack from one of our supervisors because he didn’t want his name on a Christmas stocking hanging up. He didn’t care that we were hanging the stockings. He just didn’t want to participate. They specifically didn’t ask another guy to participate because they thought he was Jewish. Guess what? He wasn’t! And he felt a little left out.
In a perfect world, no one would ever feel pressured and no one would ever feel left out and everyone would respect each other’s beliefs or lack thereof.
How about… we start with one blog?