For my friends who believe.

[KristyHall]

Quote:

 

[punk-a-doodle]

We have a lot of unwed fathers and pregnant teens here too, and in the state I went to high school in (highest teen prenancy rates in the nation)....only the largest percentage were from religious families in highly religious states. It's very interesting to me to have it be seen as a creation of 'taking God out of schools'.

I do kind of wish these sorts of email chains would not use the "written by a whatever aged kid" backstories to try to push their point. As I recall, the last time I read this, it was written by a girl in Boston. I also kind of wish people knew that "one nation under God" was added during the good ol' days of the Red Scare. That is, it was added in the 1950s. Currency was changed similarly in the 1960s. Some just treat it as if it were there from the very emergence of the US itself. I'm not sure why people would prefer a newer version that is more exclusionary, rather than the older versions that embraced all.

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
agreed

 

[Kelly G]

Quote:
Well put.

Hypocricy is so tiresome.

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
Well put.

Hypocricy is so tiresome.

reminds me of that bumper sticker " the last time we mixed religion with state people got burned at the stake."

 

[BarredBuff]

Very written and nice Im taking it and posting it on SufficientSelf.

 

[Duramaxgirl]

Good poem! First time I've read it.

 

[Spookwriter]

Not even close to a top grade from me.

As a poem, yes it works. As a truth? Not even close.
Look at it. Read it.

Consider exactly what it is saying, before you pass it on.




Now I sit me down in school
Where praying is against the rule

....No, no. Praying is not against the rule of any school or business
I've ever known about. That same Bill of Rights this writer is disrespecting
in a few more lines, protects our right as an individual citizen to pray to the
God of our choice. Not one selected by the goverment, or the school.

For this great nation under God
Finds mention of Him very odd.

....This nation, this great nation, can only be as strong as the people
who make it up, allow. It can be as great, or as weak, as WE THE PEOPLE
make it.

If scripture now the class recites,
It violates the Bill of Rights.

....Now, that line could be true, depending on the school and the context.

And anytime my head I bow
Becomes a Federal matter now.

....Absolutely not true.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,
That's no offense; it's a freedom scene.

....Every generation has to find it's own style. This one is no exception.

The law is specific, the law is precise.
Prayers spoken aloud are a serious vice.

....For all things, there is a time and a place.

For praying in a public hall
Might offend someone with no faith at all.

....I repeat myself, that you as an individual have the right to
pray. But I also agree that the SCHOOL should not be the one
to your god. That is not their area of expertise. More of the PARENTS
place to show their children the religion in their own life. (and no, I'm
not picking one religion over another.)

In silence alone we must meditate,
God's name is prohibited by the state.

....NO, NO, NO....That is NOT what it says.

We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks,
And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks.

....Again, true enough.

They've outlawed guns, but FIRST the Bible.
To quote the Good Book makes me liable.

....Again, not exactly the truth, is it? And if something isn't
true then it must therefore be....false. Wrong.

We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen,
And the 'unwed daddy,' our Senior King.

....You can also elect fat people, skinny people, tall people,
short people.

It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,
We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong.

....Gee, isn't that sort of the PARENTS job to teach their children
right from wrong? I mean come on, do you really expect the teachers
to raise YOUR children?

We can get our condoms and birth controls,
Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.

....The point here? Children can do a lot of things at school that aren't
really the best choice. We were all young once.

But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,
No word of God must reach this crowd.

....News flash, parents. You want God in your childs shool? Try putting
God in your childs life yourself. Church is open on Sunday. (or whatever
religion you choose) Be the example in their life. Be the person they look
up too.

It's scary here I must confess,
When chaos reigns the school's a mess.

.... Being a teen was a scary. Lot of changes and growing up in those
years. Lot of choices. All the more reason to be there for your child.
Every day.

So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot; My soul please take!

....If there is one line in this poem that we should rage against, let it
be this one. No child, no person, should live in fear of being shot.



.....But no, in general this poem is wrong in the message it's trying to
convey. Blame the school, blame the teachers, blame the system. Pass
the buck....Not the parents fault and certainly not the childs fault.

Or perhaps, parents need to take a bit more time to be with their children.
Interact with them, know their friends, their friends parents. Know who's in
your childrens life.

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
I agree SPook.

I also find it offensive Totem Poles are lumped in with vampires and witchcraft (no witchcraft isn't evil either but I suspect the person writing this was writing for an audience that would gasp at the idea of witches running about)

Apparently totem poles is a symbol of evil? A cultural icon of the northwestern American Tribal peoples?

That somehow it equals these people's rich and ancient traditions to the blood sucking undead? and to witches ( Witches being defined by the common conservative religious point of views as devil worship which witch craft is not devil worship!)

or that the poem suggests that the law saying teaches can not instruct a captive audience, children in the teacher's religion, and students can not force their religion down someone's throat is somehow banning all religion from school?

ummm no. A teacher can read the bible and pray on their own time or in private, or when not while teaching. Students can read the bible, pray in public , discuss the bible in a respectful manner with other students and attend student lead religious clubs.
They can not however harass, shout at, antagonize or try to convert other students, teachers or pupils.

 

[SourRoses]

I like it!