NEW School Prayer

[mightynancy]

The problem with untrue-but-a-nice-sentiment pieces is that, well, they're untrue. I also really resent when pathos takes the place of logos in what is meant to be a discussion or debate - please appeal to my intellect and not to my tear ducts.

[pam]

That's fine...but some of us like sentiment as well. If candy liked the sentiment in that poem..who am I to say it's ridiculous or whatever. We all look at things differently.

[changed]

Originally Posted by lost87

ummm...since when are kids not allowed to say the pledge of allegiance in schools? I was in my 6 year old brothers 1st grade class last friday where the children said the pledge of allegiance along with all the other classes, guided by the principle on the PA system.....

My kids not only pledge to the US, they also pledge to the state of Texas .
We are from colorado, I found it quite funny the first time I heard the pledge to Texas.

YouTube - Texas Pledge - Denton T.E.A. PARTY 2009

Texas is one state "under God", indivisible. I agree, it's part of the Bible belt down here, most people see themselves as being under God.

(Oh - there were 10,000 at the tea party last night, 10,000 crazy Christians - (we had a local vote today - I voted for pro-lifers, each and every race.)
YouTube - Tea Party in Denton
AMEN Sister!
Yup - that's a Texan political rally .

[mightynancy]

Originally Posted by pam

That's fine...but some of like sentiment as well.

I get that, even though I'm not one of y'all. I don't like it to be presented as truth...let it be what it is and call it a nice story from the get-go.

[pam]

I think she clarified that in a post just a couple after the OP.

[mightynancy]

Yeah, I saw that...but it was only after someone else pointed it out. I don't mean to be all nitpicky, but I think it's dangerous to blur the line between fiction and truth.

[Godless]

Originally Posted by changed

My kids not only pledge to the US, they also pledge to the state of Texas .
We are from colorado, I found it quite funny the first time I heard the pledge to Texas.

YouTube - Texas Pledge - Denton T.E.A. PARTY 2009

Texas is one state "under God", indivisible. I agree, it's part of the Bible belt down here, most people see themselves as being under God.

(Oh - there were 10,000 at the tea party last night, 10,000 crazy Christians - (we had a local vote today - I voted for pro-lifers, each and every race.)
YouTube - Tea Party in Denton
AMEN Sister!
Yup - that's a Texan political rally .

Which is why I'm glad I live in South Texas. San Antonio almost feels like a northern city. Almost.

[LostSheep]

Nice poem. Although I only agree with parts of it. Bibles, praying, speaking about god, and the pledge of alligence are not banned in schools. I read scriptures, talked about religion in school before. In fact, when a school shooting happened at our school, my English teacher had a prayer in the class room. Optional of course. Only half of the students joined the circle. Of course she didn't get in trouble foe this, since it was not under normal circumstances. What I'm saying is, I might not agree with this "God taboo" crap that some people are trying to pull, but I wouldn't say it's gone quite as far as this poem says. Not yet anyway.

[Elphaba]

Originally Posted by candyprpl

Believed to be written by a 15 yr. old school kid in Ohio -- since the Pledge of Allegiance and the Lord's Prayer are not allowed in schools anymore, because the word 'God' is mentioned ... a kid in Ohio wrote ....

No 15-year-old boy from Ohio wrote this.

One of the earliest-known manifestations of “New School Prayer” comes from a 1992 issue of The Washington Times, and is credited to “an anonymous student":

Now I sit me down in school,
Where praying is against the rule;
For this great nation under God
Finds public mention of him oddd.
And prayer a class recites
Now violates the Bill of Rights;
All I ask is a minute of quiet,
And if I feel like praying I’ll try it;
If not, O Lord, one plea I make;
If knifed in school, my soul You’ll take.

Additionally, prior to your "15-year-old Ohio boy" authorship, “a child in Boston,“ “a 12-year-old girl in Boston,” and “a teen in Baghdad, Arizona” also wrote it.

Subsequent versions are outlined at Snopes.

MOE has already explained this, but I wanted to reiterate: The Supreme Court has never held that students cannot pray during school hours.

Rather, the Court ruled that the government, via the school, cannot have anything to do with prayer in schools. The government cannot tell students when to pray. The government cannot tell students what to pray. The government cannot tell students that they should or should not pray.

Students can pray at school, but they cannot be disruptive when doing so. Obviously it would be disruptive in most class situations. Even there, quiet prayer, as long as it's not disruptive, is perfectly legal. And a child can pray silently to herself whenever she wants--there's no moment of silence necessary to allow her to do so.

Every stanza of this poem is blatantly inaccurate when it claims prayers have been removed from the schools. Giving it any credence is perpetuating a lie.

Elphaba
　
　
　

[LostSheep]

I agree with Elphaba. (Wait...Did I really just say that? ) It would be hypocritical for me not to. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for God. The truth is being bent however.

------------------------------------
"Schools cannot tell students to pray, or give them a designated time to pray."

Becomes

"Schools prohibit student to pray, and ban any talk of religion."
------------------------------------

See the difference?
Conservatives hate it when Liberals turn...

------------------------------------
"I don't think global warming is caused by people."

into...

"I hate the planet, and want it to burn."
--------------------------------------


So it's not fair for us to use those same tactics.

Just my opinion...



p.s. Oh, and by the way, I wasn't trying to make the OP look stupid, or trying to make a political statement. I was just stating my opinion.