In the aftermath of the tragic events of Friday, December 14, 2012, at Sandy Hook Elementary School I have seen way too many posts on social media and heard way too many talking heads on the Television who point to the fact that the lack of by rote led prayer in public schools had a hand in what occurred...
I am offended by the very premise of this idea in more ways than one!
- While it is true that children cannot be FORCED (yes, forced) to recite the secular prayers of any one religion in a Public School there is no law that states that they cannot pray silently to themselves. When Prayer in School was ongoing all children were made to recite prayers no matter their own views or the views of their parents... they had no choice. Removing the forced recitation by all students of prayer was not an attack against any one religion (no matter what some would like to believe) but was instead done so that the children of those who follow a different religion were not subject to oppression. If Schools were suddenly forcing students to recite a passage of the Koran daily the very same people who want prayer back in schools would be screaming in protest that their children were being forced to recite something against their own religious views. If children were made to say a Praise of the Earth Goddess those parents would be screaming even louder... but it is okay for their religious prayers to be forced out of the mouths of the children of others?
- The shootings did NOT happen because "God was taken out of the Schools"... they happened because someone with a mental illness did not get the care they needed from a society that would rather battle over the rights to marry the person you love irregardless of how many x or y chromosomes are involved in the union. This is a society that will kill Doctors who preform an abortion in the name of "God" and will protest at clinics to shame desperate women... where politicians say that a woman cannot conceive a baby if it is from rape because her body can stop that process... where the unborn is precious but strangely after birth they lose interest and the person is on their own. Mentally ill teenagers terrorize their parents and siblings and there is no help for any of them.
- To say that this happened because prayer is not allowed in school is paramount to saying that the Christian God is consciously allowing and condoning the murder of these innocent children as a lesson or punishment for not having children recite prayers by rote. To believe this is to virtually tie yourself with the monsters of Westboro Baptist Church who delight in trying to tell the world that God is happy these things happen and that it is to teach a lesson.
- You have no idea if the shooter was a Christian (only he knew that, no one else can ever say if he was or wasn't) and his reasons behind what he did...
Faith is something that is supposed to bring you peace and understanding of the world around you. It is supposed to give you a purpose in life and an answer to things that cannot be explained. It should NEVER be used as a tool against others... it should not be forced on others, especially for their "own good" because who are you to decide what is good for another?
No one is asking you to deny your faith... but there are many who would like it if you stopped trying to press it to the point of oppression on others.
There is a line... one that with respect should not be crossed...
The moment you believe that your own rights are more important than those around you when it comes to religious views you cross that line, especially if you push to have your rights be validated at the expense of all others.
The moment talking heads on TV and posts in social media start blaming the fact that prayer is not in school and saying things along the lines of Huckabee on Fox News where it is basically said that non-Christians are all capable of horrific acts because they do not believe that they will face judgement by God after they die is the moment that lines are crossed.
What keeps non-Christians accountable for their actions, if not God?
Personal responsibility and the knowledge of right and wrong... the same thing that keeps Christians from doing those acts. If they ONLY reason a Christian is being a good person is for a reward after death and fear of judgement after death then I feel sorry for that person and fear them, because they are the ones that are likely to do horrible acts in a time of crises in faith. (Luckily, I do not believe I know any of those people... but I think you get my drift)
So... stop blaming religion (the presence or lack of) in these shootings and start blaming the society that has grown blind to the need for better care of the mentally ill and support for the families of the mentally ill... don't simply let the horror fade until the next tragedy then start pointing fingers again and asking "why"... we already know "why".
Before you ask... yes, I have a mirror as well... we all do
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