I spotted this in a nursing home newsletter. I didn't write this. I don' t agree with this. (And I'm not going to take an XP hit by posting this with my regular account!) But I thought it was an interesting (if frightening) look in the fundamentalist Christian mind.

The New School Prayer for Students?

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 any time my head I bow
     Becomes a federal matter now.
Our hair can be purple, orange or green.
     That's no offense, it's the freedom scene.
The law is specific, the law is precise,
     And 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.
But it's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong,
     We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong.
We can get our condoms and birth control,
     Study witchcraft, vampires, and totem poles.
The Ten Commandments are not allowed,
     No word of God must reach this crowd.
It is 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.

                                           --Anonymous

JustSomeGuy and MilTan: you go, guys!

All right, let's rip this ap^W^W^W consider the merits of this, a couplet at a time:

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

This is of course, a complete fabrication. There is no constitutional prohibition of a student praying in school. In fact, such a prohibition would be directly in violation of the First Amendment.

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

If in fact we are a nation "under God", then it is only in the most general possible definition of God as some divine first cause, not as the Christian concept of God. Remember that the majority of the Founding Fathers were Deists.

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

As well it should. Should the class have a daily recitation from the Koran? How about from the manifesto of some random suicide cult? "No," you say? Well then, why the fsck should promoting your religion in class be any different?

And any time my head I bow
Becomes a federal matter now.

Bzzzt! Sorry! Why is it that some people cannot seem to grasp the difference between an individual student praying on their own time, which is constitutionally protected freedom of worship, and a government appointed teacher leading a class in prayer, which is constitutionally prohibited mixing of Church and State?

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

Yep, pretty much. Offended by purple hair? Tough luck. I'm offended by a lot of the crap in the Bible, but it's still your right to express your belief in it.

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

The law is specific, and the only prayer which is prohibited is that which is officialy sponsored.

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

Perhaps it might. But if you do not have a right to not be offended, I guess I don't either. So feel free to pray. I will of course, feel free to tell you, tactfully of course, that I think you're being an idiot.

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

Typical for a fundamentalist. <sarcasm>Repeat the falsehood enough, and it becomes true! </sarcasm>

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

I don't know where you went to school, but I certainly wasn't allowed to swear or wear exceptionally absurd clothing. Then again, maybe I should have been. My appearance and vocabulary can't physically injure you, and once again, You do not have a right to not be offended.

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

Yeah, uh-huh, the Bible is outlawed. Hey, no one ever accused Christian Fundamentalists of being sticklers for the truth.

We can elect a pregnant senior queen,
And the unwed daddy, our senior king.

Oh, I'm sorry, does premarital sexual intercourse offend you? Guess what?

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

Or rather, it's a child's parent's job to teach them morality. Because, believe it or not, some people actually have differing opinions on what is right and wrong!

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

Nothin' wrong with that, as far as I'm concerned.

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

No (alleged) word of God must be forced apon this crowd. You want your kids to grow up Christian, you teach them the Ten Commandments. I'll be teaching my kids a moral system grounded in reason.

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

Which is the fault of many things, but not of a lack of religious instruction in public schools.

So, Lord, this silent plea I make:
Should I be shot, my soul please take.

Hey, when in doubt, scare-monger, right?
Even more important in setting straight the author of this little poem:

People often forget... even though teaching religion is not allowed in public schools, teaching about religion is still permitted. So it is not like the 10 Commandments are not allowed in schools at all. They are just not allowed in the context of telling kids what is right and wrong.

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