November 21, 2005

I'm a strong supporter of separation of church and state. I don't think the Ten Commandments belongs in court rooms. Prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance (when including the words "Under God") do not belong in public schools. The majority religion should not be used as a basis to determine any sort of laws (though our laws may reflect our religious views). Religion, any religion, should not be used to determine who can and can't get married.

That said, I now have several topics of interest that I could write on and on about. Instead, I'll just focus on one today. Let's start with prayer in public schools.

Prayer does not belong in schools. Early history of this country tells us it's a bad idea. Children being ridiculed because they were Catholic when the schools promoted Protestantism. Arguments over which prayers to use and when occured. It took away from the whole point to school: to get an education. Children will learn all they need about religion at home, in church (or where ever the family religious group meets), in comparative religious courses as electives. If you want your child to be taught prayers, teach them yourself. The parent should be the child's number one teacher, after all.

I am all for moments of silence. A child can choose to think whatever in their mind. They can pray, think about the day ahead, gather their thoughts to focus on school, or any other number of things. It doesn't impede on anyone and allows children who wish to pray to have that time available. They just have to keep it to themselves.

Why should the student keep their faith to themselves, you say? Why must they hide their faith or not be open about it? Well, they don't have to hide it. It's merely a matter of respect. Yes, the same reason people give for having prayer in schools is the same reason it shouldn't be. You don't have to agree with another person's religious views or choices. You don't have to like their religious path. But that in no way means that you have the right to impede on them. You don't like their religion, but you should tolerate it in order to respect the individual's rights. You can't have your rights if others can't have theirs. That's what our forefathers meant by equality.

Schools that have clubs must allow religious and secular clubs to form. Teachers can be sponsors because club sponsors are not meant to actually participate in the clubs' activities. They are supposed to make sure that the club runs smoothly and that activities planned are allowed and taken care of. In other words, the students run the club and it is theirs. The teachers are just there to settle any arguments and to make sure everything is okay. Think of it as a monitoring system. During club hours, students can pray and do any number of other religious activities.

No one is trying to take all this away. Many of us are trying to avoid it becoming mandatory to pray in schools. We're fighting religious extremists from incorporating religious dogma and doctrine into science classes. We're fighting using the public school systems to force religion down children's throats. We are not fighting to make schools completely secular. If a lesson in a class requires mentioning some sort of religious beliefs to be properly understood, we are not fighting that. We are fighting teaching the religous beliefs as proven truth.

I point all this out because I am sick and tired of reading bumber stickers and banners saying things like, "They're trying to take God out of school!" No, we're keeping schools from forcing God on children. The children are free to believe in God. They are free to say a silent prayer when they have a moment. They are free to join and participate in religious clubs. Where offered, they are free to take religious courses. What we're trying to take out is teaching students religious views and telling them they are wrong if they don't believe them. We're taking out the harassment of students by teachers and other students. God is more than welcome in the schools. God just can't be the subject of class. For people who believe in God, they sure do miss the point. God can't be taken out of anything.

As for the Pledge, I believe in Patriotism. I understand that for so many of us, the flag and pledging our allegiance to it is a sign of patriotism. However, how many of us realize anything about the flag? Now, you can argue the "In God We Trust" on our currency is a matter of historical relevance. However, that argument does not apply to the Pledge. Let's look at the original Pledge:

"I pledge allegiance to my Flag, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all."

This was written in 1892 for a Boston youth magazine "The Youth's Compantion." For several years, the Pledge to the Flag was a popular daily routine in public schools. When adults gave attention to the Pledge for the first National Flag Converence in D.C., they took note of the wording and changed it to:

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States, and to the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, With Liberty and Justice for all."

A year later, it was changed to add "of America." The Pledge continued to be used by children in public schools. In 1942, the US Congress included the Pledge to the Flag in the United States Flag Code (Title 36). This was the first official sanction given to the Pledge that had been used for almost fifty years. A year later, the Supreme Court ruled that children could not be forced to recite the Pledge as part of the daily routine (though many classes across America today still force children to stand for it). In 1945, the Pledge of the Flag officially became the Pledge of Allegiance.

Now 1954 is where the first problem occurs. President Eisenhower approved adding the words "under God" to the Pledge. The Pledge being recited as a prayer (yes, adding in "God" or any name of a Deity creates a prayer) has only occured for the past 51 years. Some schools across the country did not include those two words until about twenty years ago.

Now I could go on to say that the Pledge is useless since it's original use was a part of Columbus Day celebrations and, well, the story behind Columbus as it was told to us growing up was a bunch of bull. But the Pledge was so much more, and that is why it is an important part of our culture.

What I will say, is that the Pledge, as a prayer, has no place in schools. The Pledge, as it was before the words "under God" does. The Pledge practically began in public schools. That's a part of our public schools' history. The words "under God" are not. They were added during years of coming social change. When it was quite possible society as we knew it was going to make a turn for something far from what it was. And it did. Was adding "under God" a move by Eisenhower to try to make sure Christianity stayed strong in the country despite the social changes? I can't say, but it is always possible. If that is the case, it's all the more reason the Pledge needs to be taken out or reverted back. If adding in "under God" is a move to encourage Christianity, or any religion, over others, then it is Unconstitutional to be in public schools.