In Amerika, prayer is a crime.

[coldblossom.livejournal.com]

[link]

What I want to know is, how did prayer become a crime? It doesn't matter if its against school policy or if it violates the ruling of a lawsuit; under the Constitution it cannot be a crime. No judge has the power to declare to be criminal a right enshrined in our governing documents. Yet here these men are facing criminal charges and jail time! Further, the class president is being censored because she might say something religious! Thought Police much?

And of course the ACLU is right in the middle, swinging. Oh, not for these people whose Constitutional rights are being violated. Rather, they got the ball rolling on this mess by being the plaintiffs in the original "no prayer" lawsuit and now they're back pressing charges to get these teachers locked up. It makes me sick.

EDIT: Oh, and the police are going after people putting up the Obama-Joker posters. Yes, it is vandalism, but people put up illegal signs en masse all the time (I see it all over Phoenix, i.e. local bands, promos for movies plastered on fences, missing pet flyers, etc). Why so much attention on these particular people, hmmm? Are we the USA or are we a police state?  [link]

Comments

[fi-harkness.livejournal.com]

I was in 8th grade when my school decided we weren't allowed to do the Pledge of Allegiance, say God, pray, wear crosses, or let me read my Rush Limbaugh book during lunch. Now I'm 23, and most of the younger kids I know couldn't recite the pledge if you paid them.

[mosinging1986.livejournal.com]

I am only able to skim the article because I am in a hurry, but... my God! I had not heard of this.

What is this country becoming? It really is frightening! I fully believe that I will see in my lifetime, my pastors being hauled off to jail for daring to speak about God and the Bible. I really do.

[ex-annemarie10.livejournal.com]

What is really scary is the idea of the ACLU being able to send in "monitors" to see if anything "illegal" is going on.

Can we say Big Brother?

[caromiofic.livejournal.com]

Man, I thought it was a pain back in h.s. when some teachers tried not to except excuses for missing that period for National Prayer Day in Sept. We felt like such rebels for standing around that flag pole, anyway. :) I don't regret wearing my Christian tees, cross pendant, holding Bible study at lunch, or carrying my Bible in my backpack to read every day, and they would have had to pry any of them from my cold, dead fingers.

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

Mr. Staver said the district also agreed to forbid senior class President Mary Allen from speaking at the school's May 30 graduation ceremony on the chance that the young woman, a known Christian, might say something religious.

I would think that that young lady might have a good basis for a lawsuit herownself. Talk about "prior restraint."

Wow. Just, wow.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

Oooh, a Known Christian!!!

Seriously, every student K-12 and in college ought to have FIRE's info on hand because my experience is school officials don't know jack about the Constitution. They're terrified of the ACLU and the media far more than they are of individual students.

[pastygothchick.livejournal.com]

Obaba/Joker story I loved this comment:

People, this is a serious matter. For all we know, we could have a Serial Poster on our hands in the Clermont area, close to Disney World...where will it end? Thank goodness Goofy is on the job in Clermont and working to get to the bottom of this crime.

Though technically the posting of these poster is vandalism especially posting on federal property. Also, it seems this poster is related to the infowars.com (Alex Jones's website) poster contest.

[lazypadawan.livejournal.com]

If government pushes too hard on religion, religion has a way of pushing back.

[onceuponapillow.livejournal.com]

I remember back in High School -a whole 4 years ago lol- a teacher assigned a project where we had to research different religions and present to the class. We could do every religion except Christianity -apparently people knew enough about it- I was too afraid of rocking the boat so I kept my mouth shut. I really regret that.

[longlostblue.livejournal.com]

I would've pretended to be doing it on another religion, then when it was my turn to present, I would've busted out a presentation on Christianity!

Actually, knowing my high school self, I probably would've just stayed quiet, like you did, but it's still a cool idea.

[valerie-valerah.livejournal.com]

That reminds me of a school project I had to do on a person who left an impact. I wanted to do Ronald Reagan, but was told I couldn't because he wasn't dead.

[madmguillotine.livejournal.com]

apparently people knew enough about it

Well that's stupid - first of all, they should teach it since there's so many misconceptions about it (haha, but that wouldn't work, since they're the ones perpetrating the misconceptions anyway :p), and second of all, no, everyone doesn't know. My Muslim friend always asks me questions that I just take for granted knowing, since I grew up Christian. Stupid school :p

[ninepointfivemm.livejournal.com]

I think in 11th grade, we had to remove "under God" from the pledge and we were very confused, since... 12 years of the pledge, and we can't say under God? This was in 2001 and very shortly after September 11, too.

I didn't participate in prayer at school, but we had 1 minute of silence, post-pledge, if you wanted to pray, meditate, sleep, whatever.

I'm almost completely non-religious, so I do like having the option of not being prayed at, but it shouldn't be mandated by government.

[ccr1138.livejournal.com]

Okay, my thoughts:

1. I am in agreement that public-school staff/faculty should not lead or orchestrate religious activity including prayer. Parents have the right to expect that their children will not be proselytized in a state-run school. If a Hindu teacher, for example, were to encourage my son to believe in reincarnation, I would be angry; therefore, I support this part of the law.

2. Children, on the other hand, should be free to share their own beliefs with their peers without restriction. If it gets out of hand, for instance if a child is asked to stop by another child and he refuses, this can be dealt with like any other matter of discipline.

3. Pre-censoring a class president because of fears of what she MIGHT say is beyond the pale. The administration should simply make a statement to the effect that the president's views do not necessarily reflect their own, then allow her to say whatever she wants.

WHEN did we get so afraid of hearing other points of view in this country? How did we go from the strength of the pioneering spirit to the easily offended victims of political incorrectness in just a few generations? Gosh, I with God would send some lightning to adjust a few attitudes.

[regalpewter.livejournal.com]

This is interesting and need to be watched.
Especially, when it is school staff at non student functions asking for someone to lead a blessing at a meal. As the first incident was on school property it becomes very much an area that needs to defined.

Are these folks attempting to freely practice their regilion or Does it seek to establish a religion? If it is the latter, then the unconstitutionality of their action makes it wrong. Otherwise it should be allowed.
As far as the censoring of a class president there is a long established case history reguarding that.

I do wonder, if we had the school principal who was an Imam, or a Rabbi, or a Dianetic Pagan High Priestess, would we feel the same sense of outrage? And would we fight as hard for them to practice freely?

These are hard questions to ask, for if we fight for the rights of one religion we then must fight for all religions.

That all being said, To threaten them with Jail time for expression of religion seems beyond the pale, except for one thing, there already was a settlement over a prior complaint brought by two students. Now I am curious why the prior students were so offended that they felt the need to make such a complaint, and wonder what their own beliefs are, that their own faith could not exist compared to the majority's beliefs.

I will be praying for these folks that they be judged wisely.

YIS,
WRI

[countalpicola.livejournal.com]

> Are these folks attempting to freely practice their regilion or Does it
> seek to establish a religion?

While I acknowledge that the text of the First Amendment has been irrelevant to its interpretation for as long as anyone can remember, I think it is worth pointing out that only a legislative body ("Congress" being the one named in the amendment itself) can actually establish a religion. Saying a prayer is no more establishing a religion than singing a national anthem is establishing a country.

> there already was a settlement over a prior complaint

This here is their biggest problem. While there is plenty of room to argue that this settlement shouldn't exist, it is hard to avoid the fact that it does. Defiance of a court's order, even a bad one, does and should have consequences quite independent of the action taken itself.

[regalpewter.livejournal.com]

Excellant, I did get my points across. Thanks.

YIS,
WRI