NEW School Prayer

[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 ...

NEW School Prayer:

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 anytime my head I bow

Becomes a Federal matter now.

Our hair can be purple, orange or green,

That's no offense; it's freedom scene.

The law is specific, the law is precise..

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.

It's 'inappropriate' to teach right from wrong,

We're taught that such 'judgments' do not belong.

We can get our condoms and birth controls,

Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.

But the Ten Commandments are not allowed,

No word of God must reach this crowd.

It's 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! Amen.

[Wingnut]

Was it Ohio, Arizona, or Boston? Or did it appear in the Washington Times as far back as 1992, or the Detroit News in 1993?

snopes.com: The New School Prayer

[candyprpl]

I DON'T KNOW!! But who cares! I just thought the sentiment was worth sharing. If you've seen this before -- sorry. I get emails all the time that have been passed around several times over the years.

Edited November 4, 2009 by candyprpl

[MarginOfError]

I personally think this poem is a bunch of nonsense. The law states that public schools cannot sponsor prayer. Individual students are free to pray as much as they want so long as they do not create an undue distraction to those around them.

[pam]

Tell us how you really feel MOE.

Candy, I agree..it's a nice sentiment.

[Bini]

Nice share. I enjoyed reading it.

[candyprpl]

Sometimes people get wayyyyyy to serious on these forums. I still love reading all the comments. I even got wayyyy to serious in responding to wingnut!

[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.....

[candyprpl]

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.....

I haven't heard it put into law but I have heard of some school administrations no longer doing it. I don't know......

[Moksha]

I haven't heard it put into law but I have heard of some school administrations no longer doing it. I don't know......

Did these administrators murmur something about vain repetitions?

[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.

Edited November 4, 2009 by pam

[mightynancy]

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. :)

[Guest Godless]

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.

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.)

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]

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.

Edited November 4, 2009 by LostSheep
ps

[Elphaba]

I agree with Elphaba. (Wait...Did I really just say that? )

Don't Worry LS. It happens to everyone eventually.

Elph

[bytor2112]

I think President Obama would much prefer one of these as the official pledge or even as the new National Anthem. Edited November 5, 2009 by bytor2112

[annamaureen]

I think President Obama would much prefer one of these as the official pledge or enen as the new National Anthem.

The worship and adoration that man gets is very creepy.

[ADoyle90815]

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":

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

　

　

　

I agree, students can pray if they want to, as long as it doesn't cause a distraction to others. Often, a student might look like they're sitting silently before class begins, but they might be praying to themselves, which is OK as far as the Supreme Court is concerned. Also, private religious schools are still allowed, where what goes on in those schools is protected by the First Amendment.

The reason why polygamy and drug use as part of a religion are not protected by the First Amendment is that the Supreme Court ruled in both cases that when a law is broken, the protection is gone.

[Moksha]

I think President Obama would much prefer one of these as the official pledge or enen as the new National Anthem.

What do these Primary youngsters have to do with

Obama anyway? BTW, sort of look related, like they

all shared a common grandfather or something. Anyway,

they are just finishing both prayer and pledge.

:)

[Moksha]

The worship and adoration that man gets is very creepy.

Did you know that they even stand when he enters the room?