I just got one of those beloved forwarded e-mails that overrun our mailboxes. This one was talking about how bad things happen because we’ve taken God out of so many of our public institutions. Apparently, if we don’t have prayer in schools, kids turn into criminals and the only way to stop that is to find God again. Gee, I didn’t realize he was lost. Or that, as a result, we were too.
I find it interesting that God is such a crutch that not only does everything good happen because of him, but everything bad happens because he wasn’t there. (This is confusing in itself because I’ve always been told that, much like Santa Claus watching our behavior, he is always there.) Can’t raise your children to be decent human beings? That must be because they’ve removed prayer from schools – not because you’re a failure as a parent. Your kid steals, does drugs and beats up little old ladies? Why, it can’t possibly be because you’ve spent most of his life ignoring him while enjoying your weekly girls’ night out, trying to impress the new guy you’re seeing, or spending hours playing WoW. The most obvious reason is so simple – we as a society have strayed from God. No Bible reading or prayer in schools? Prepare for more terrorist attacks, school shootings, and kicking of puppies.
Does anyone honestly believe that a child being raised by neglectful or borderline psychotic parents would grow into Atticus Finch if he was forced to read the Bible at school?
How about a little accountability? If you’re religious and it makes you feel good and happy, and you feel that it helps keep you from randomly killing people, that’s great. Keep praying. But if you’re semi-disturbed and you feel that you wouldn’t have clubbed that baby seal if only someone had made you recite some prayers while you were in school, possibly you may need help from someone with a degree in medicine, not theology. Either way, do whatever it takes for you to feel fulfilled, calm, and happy. But don’t assume that everyone is the same as you and that they need the same type of motivation. I believe most people would not kill anyone, whether or not they’ve read the Bible. Blaming the bad in the world—whether caused by people or nature—on the proposal that one religion ruling a country is a terrible idea is seriously missing the target by – um, like several Middle Eastern countries at once.
I find it difficult to understand why the solutions proposed by these very opinionated people aren’t seen as something tangible. It’s not let’s make sure there aren’t any unwanted babies brought into the world; let’s figure out the best way to provide the most support to overwhelmed parents; what can we actually do about the levels of poverty and the disturbingly imbalanced distribution of wealth? In other words, what can actually be done by the people who live on this planet to make things more tolerable for everyone? No, let’s not actually take any responsibility for anything. Let’s not try to change anything. Let’s pray.
